Hourie Tafech

Hourie Tafech is the program manager for refugee leadership 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.