FEATURED SPEAKER’S BIOGRAPHY

Melanie C. Smith is a Full-time Lecturer at the University of Belize, Faculty of Management and Social Sciences for more than a decade. At UB, Melanie lectured in Sociology and Research Methods.

Since 2020, she has been the Lead Instructor of the Certificate in Migration Management Course offered by Galen University and the International Organization for Migration. Melanie earned her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Havana, Cuba and a Masters from Duquesne University in Pennsylvania. She currently resides in Canada where she is finalizing her PhD in Sociology and specializing in Gender and Development. In Canada, Ms. Smith is a Part-time Instructor at both Dalhousie University and St. Mary’s University in the Sociology, Anthropology and International Development departments.

In Belize, Melanie also worked as a consultant in the areas of Gender, Migration, and International Development. Her research interests center on issues affecting women, particularly their position within the Belizean family and society as well as their participation in the global labor market.

Lecturer, Faculty of Management and Social Sciences University of Belize

She has carried out several important national research projects for major national and international organizations. Melanie has researched and written a large portion of the current literature on immigration and emigration in Belize. She has presented on these topics at various international conferences such as the Canadian Sociological Association and the Latin American Studies Association. In 2020, she was selected as a Research Fellow and placed at the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS). At ISAN she developed a Research Agenda for the organization as well as Knowledge Mobilization Strategy. Her current research focuses on Transnational Families. Her dissertation is on Transnational Care Strategies of Belize Migrant Women in the United States.