Kaltrina Kusari is a PhD Candidate at Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary. Originally from Kosova, she has lived in the US and Canada for the last 17 years. Growing up in a post-war Kosova has impacted her academic career and research interest. Currently, her research focuses on the experiences of return migrant women to Kosova. In addition, she has conducted research focusing on refugees, immigrants with disabilities, and homeless populations. She has also practiced within the disability field in Calgary and served as a field instructor for social work practicum students.
Research interests
Migration and Refugees
Social Work
Disability
Field Education
Gender
Anti-Black Racism
Educational credentials
Bachelor of Arts and Sciences - Quest University Canada
Master of Social Work - University of Calgary
PhD in Social Work - University of Calgary (present)
Professional affiliations
Registered with the Alberta College of Social Workers
Kusari, K. & Walsh C. A. (2021). Challenging repatriation as a durable solution: A critical
discourse analysis of Kosova’s repatriation strategy. Southeast European and Black Sea Studies. Published Online. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2020.1871551
Kusari, K. (2020). Helping professionals in a transnational context: A framework of practice
with forced returnees. The Journal of Constructive Psychology. Online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10720537.2019.1700857
Kusari, K. (2020). The in-betweenness of emerging newcomer scholars. Emerging
Perspectives: Interdisciplinary Graduate Research in Psychology and Education, 4(1), 25 – 28. Online publication. https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/ep/article/view/68507
Kusari, K. & Walsh. C. A. (2019). Rejected Asylum Seekers from Kosova: A Social Work
Critique of Repatriation as a Durable Solution. The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Global Studies, 14(2), 41-53. https://doi.org/10.18848/2324-755X/CGP/v14i02/41-53
Kusari, K., El-Lahib, Y., Spagnuolo, N. (2019). Critical reflections on the process of developing
a resource manual for service providers working with immigrants & refugees with disabilities. Canadian Journal of Disability Studies, 8(5), 98-119. Online publication. https://cjds.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/cjds/article/view/567
Kusari, K. (2019). “Knocking on Doors that Never Open”: An examination of the experiences of
rejected asylum seekers from Kosova. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. Online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2019.1575191
Kusari, K. (2018). Intersectionality in Post-war Development: Focus on Kosovo. The Activism of
Intersectionality in Social Work (Eds. R. Robbins & S. Nayak). London, UK: Routledge.
Kaltrina currently holds the Izaak Walton Killam Doctoral Scholarship and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Doctoral Fellowship.