Tzu Han Huang

Tzu Han Huang graduated from National Taiwan University with a Bachelor in Social Work. Prior to working as a school social worker in an alternative high school for high school dropouts, she had extensive experiences working with a grassroots human rights organization and various social welfare agencies, primarily serving children and single-parent families. Growing up as a second generation of Chinese immigrants in Taiwan since the 1949 civil war and living under the constant political tension between the two sides of the Strait, preventing the escalation of hostility and bringing about creative resolutions to the future of Taiwan are more pressing than an ideal pursuit. In addition to conflict prevention in the China-Taiwan situation, she is also interested in using sustainable development as a long-term strategy for conflict prevention. Her primary focus is on building and incorporating local capacity in development with a critical emphasis on gender mainstreaming. Her current research topic is related to the evaluation of micro-finance’s program impact on its social objectives, i.e. gender equity and social inclusion in South Asia. Area of Interest/Research: Tzu Han is conducting a participatory action research on Burmese refugees’ experiences of resettlement services in Carrboro and Chapel Hill. The project aims to empower participants to collectively define their problems, plan for and initiate community change. The findings also hope to benefit local social services providers in evaluating and enhancing their services to refugees. Internship: UNICEF, India Tzu Han conducted qualitative research on Polio Eradication Campaign in West Bengal, specifically looking at a small percentage of parents who refuse to give polio vaccine to their children and documenting the perceptions of this refusal from a broad range of sources. She interviewed villagers, community leaders, health workers and government officials to compile a report, a short documentary film and a Powerpoint presentation.