Afshan Paarlberg
Thematic Research Area
Group
Education
Ph.D. Candidate, Indiana University, current J.D., University of Houston Law Center, 2008 B.B.A., University of Texas at Austin, 2005 B.A., University of Texas at Austin, 2005
About
Afshan Paarlberg is an interdisciplinary researcher and lawyer who engages in policy-driven work on philanthropy, migrants, law, and society. She has been awarded a 2024-2025 Fulbright Canada Student Research Award from Indiana University to the University of British Columbia to compare Canadian and U.S. nonprofit responses to asylum seekers. She recently completed a Global Philanthropy Fellowship, and she serves as Project Director of the Global Philanthropy Environment Index, overseeing the mapping of philanthropy in over 90 countries and economies. She also provides general counsel at Saeed and Little, advising nonprofits on compliance, cross-border operations, and advocacy.
She previously helped incubate a nonprofit governance-risk-compliance project at Indiana University and served as immigration counsel to people seeking legal status in the United States. A Ph.D. candidate at Indiana University, her dissertation explores the role of nonprofits in improving legal access for asylum seekers across legal deserts. Afshan has published in Nonprofit Policy Forum and VOLUNTAS and has presented at conferences worldwide. She serves on several nonprofit boards and is committed to social justice and access to justice efforts.
Research
Philanthropy, law, policy, and society migrants and asylum seekers nonprofits
Publications
Paarlberg, A. (2024). Burden shifting to U.S. nonprofits: Supporting access to asylum when legal protection frameworks fail. Accepted, Nonprofit Policy Forum
Paarlberg, A., Hawash, R., & Sriram, S. (2024). Voiceless and stateless Rohingya refugees: Competing expectations among NGOs in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 35(3), 439-450.
Paarlberg, A. (2023). Migrant-serving organizations: Supporting U.S. migrants with safe digital access. Migration Letters, 20(3), 465-475.
Paarlberg, A., Osili, U., Han, X., Bergdoll, J., Buller, M., Vos, Hannah, Kalugyer, A., Gardner, L., Daniels, D., & Heilman, M. (2023). Latinx philanthropy: Understanding generosity trends across Latinx communities in the U.S. Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
Chen, W., Paarlberg, A., Osili, U. Han, X., Thapa, S., Bhetaria, S.K., Daniels, D., Gardner, L., Kalugyer, A.D., & Buller, M. (2023). The giving environment: Giving trends by race and ethnicity. Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
Paarlberg, A., Osili, U., Bergdall, J., Kou, X., Houston, P., and Kalugyer, A. (2021). Understanding philanthropy in times of crisis: The role of giving back during COVID-19. Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
Awards
- Fulbright Research Award, U.S. Student Program, Institute of International Education (2024)
- Outstanding Philanthropist, Nominee, American Muslim Community Foundation (2023)
- Mission Possible, 1st Place, Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy (2020)
- Honorable Judge David Shaheed Access to Justice Award, Muslim Alliance of Indiana (2015)