GERE core team
The core team are involved across all elements of the GERE initiative, including the research studies and training programme. The core team includes Jigsaw and Refugee Education UK staff, as well as GERE Research Advisers in our focus countries.
Katrina Barnes
Katrina is a Research Manager with Jigsaw, with a background in language education. She holds a MEd in Research in Second Language Education from the University of Cambridge and a MA in Translation and Interpreting from the University of Westminster. Her recent work has focused on participatory methods within refugee education research, the role of EdTech in displacement and development contexts, and minoritised language use within education in LMICs. An experienced teacher, Katrina has a particular interest in pedagogy, curriculum design, and education for social and environmental justice.
Abraham Chilemu
Abraham is the GERE Research Adviser in Zambia. He is a development professional and researcher, with more than 18 years’ experience working with communities on issues of social- economic development for poverty alleviation, rural development and emergency response. His specialisms have included agricultural economics, livelihoods, M&E, humanitarian and emergency response, enterprise development and gender. He holds a degree in Agriculture Economics, Market Research from University of Malawi (Chancellor College Zomba) and an associate degree from the Centre for Household and Economic Studies, as well as certificates in Project Management and Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation from University of Zambia and a certificate in Nutrition Counselling, Care and Support for People Living with HIV/AIDS from FAO, DFID, WHO and SIDA.
Rebecca Daltry
Becky is a Research Manager with Jigsaw, whose current work focuses on refugee education and education technology in LMICs. She has experience conducting large-scale mixed-method and qualitative research, with a particular focus on developing participatory and youth-led initiatives with schools and communities. She holds an MA in International Education and Development from the University of Sussex, and is a PhD student at the University of Nottingham, investigating the role of digital technologies in supporting the acquisition of foundational skills for primary school refugee learners post-conflict.
Aime Parfait Emerusenge
Aime Parfait is a Research Assistant with Jigsaw and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management from Southern New Hampshire University. Before joining Jigsaw, he participated in a research project on History Dialogues at Princeton University and co-authored an anthology entitled “The Right to Research”. He also has experience in the Development Cooperation sector, where he worked with KFW Development Bank. He has worked as a Youth Researcher on Voices of Refugee Youth, a research project exploring refugee post-primary education implemented in Rwanda and Pakistan. He is particularly interested in education for refugees, education technology, and education, climate and environment.
Catherine Gladwell
Catherine is REUK's founding Chief Executive. She has specialised in education and forced migration for the last fifteen years. She is an expert in participatory methods and child and young person-centred evaluation and research. Her evaluation and research work at Jigsaw is complemented by her ongoing work as Director of Refugee Education UK, the London-based refugee youth education NGO she founded in 2009. Catherine’s involvement with the Voices of Refugee Youth project focuses on developing the research methods training and accreditation, and she co-facilitates the training of Youth Researchers in Rwanda.
David Hollow
David is a founder and Director of Jigsaw. He has completed complex research studies and evaluations in over twenty countries with a variety of donors, governments, INGOs and community-based organisations. He is committed to helping organisations utilise the power of research and evaluation to enhance development outcomes. David holds a PhD (2010) in development geography from the University of London. His doctoral research focused on evaluating the impact of ICT on education in sub-Saharan Africa. David brings his technical expertise to the Voices of Refugee Youth project alongside the Jigsaw team and co-facilitates training of Youth Researchers in Pakistan.
Divya Jose
Divya is the Youth Advocacy Manager at REUK, providing research and advocacy support on REUK’s research projects. Her research interests lie in forced migration, women and children in conflict and restorative justice. Before joining REUK, she worked in research and advocacy at an anti-human trafficking organisation, working with the government to strengthen the policy response against human trafficking in India. She specialises in qualitative research practices and social policy, and has conducted research on victim-centric criminal justice reforms and contributed to a comprehensive legislation against trafficking in persons in India. She holds a masters degree in PUblic Policy and Governance from Tata Institute of SOcial Sciences and a postgraduate diploma in International Humanitarian Law from NALSAR University of Law.
Alison Joyner
Alison is a Research Adviser with Jigsaw. She is a highly experienced teacher, trainer, manager and researcher, including 12 years living and working in Africa and Asia. Deeply committed to supporting teachers in their critical role in facilitating learning and wellbeing, she has particular expertise in Education in Emergencies integrated with Child Protection. Alison is skilled in robust data collection and use from school-level upwards, ensuring the connections between monitoring, evaluation, research and learning. Her doctoral research (EdD, 2021, University College London Institute of Education) was conducted with teachers in a rural primary school in Kenya, focusing on the interaction between social and emotional skills and academic learning. Alison is fluent in English, French and Spanish.
Abdoulkadir Bello Mamadou
Bello is the GERE Research Adviser in Chad. He is a passionate refugee youth leader and Capacity Building Coordinator at TRSN. With experience spanning multiple countries, he has led advocacy, training, and empowerment initiatives for refugee students. A facilitator and mentor, he has collaborated with UNHCR, UNICEF, and ILO, supporting youth development, digital inclusion, and education. His work continues to uplift refugee communities across Africa through leadership, resilience, and strategic engagement.
Kara Melville-Bain
Kara is a specialist Operations Manager with over 15 years’ experience across a variety of sectors. She leads Jigsaw’s operations work streams with particular responsibility for finance and personnel. She uses her extensive experience to support the team in the systematisation of processes and procedures to improve performance, productivity and efficiency. In addition to this, she provides administrative support on client projects.
Julia Pacitto
Julia is a Research Manager with Jigsaw. She has extensive experience conducting applied, academic and policy-focused research on topics related to refugee education and education for marginalised learners, as well as wider issues in forced migration. She holds a DPhil in International Development and an MSc in Forced Migration and Refugee Studies from the University of Oxford. Julia specialises in qualitative research and since joining Jigsaw has led on both qualitative and mixed methods research and evaluation projects focused on refugees’ and girls’ education.
Hiruy Teka
Hiruy is a Research Adviser with Jigsaw, specialising in helping organisations to define and operationalise their strategies to deliver improved educational outcomes in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs). Prior to joining Jigsaw, Hiruy worked for a wide variety of INGOs designing and delivering education programmes across Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean. Hiruy has an MSc in Violence, Conflict and Development from SOAS, University of London (2011).
Matt Thomas
Matt is a Founder and Director of Jigsaw. He is an experienced project manager, strategist and evaluator, and has implemented projects and undertaken research and evaluation in over 25 countries. He is committed to helping organisations use evidence to bring about lasting change in education, and his strategic planning expertise and experience of change management enables him to provide direction to organisations at key moments of transition and development.
Noor Ullah
Noor Ullah is a Research Assistant at Jigsaw, where he has co-authored and contributed to various research papers and journal articles. His research interests revolve around data analysis, evidence-building in refugee education, and the effective use of technology in educational contexts. Before joining Jigsaw, Noor Ullah has worked on various IT and education projects, particularly focusing on empowering refugee students through different platforms. He holds a Master's degree in Data Science from the Institute of Management Science in Pakistan.
Joyce Wanican Drileba
Joyce is the GERE Research Adviser in Uganda. She has extensive experience implementing large-scale education programs in diverse settings. Previously, she served as Senior Education Advisor for USAID Uganda and has held multiple senior leadership roles, including Executive Director of the AfriChild Research Center at Makerere University, Kampala. She holds an MA in Education, Policy, Planning and Management, as well as an MA in Development Studies.
Iona Wotton
Iona is Researcher with Jigsaw. She has a background in technical support and programme delivery. Her experience blends technical support to education programmes in Uganda and Zambia with coordination of research and advocacy initiatives at a regional and global level. Her experience is backed by a first-class Master’s degree in Education and International Development from UCL, specialising in gender-responsive programming and planning for education in emergencies. Iona is an experienced teacher in low-resource contexts, and is particularly interested in teacher professional development, pedagogy, curriculum design, and education for social and environmental justice. Across her roles, she’s worked collaboratively to advance priority areas including gender equity and refugee protection.
Rozina Zazai
Rozina is a Research Assistant at Jigsaw. She holds a degree in Computer Science from IMSciences, Pakistan, supported by a DAFI scholarship. She also completed the one year online MIT ReACT program from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. Born and raised in Pakistan, Rozina is an Afghan refugee and has raised the voices of refugee youth during her work with Jigsaw as a Youth Researcher. This work included spending two years conducting surveys and interviews with Afghan refugees and submitting data for analysis. Rozina has been voluntarily tutoring K-12 students in STEM and other subjects since 2015. She is fluent in English, Urdu and Pashto with a basic understanding of Dari. She is particularly interested in refugee education, education technology in LMICs and the cause of climate change over education.
