Dr. Yilmaz has served as the Research Coordinator for the Centre for Human Rights and Restorative Justice (CHRRJ) since 2019 and for the Centre for Global Peace, Justice and Health (CGPJH) since 2025. She also holds the position of Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of History at McMaster University.
HIGHLIGHTS at McMaster University (2018–present)
- Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of History since 2018
- Co-founded the Centre for Human Rights and Restorative Justice (CHRRJ) alongside the Founding Director, Dr. Bonny Ibhawoh, and co-led its establishment across all phases and levels between 2019-2021.
- Research Coordinator & Hiring Manager: Organized all aspects of conferences and events at CHRRJ. Oversaw and managed all operations at CHRRJ, including financial management, project and funding applications (especially to SSHRC), hiring process, training, supervising and orientation of RAs, social media management, website design and communication.
- Served as an administrator and collaborator on 4 successful research funding applications, securing a total of $7,540,000 in grants.
- Developed and taught the course “The Voices of Refugees and Displaced Persons.” at McMaster University
- Awarded McMaster’s International Initiatives Micro Fund Grant (IIMF) for the “The Voices of Refugees and Displaced Persons Project.”
- Appointed as McMaster's Global Ambassador by the Office of International Affairs.
International Experience (2005-present)
With approximately 20 years of international teaching experience, I have worked, lived, and conducted studies across Africa, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, and North America. Throughout my career, I have held administrative roles at every university where I taught. My most recent position was as the Director of the Institute of Languages and African Studies at Regent University in Ghana. Additionally, I have been a visiting scholar or researcher at several prestigious institutions, including the University of Selangor (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), the University of Johannesburg (South Africa), the University of Zurich (Switzerland), and the University of Birmingham (UK), where I completed my Ph.D. thesis.
Research interests: Global Human Rights, Immigration and Refugee Issues, Truth Commissions, Restorative and Transitional Justice, Generational Trauma and Genocides, Education of Youth
Teaching interests: Comparative and Contemporary Literature, Human Rights and Postcolonial Literature, African and Soviet Literature, Refugee Rights, Protection and Forced Migration
Consulting: Education of Youth, Education of Refugee Children, Education of Girls, Scholars at Risk
