Researchers – Migration
Carlos Gómez del Tronco
EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy, Czechia – Linkedin
Carlos Gómez del Tronco holds a PhD in political sociology from the University College London School of Slavonic and East European Studies (UCL SSEES), and an MA in International Relations and European Studies from Metropolitan University Prague. During his time at UCL SSES, he was a teaching assistant on political sociology and a predoctoral research fellow on a project on the rise of illiberalism and populism in Central and Eastern Europe. He has also worked for NGOs as a research assistant on migrants’ rights, as a project management assistant and as a pro-bono evaluation consultant. His research interests include international migration to/in the EU and its politicisation, populism, the social psychology of intergroup relations and discourse studies.
Cătălina Meirosu
Romanian Center for European Policies, Romania – Linkedin
Cătălina is actively engaged in CRPE projects in areas such as youth, civic participation, and social policies/inclusion of vulnerable groups. She advocates for the necessity of community engagement, promoting active participation and support to improve conditions both at the national and European levels. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Sciences and a MA degree in Diplomacy in International Economy within Faculty of International Business and Economics, Bucharest University of Economic Studies. She is currently pursuing a PhD in media&migration, analysing how media and political narratives influence public attitudes towards migration.
Isaac Pozo
Fundación Alternativas, Spain – Linkedin
Isaac Pozo Ortego is the director of projects at Fundación Alternativas, specialised in European Union Projects. He is an expert in sustainability management, with a specialisation in public affairs consultancy. He has worked for the European Commission and for the National Research Council in Spain.
Sarah Kruusmaa
Institute for Baltic Studies’, Estonia – Linkedin
Sarah Kruusmaa is an analyst and Project Manager at the Institute of Baltic Studies (IBS). Sarah has been working at the Institute of Baltic Studies since 2024, focusing on integration, security, and crisis preparedness. She has a diverse background in research, teaching, journalism, and international relations and has lived and worked in four different countries, including Kazakhstan and Georgia. Sarah studied history at Tallinn University and international security at Sciences Po. Her research interests include the history of former Soviet states and the impact of domestic political challenges on their foreign policy ambitions.
Kristiina Toomik
Institute for Baltic Studies’, Estonia – Linkedin
Kristiina Toomik is an Analyst and Project Manager at the Institute of Baltic Studies since 2021 when she completed her bachelor’s internship at IBS. As an analyst, she has contributed to research on migration, integration, and security. Kristiina holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies at the University of Tartu and a master’s degree in internal security at the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences. In her thesis, she examined the securitization of Ukrainian war refugees in Estonia’s alternative media.
Shana Cohen
Think tank for Action on Social Change (TASC), Ireland – Linkedin
Dr Shana Cohen is Executive Director of TASC (Think-tank for Action on Social Change). She is also an Affiliate Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of Cambridge. Her research and publications focus on inequality, economic policy, civil society, social action, and democracy, with extensive experience in community engagement and policy development. Before joining TASC, she was Deputy Director of the Woolf Institute, where she worked on interfaith and intercultural relations across Europe, India, and the Middle East. She has also collaborated with NGOs, community organisations, and international institutions in the US, Morocco, the UK, Ireland, and India.
Jessica Usov
STEM, Czechia
Jessica is an analyst at the STEM Institute for Empirical Research. Within the BUILD FAIR project, she works as a migration researcher. Her research interests include migration and citizenship policies, migrant integration, and public attitudes and perceptions of migrants. She is also interested in the broader social and political processes that shape migrants’ position within society. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Public Policy and a Master’s degree in Public and Social Policy, both from the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University.
Alyssa Ungureanu
Romanian Center for European Policies, Romania – Linkedin
Alyssa Ungurenau is currently working on migration policies as part of the BUILD FAIR project and is a Junior Researcher at CRPE. Studying Economics and Sociology at Sciences Po Paris, with an interest in public policy, sustainable and equitable development, human rights, and equal opportunities.