Welcome!
I am a research specialist with more than 10 years of experience working internationally on issues of transitional justice, atrocity prevention, and human security. I hold a Ph.D. from the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark University, and a M.A. in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University. My dissertation focuses on memory and justice in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. I have led research and policy teams in Rwanda, DRC, Ghana, and Uganda, with organizations including the Kigali Genocide Memorial, Search for Common Ground, Inclusive Security, and the American University of Iraq, Sulimani. I am passionate about social justice issues, including gender justice and WPS, emerging issues on the African continent, language, culture, and diplomacy.
My research focuses on access to justice in post-conflict settings, with specific knowledge and experience working in Rwanda and the Great Lakes Region of Africa. This journey began as a Fulbright scholar to Switzerland in 2011-2012, where I researched the clandestine rescue of Jewish children to Switzerland during WWII, to escape Nazi persecution. Conducting oral history testimonies with 70 survivors of the Holocaust showed me what is possible when asking questions of past history and memory.
I was then offered a position in Rwanda, where I supported the Genocide Archive of Rwanda, Kigali Genocide Memorial, Aegis Trust, in documentation and preservation. In Rwanda I discovered incredible stories of resilience, honest stories about the atrocities that occurred during the 1994 genocide, and how traditional justice mechanisms are still trying to bring the country back together. Therefore, my research focuses on memorial sites, spaces, and processes after genocide, exploring meaning-making via remembrance practices. Through the interviews and conversations I conduct, a common theme arises: feeling a sense of justice is highly personal. I’ve been fortunate to researcher and identify cross-cutting themes which can translate the perspectives and needs of individuals and communities to government and decision-makers.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, thoughts, or suggestions! Thank you for visiting my site!
Samantha Lakin, Ph.D. 
Hi Samantha ! My name is Luc, living in Lausanne, Switzerland. My grandfather on whom I made a 10-year investigation, has saved and rescued a Jewish family in Southern France and. besides, was involved in a network of pastors and priests savin Jewish children in France. This inheritance connected me to the Shoah, and me work and share about the subject in lectures etc… I would like to know about the Institut Asher in Bex, Switzerland: do you have any documents or sumary I could read ? THKS, Luc
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