I am a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rights at the University of Notre Dame for the 2026-2027 academic year. My research focuses on how migrants and refugees are able to gain equitable access to resources when they settle in host communities, especially in the age of growing natural resource scarcity. I am particularly interested in how local community institutions can help integrate migrants into host communities. I examine how these institutions increase interaction between migrants and hosts, and foster economically productive cooperation. My dissertation project focuses on farmer groups in Uganda that bring refugees and host communities together. My work has been supported by the United States Institute of Peace, American Political Science Association and Rackham Graduate School. I received my Ph.D. from the Political Science department at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. I am on the 2026-2027 academic job market. You can contact me at rwai[at]nd.edu.