Qiyamud Din Ikram

Qiyamud Din Ikram was a fellow in Refugees International’s inaugural refugee fellows program. He is a climate migration and youth climate advocate and has worked on World Bank and UNDP-funded projects focused on climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, climate mobility, and climate justice. Qiyamud Din Ikram is the climate change migration focal point at…

Alaa El-Gaile was a fellow in Refugees International’s inaugural refugee fellows program. She is an advocate for women’s rights and education and works as a trainer at St. Andrew’s Refugee Services, a refugee-led organization in Cairo, Egypt, with previous positions as policy and advocacy advisor and a senior teacher. She is committed to empowering refugees…

Ana María Diez is a Refugees International alumni fellow. She is the co-founder and President of Coalición por Venezuela, a coalition of Venezuelan civil society organizations, and represents Coalición por Venezuela on UNHCR’s Advisory Board of Organizations led by Displaced and Stateless People. A lawyer by training, with a master’s degree in public management, Ana…

Megan Smith is the Communications Manager at the Refugee Advocacy Lab. Previously, she has worked in outreach, programs, and communications at several non-profit organizations including the World Affairs Councils of America, Christel House International, and the Lumina Foundation. Megan holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the University of Evansville and a Master…

Sarah Sheffer is the vice president for strategic outreach at Refugees International and the communications lead at the Refugee Advocacy Lab. In her role, Sheffer oversees Refugees International’s external outreach, shaping the organization’s media, digital, brand, government relations, campaign, and audience engagement strategies. Through the Lab, she leads strategic communications research on how to effectively…

Eliza Leal is the Digital Communications Officer at Refugees International. Guided by her Latino heritage and upbringing in a mixed status household, her personal values are deeply entrenched in human rights advocacy and appreciation for storytelling practices in understanding immigrant and refugee experiences. In addition to working at Refugees International, she volunteers with migrant advocacy…

Kate Brick is the Executive Director of the Refugee Advocacy Lab and Senior Advisor to Refugees International’s Strategic Outreach team. She brings 15 years of experience working on immigration and refugee policy and advocacy internationally and in the United States. Previously, Kate held leadership roles at the Mayors Migration Council (MMC), a mayor-led advisory and…

Ellen McHugh is the chief administrative officer at Refugees International. Her career has been a blend of non-profit and academic administration and operations. At the Center for a New American Security, Georgetown University, and the Brookings Institution, Ellen managed administrative functions to be models of organizational collaboration, professional talent, cultural health, innovative technology and cybersecurity,…

Mark Wood is the program officer for Refugees International. He has extensive research and advocacy experience on peace and security efforts in Africa and the Middle East, focusing on the root causes of violence. Prior to joining Refugees International, he worked for CARITAS Internationalis at their UN office as an Advocacy Assistant and with the…

Dan Sullivan is the director for Africa, Asia, and the Middle East at Refugees International. Dan focuses on Myanmar, Sudan, South Sudan, and other areas affected by mass displacement. Prior to joining Refugees International, Dan worked for five years with United to End Genocide (formerly Save Darfur), first as a senior policy analyst then as…