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Katharina Obser

As Program Specialist in Washington, D.C. office, Katharina Obser supports the Women's Refugee Commission’s research and advocacy efforts and its Detention and Asylum program. Prior to joining the Women’s Refugee Commission, Katharina was as a research assistant with the Forced Migration Studies Programme based in Johannesburg, South Africa, conducting field research at the Mozambican border and contributing to a report on the rights and protection of migrant children in border areas. She has also worked as a Program Associate/Legal Assistant in Human Rights First’s Refugee Protection Program where she interviewed asylum-seekers needing protection in the U.S., coordinated the D.C. pro bono legal representation program, and supported the program’s advocacy work on detention and bars to asylum.

Katharina holds a B.A. in Political Science and French from the University of Michigan and holds an M.A. in Forced Migration Studies from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. Originally from Germany, she is fluent in German and also speaks French.