Our People
Refugees International’s team of extraordinary individuals around the world work to advance the rights and safety of people seeking refuge.
Our Staff
Our Board
Board Officers
Jeffrey Tindell, Co-Chair
Maureen White, Co-Chair
Darya Nasr, Vice Chair
Sophal Ear, Secretary
Amb. L. Craig Johnstone, Treasurer
Board Members
Joy Lian Alferness
Sophal Ear
Anne-Marie Grey
Amb. L. Craig Johnstone
Elena Kvochko
Erika Lee
Joanne Leedom-Ackerman
Tom Malinowski
Kati Marton
Darya Nasr
Michele Balfour Nathoo
H.M. Queen Noor
Augustin Ntabaganyimana
Elizabeth Stern
Jeffrey Tindell
Ai Weiwei
Maureen White
Former Presidents
Kenneth H. Bacon, President 2001-2009
Michel Gabaudan, President 2010-2017
Eric P. Schwartz, President 2017-2022
Lionel A. Rosenblatt, President Emeritus
Founder
Sue Morton
Directors Emeriti
Farooq Kathwari, Chair Emeritus
Eileen Shields-West, Chair Emeritus
Natacha Weiss, Chair Emeritus
Sarah Hogate Bacon
Dr. James Cobey
Matt Dillon
Charlene Engelhard
Mary Louise Fazzano
Elizabeth Galvin
Marianne Gimon
Tom Getman
Susan Goodwillie Stedman
Alan G. Hassenfeld
Michael Hawkins
Robert Trent Jones, Jr.
Amb. Betty King
Lady Malloch-Brown
Tatiana Maxwell
Judy Mayotte
Constance Milstein
Charles Monat
Sue Morton
Sally Paridis
Peta Roubin
Tom Sadoski
Sandra Sennett Tully
George Soros
Sam Waterston
Jan Weil
Amb. Frank Wisner
Washington Circle Chair
Mariella Trager
Our Advisory Council
J. Brian Atwood
Senior Fellow for International Studies and Public Affairs, Thomas Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University
Former Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development
Former Under Secretary of State for Management, U.S. Department of State
Daniel Benjamin
Ambassador-at-Large and Coordinator of Counterterrorism, U.S. Department of State
Director, The John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding, Dartmouth College
Chris Beyrer MD, MPH
Desmond M. Tutu Professor in Public Health and Human Rights, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Radhika Coomaraswamy
Former UN Under-Secretary General and Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict
Ryan Crocker
Diplomat in Residence, Princeton University
Senior Fellow, Yale University
Former U.S. Ambassador to Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Kuwait, and Lebanon
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Arthur “Gene” Dewey
Former Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, U.S. Department of State
Former UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees
Erika Feller
Professional Fellow, Melbourne University School of Government
Former UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees
Victoria K. Holt
Distinguished Fellow, Henry L. Stimson Center
Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Security, Bureau of International Organization Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Abdi Iftin
Author, Call Me American
Tun Khin
President, Burmese Rohingya Organization UK
Lucy Kiama
Country Director, HIAS Refugee Trust of Kenya
David J. Kramer
Senior Fellow, Vaclav Havel Program on Human Rights & Diplomacy, Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs, Florida International University
Former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State
Mark Lagon
Chief Policy Officer, Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
Former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large and Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, U.S. Department of State
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Andrea Lari
Senior Protection Adviser, The ProCap Project
Former Director of Programs, Refugees International
Mark Malloch-Brown
Former Administrator, UNDP
Former UN Deputy Secretary General
Kati Marton
Author, journalist, and human rights advocate
Former Chief Advocate, Office of Special Representatives for Children and Armed Conflict, United Nations
Elisa Massimino
Visiting Professor of Law and Executive Director, Human Rights Institute, Georgetown University Law Center
Senior Fellow, National Security and International Policy, Center for American Progress
Former President and CEO, Human Rights First
Juan Mendez
Professor of Human Rights Law in Residence and Faulty Director, Anti-Torture Initiative, American University
Former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
William L. Nash
Major General, U.S. Army (retired)
Tara Nathan
Executive Vice President, Digital Solutions for Development, Mastercard
Augustin Ntabaganyimana
Deputy Executive Director, Maryland Department of Human Services
Former State Refugee Coordinator for Maryland
Thomas Pickering
Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia, India, Israel, Nigeria, Jordan, and El Salvador, and the United Nations
Former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Anne C. Richard
Adjunct Professor, Institute for the Study of Migration, Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
Former Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, U.S. Department of State
Hiram Ruiz
Former Director of Refugee Services for the State of Florida
Hala Al-Saraf
Executive Director, Iraq Health Access Organization
Paul Spiegel
Director, Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health, Johns Hopkins University
Professor, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Shibley Telhami
Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development and Director of the Critical Issues Poll, University of Maryland
Joan Timoney
Senior Director of Advocacy and External Relations, Women’s Refugee Commission
Maureen White
Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies
David Whippman
President, Hamilton College
Featured Image: Refugees International’s Yael Schacher interviews the shelter director of Casa de la Esperanza in Sasabe, Sonora.
Take Action
Let Asylum Seekers Work
When asylum seekers work, our communities don’t just grow—they flourish. Tell your member of Congress to support the bi-partisan House Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act (H.R. 1325) today.