Dr. Nishin Nathwani is the Head of Strategy at Rainbow Railroad and a member of the Leadership Team. In this capacity, he leads strategic coordination of the organization’s research, advocacy, protection, monitoring and evaluation, and policy work. From 2021 to 2024, Nishin served as the Senior Advisor to Rainbow Railroad, advising on policy, strategy, and relations with the United Nations and governmental bodies.
Previously, Nishin worked for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Switzerland, Lebanon, and Greece on the protection of gender-based violence survivors and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) refugees. In 2015, he spearheaded UNHCR’s first global project to evaluate its efforts to protect LGBTI refugees covering 106 operations worldwide. In 2022, Nishin served as the Lead Technical Expert on a six-country study commissioned by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on mapping and strengthening protection measures for LGBTI migrants. His writings on refugee protection have been published by UNHCR, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Columbia University Press, and International Peace Institute.
Nishin holds graduate degrees from Yale University in Political Science (Ph.D. with distinction; M.Phil.) and History (M.A.), as well as an undergraduate degree (B.A.) from Harvard University. He also holds a Graduate Certificate in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Yale University. His academic research focuses on international refugee law, territorial sovereignty, forced displacement, and their intersection with ecology, climate change studies, and Indigenous studies.
Nishin Nathwani was recognized as a “Global Changemaker” by the British Council and was one of the six youngest delegates to the 2010 World Economic Forum in Davos. He was also recognized by Pacific Standard as one of the 2016 “Top 30 Thinkers Under 30” in the United States in economics, education, and political science. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Dignity Network Canada.
