Maria Voss

Office: NH 124 | Email: [email protected]

Maria Voss is a lecturer in the International Security and Conflict Resolution (ISCOR) program at San Diego State University and a visiting assistant professor in the Political Science Department at Point Loma Nazarene University. She also serves as the program coordinator for the local NGO Kupanda Kids, where she oversees program development, implementation, and community partnerships for refugee families in San Diego. Her research and teaching interests include transnational women's movements and how gender interacts with global systems, as well as social movements, human rights, and human security. She has conducted international fieldwork, including a research internship canvassing the U.S.-Mexico border region to document human rights violations for the American Friends Service Committee. Other international experience includes a U.S. State Department Critical Language Scholarship for intensive Arabic study in Amman, Jordan, and a Boren Award for Arabic study and research in Morocco.

She has worked on human rights and community engagement issues for NGOs in the U.S. and Mexico. As a research intern for the American Friends Service Committee, she gathered qualitative data, drafted immigration appeals, and contributed research to the NGO's annual report on the impact of immigration enforcement on children. She has also served as lead research assistant for Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS), a nonprofit focused on engendering peace processes in Africa.

She earned a B.A. in international security and conflict resolution with a minor in Arabic and Islamic studies, an advanced certificate in global politics, and an M.A. in political science from San Diego State University. For her exceptional academic performance and research contributions, she received the Outstanding Graduate Student award in May 2024.