Gigi A. Visbal

Gigi is a researcher on the Pedagogy of Play project at Project Zero. Her research focuses on the why, when, what and how different groups develop coping skills to navigate vulnerable settings. Gigi is also a fellow at the Immigration Initiative at Harvard (IIH). Recently, she conducted research with the government of Colombia, looking at Venezuelan migrants and their educational and labor insertion patterns in the Caribbean region. As part of her graduate work, Gigi was awarded the director’s award for her thesis on the prevalence of domestic work as one of the main sources of income for women at home and as migrants. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science with minor studies in Economics, Law, and History from Concordia University, Montreal Canada, and two masters from Harvard University, the latest in Special Studies from the Harvard School of Education where she took a multidisciplinary approach to study education and vulnerable populations. Before coming to Harvard, Gigi worked for the Canadian Government and at a number International Organizations. Gigi is also interested on integrating research on governmental policy, research methods and field work techniques.