Accounting for the Whole Story: Kim Wilson uses accounts, both personal and financial, to decode the complexity of migrants’ journeys

Kim Wilson knows her way around international business. She has consulted to companies, foundations, and organizations such as the UN, the World Bank, and many international NGOs. At the Henry J. Leir Institute for Migration and Human Security, Wilson draws upon her experience to investigate the financial journeys of refugees and migrants.

“I was drawn to migration because there didn’t seem to be anybody focusing on the financial piece and how people fund their journeys. Some groups of people finance their journeys in unique ways, and no one was writing about that. That’s when Karen Jacobsen said, ‘I think you should bring some of your business skills to this area.’ Then, I never looked back. I was interested in the financial, social and emotional stories which interview subjects—migrants and refugees—described so vividly.”