Danika Robison

Danika Robison is currently a third-semester MPA student and is specializing in conflict resolution and social justice. She calls the beautiful Green Mountains of Vermont her home and graduated from Skidmore College. She has spent much the past several years living and working in Latin America, especially in indigenous communities in highland Ecuador. Something that was particularly impactful for her was experiencing the profound pride of her host communities in their culture and history, despite continued subjection to racism, invisibilization, and assimilation, under the banner of the Western vision of “progress.” Danika later taught for The Traveling School, which further entrenched her passion for learning the stories of those that are often overlooked in our textbooks and resulting dominant narratives. As a history and global studies teacher, she learned and taught about how the layers of inequity, racism and poverty stem from conscious decisions to create exclusionary structures, accompanied by perspectives that perpetuate this injustice. In her future, she would like be involved in using educational opportunities to better recognize and address these realities. Coming to MIIS, Danika wanted to focus on gaining a greater understanding of how issues that we often speak about in relation to global challenges are manifested in our home communities. She is grateful to be in her first semester of Allies at MIIS. Danika is motivated by learning about the layers of privilege (her own and others’), and how it can effectively be leveraged to center conversations on diversity, equity and inclusion. She is looking forward to further engaging in these conversations at MIIS and in her future career. In her free time, Danika can be found seeking running, biking or ski trails, and plotting her next South American endeavor.