The APSA Diversity Fellows Program (DFP) is a fellowship competition for individuals from underrepresented backgrounds applying to or in the early stages of doctoral programs in political science. The DFP was established in 1969 (originally as the Black Graduate Fellowship) to increase the number of minority scholars in the discipline. Since its inception, the APSA DFP has designated more than 600 fellows and contributed to the successful completion of doctoral political science programs for over 100 individuals.
Natalie W. Romeri-Lewis is a PhD student at The Ohio State University where she researches the intersection of human rights, law, institutional design, and international organizations. She approaches conflict and transitional justice with a cross-cutting focus on women and ethnic and racial minorities. Her current project examines how post-conflict and post-authoritarian countries investigate and document human rights abuses and who crafts which kinds of remedies, historical memory, truth claims, and narratives. In addition to analyzing domestic violence laws, Natalie examines knowledge production and feminist security studies. From 2021-2022, she will support a peace-reconciliation-development project in Colombia through the Mershon Center for Security Studies. Following graduation, Natalie plans to become a tenured professor and lead research labs on women and justice-related remedies.
After co-founding a non-profit, Natalie worked as a lawyer, international consultant, and senior project associate at the WomanStats Project. For seven years, she designed and taught courses on international development, human rights, and the women-peace-security movement at Brigham Young University. As part of UNICEF and Department of Defense research grants, Natalie trained others to collect and analyze data on the status and human rights of women and children. She has a BA, MSc in applied international development), JD, and certificates in mediation and humanitarian emergencies.