Roberta Romano is a migration policy expert and senior researcher with nearly two decades of
experience in humanitarian response, displacement policy, and diaspora engagement. She has
worked with the International Organization for Migration in Washington, D.C., Albania, and
Sudan, and with academic and nonprofit partners in Zimbabwe and Uganda, where she supported
communities affected by civil conflict and natural disasters in reconciliation and reconstruction
efforts.
She holds a Master of Theological Studies from Duke Divinity School. Her research, writing,
and consulting explore the integration of theology, ethics, and politics, with a focus on overcoming the divisive thinking of our time and inspire political solutions that foster flourishing. She is
particularly interested in nonviolence and in migrants’ welcoming as an ontological necessity,
applying spiritual frameworks to migration governance, conflict transformation, and partnership
building. She has authored high-impact reports and guidelines on migration crises, diaspora
engagement, and humanitarian protection.
An Italian by birth who feels at home as a global citizen, Roberta also holds a Master’s in Human
Rights and Conflict Management from the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa and a degree in
Political Science from the University of Rome “La Sapienza.” She now lives in North Carolina
with her husband and two daughters, where she continues to cultivate spaces and opportunities to
co-create peaceful and just communities.