Lisa Richlen, originally from Seattle, moved to Vancouver in 2021 following 21 years in Israel. From 2004-2021, she worked as an employee of and a consultant for tens of social change and human rights organizations. In 2021, Richlen completed a PhD at Ben Gurion University of the Negev in the Department of Politics and Government focusing on community organizing amongst Sudanese Darfurian asylum seekers in Israel. She subsequently completed a post-doc and is currently is a research fellow in that same department. Richlen has taught at UBC and other post-secondary institutions in the Lower Mainland; in addition to being faculty at Langara College, she is currently Lead Instructor in the Centre for Conflict Resolution at the Justice Institute of British Columbia. Richlen is also actively involved in private sponsorship of refugees to Canada.

Dr. Richlen’s publications include: The Constructive Influence of the Homeland in Refugee Organizing: Darfurian Asylum Seekers in Israel published in the Journal for Refugee studies, Imported Conflict? Regime Change in Sudan as a Trigger for Unity Amongst Sudanese in Israel published in the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Liminality as an Antidote? Ethnic Organizing Amongst Darfurian Asylum Seekers in Israel published in the Journal of Ethnic and Racial Studies and Representation, Trust and Ethnicity Within Refugee Communities: The Case of Darfurians in Israel published in the Community Development Journal. She is also co-author in a number of additional peer-reviewed publications and has served as an ad-hoc reviewer for peer reviewed journal articles, academic books and grant proposals.