Vera Eccarius-Kelly is professor of Political Science & International Relations at Siena College in Albany, New York, where she also contributes as the Academic Community Engagement Scholar-in-Residence by creating collaborations with immigrant and refugee organizations. Her research focuses on Kurdish diaspora mobilization, lobbying, and cultural expressions of ethno-nationalism. Among her more recent publications are “Kurdish Lobbying and Political Activism in the United States,” in a collection she co-edited on Kurdish Autonomy and U.S. Foreign Policy (Peter Lang, 2020) and a contribution titled “‘Do I Even Exist?’ Kurdish Diaspora Artists Reflect on Imaginary Exhibits in a Kurdistan Museum” in the Art of Minorities (Edinburgh Press, 2020). Eccarius-Kelly serves as an expert witness for asylum cases in NY immigration court and she is also a regular political contributor on WAMC radio, a regional affiliate of National Public Radio (NPR).