Nicole Tumaine is passionate about international development issues, especially refugee affairs and international law. She holds a B.Soc. in International Development, with a minor in Life Sciences, from the University of Ottawa. As of September 2018, Nicole will be pursuing a joint JD and MA at the University of Ottawa and the Norman Patterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA) at Carleton University, with a concentration in Conflict Analysis and Conflict Resolution. Using her experiences from living as a refugee in Uganda for six years, Nicole conducts Open AIR’s research into refugee innovation in African nations. Her specific interests are in investigating how refugees leverage their entrepreneurial and innovative characteristics to create community-owned, sustainable solutions to the intersectional issues they face.

Prior to her current roles as Interim Program Manager and Research Fellow with Open AIR, Nicole worked with several grassroots organizations. During her undergraduate, Nicole founded the University of Ottawa chapter of the Nyantende Foundation, a grassroots organization empowering youth in the Democratic Republic of Congo through education. While at the University of Ottawa, she served as the Chapter President for three years and now serves as a Program Officer to the organization. She also has experience working for the United Nations Association in Canada as well as with organizations and companies in both the charity sector and the private sector.