Refugee Leadership: Tools, Challenges, and the Path Forward
The role of local leaders, especially those with refugee backgrounds, has never been more critical in global refugee governance.
September 22, 2025
Hourie Tafech is the Director for Refugee Leadership and Partnership at Refugees International. Before joining Refugees International, Hourie was a program manager for the University Alliance for Refugee and at-Risk Migrants (UARRM). She currently serves as an advisor for the United States Refugee Advisory Board (USRAB). Before arriving in the United States, she co-founded Spark15 in Malta, the first refugee-led organization recognized by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). In 2016, she was selected as one of 40 young leaders to represent young refugees in the annual meeting of the United Nations Higher Refugee Commissioner in Geneva. In 2020, Hourie was one of six women from the United States and Canada awarded a prestigious Margaret McNamara Education Grant (MMEG). In 2021, she was also awarded an international fellowship from American Association of University Women (AAUW). She has a doctoral degree in global affairs from Rutgers University.
The role of local leaders, especially those with refugee backgrounds, has never been more critical in global refugee governance.
September 22, 2025
Donors must act quickly to fill the shortfall before 1.2 million Palestinians – including women and children – are left without critical humanitarian assistance.
July 12, 2023