Laura Liévano-Karim is a Fulbright fellow and second-year Ph.D. student in the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs in the Department of Social Welfare. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada and a Master in Public Policy degree from Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. Before joining the Ph.D. program at the Department of Social Welfare, she worked as a researcher on diverse projects, both quantitative and qualitative, addressing multiple social justice dilemmas in Colombia including violence targeting populations of young people experiencing basic needs instability, throughout rural and urban zones of Colombia. Laura also worked as a lecturer at Universidad de los Andes teaching the undergraduate course: Qualitative Methods for Public Affairs.

Currently, Laura works with Professor Amy Ritterbusch developing a research program on the prevention of violence against children in Colombia and Uganda. In particular, Laura’s current research focuses on two areas: (1) sexual violence against girls and young women in the global South and (2) the manner participatory research can support girl-driven violence prevention policy-making and programming. Her research is primarily informed by the feminist theory of violence against women and children and decolonial theory.