Michel Gabaudan, President   |  Read more about Michel

Solomon David, Director of Finance
Andrea Lari, Director of Program
Dara McLeod, Director of Communications
Steven Most, Director of Operations
Courtney Stamm, Director of Development

Matthew Bechtel, Database Administrator
Adelaide Belk, Events Coordinator
Michael Boyce, Press and Information Officer
Garrett Bradford, Online Outreach Associate
Michelle Brown, Senior Advocate & United Nations Representative
Dawn T. Calabia, Resident Fellow
Kristen Cordell, Advocate
Sushetha Gopallawa, Southeast Asia Fellow
Rosa Guerrero, Office Manager
Marc Hanson, Government Relations Senior Advocate
Takawira Kapikinyu, Atlas Corps Fellow
Serra Mammo, Financial Assistant
Peter Orr, Senior Advocate
Matt Pennington, Advocate
Sarnata Reynolds, Statelessness Program Manager
Fatima Schoemaker Minardi, Grant Writer
Ellie Stamatopoulos, Individual Giving Officer
Melanie Teff, Senior Advocate & European Representative
Alice Thomas, Climate Displacement Program Manager
Erin A. Weir, Senior Advocate for Protection and Security
Mark Yarnell, Advocate

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Lionel Rosenblatt, President Emeritus
Ken Bacon (1944-2009), President of Refugees International from 2001 - 2009

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FULL BIOS

SOLOMON DAVID, DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
Solomon David joined Refugees International in 1992. For the last 17 years, he has taken charge of the organization’s accounting and the administration of finance functions. In 2004, Mr. David saved RI thousands of dollars when he led the team in refinancing its office building from a high-interest 30-year mortgage to a lower interest 15-year loan. A Certified Public Accountant, Mr. David specializes in management and tax consulting for small businesses and non-profit organizations. He joined RI with many years of experience as an accountant and comptroller for a publishing house, employment services, and non-profit entities. Mr. David holds a Master’s degree in Commerce with an emphasis in Advanced Cost-Accounting and Management from the University of Poona. He holds undergraduate degrees in Accounting and Economics, and a minor in Religious Philosophy, from Spicer Memorial College in Poona, India.

ANDREA LARI, DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS
Andrea Lari joined Refugees International in 2004 and currently manages the organization’s advocacy work on geographical priority areas. He has conducted missions to countries in the Great Lakes of Africa, Eastern and Southern Africa, Middle East, in Colombia and the Andean Region. On these missions, he has focused on protection and humanitarian responses to recently displaced people, and the return and reintegration of refugees and internally displaced people. Before joining RI, Mr. Lari was a researcher for Human Rights Watch where he focused on Angola and forced displacement.  His career in humanitarian work began when he volunteered with Jesuit Refugee Service in Angola.  He then served as their Country Director for Angola from 1998 to 2000 and conducted humanitarian needs assessments in Pakistan and Afghanistan in early 2002. Mr. Lari grew up in Italy and began volunteering for projects assisting refugees in Croatia and Albania early in his career.  He has a Master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Bologna, where he wrote a field-based final thesis entitled, “Human Rights Protection of Guatemalan Refugees in Southern Mexico,” and has completed the International Summer School at the Refugee Studies Program in Oxford.  Mr. Lari’s native language is Italian, and he is also fluent in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

DARA MCLEOD, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
Dara McLeod joined Refugees International in 2011 and oversees the organization’s communications department. The department strengthens the organization’s profile in the media, ensures a strong online presence through its web site, and produces high quality publications. Prior to joining RI, Ms McLeod spent six years as a producer with “As It Happens” - the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s (CBC) flagship radio news and current affairs program. She came to the CBC from London, England, where she worked for three years as a producer with the BBC World Service. During her career as a journalist, Ms McLeod worked for broadcasters in England, the United States and Canada - including NPR, PRI, and Associated Press Television. Ms McLeod has a Masters in International Journalism from City University in London, England, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

STEVEN MOST, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Steven Most joined Refugees International in July 2010. His professional experience includes administration, budgets, contract writing, donor relations, finance, grant management, human resources, project management, and proposal writing for NGOs, government, international organizations, and the UN. Many of these experiences were gained while providing humanitarian assistance to crises involving displaced persons. Mr. Most's education is in business administration and international economics.

COURTNEY STAMM, DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
Courtney Stamm joined Refugees International as Deputy Director of Development in June 2011 to expand RI's donor base across all sources, including RI’s corporate portfolio, as well as individual and foundation donors at the $100,000 level and above. Having spent the first years of her career in the newsroom at Nightline with Ted Koppel, Ms. Stamm subsequently managed the Robert F. Kennedy Book and Journalism Awards while also fundraising for the RFK Center for Human Rights. Ms. Stamm spent four years with Food & Friends – a national leader in the provision of meals and nutrition services to people living with life-challenging illnesses – where she was responsible for raising 25% of the organization’s $8M annual budget. Committed to contributing to an organization with an international mandate, Ms. Stamm received a USAID Volunteers for Prosperity grant in 2009 through which she volunteered for three months with both hospitalized children and university students in Morocco. She holds a BA in History from the University of Michigan.

 

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MATTHEW BECHTEL, DATABASE ADMINISTRATOR
Matthew Bechtel joined Refugees International in September of 2010. As RI’s Database Administrator, he processes, cleans, and analyzes donation data to inform future campaigns, improve the general development strategy, and provide timely service to RI’s donors. Before coming to RI, Matthew served for a year in the Americorps VISTA program at the Crispus Attucks Association of York, PA as the Community Outreach Coordinator. Mr. Bechtel holds a B.A. in Anthropology and Religion from Gettysburg College.

ADELAIDE BELK, EVENTS COORDINATOR
Adelaide Belk joined Refugees International as a Development Assistant in May 2011. Adelaide works with the development department on fundraising efforts and coordinating RI’s fundraising events throughout the year. Prior to joining RI, Adelaide completed a nine month assignment in Thika, Kenya for Action for Children in Conflict as a Sponsorship Coordinator. She also has experience with the William J. Clinton Foundation, the Foundation for Tomorrow, and the Amani Children’s Foundation. Her interests in international development led her to work at organizations in Kisumu and Nairobi, Kenya and Arusha, Tanzania. Adelaide holds a Bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Virginia.

MICHAEL BOYCE, PRESS AND INFORMATION OFFICER
Michael Boyce joined Refugees International in October 2011. As press and information officer, he is responsible for strengthening the organization's media presence across multiple platforms. Prior to joining RI, Mr. Boyce worked as a copy editor and staff writer at the Jakarta Globe, Indonesia's leading English-language daily. He has also completed internships with the International Crisis Group and the U.S. Department of State, for which he served at the American Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Mr. Boyce holds a Master's degree in Global Governance & Diplomacy from the University of Oxford and a Bachelor's degree from Brown University.

GARRETT BRADFORD, ONLINE OUTREACH ASSOCIATE
Garrett Bradford joined Refugees International in January 2011 and is responsible for online outreach and fundraising strategies. Prior to coming to RI, Mr. Bradford coordinated social media and online activities at EMBARQ, The World Resources Institute Center for Sustainable Transport, and was a regular contributor to the organization’s blog, TheCityFix.com. He also served for over two years in Chile and Brazil as the communications and media coordinator for multiple local churches. Mr. Bradford holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Texas A&M University and speaks Spanish and Portuguese.

MICHELLE BROWN, SENIOR ADVOCATE & UNITED NATIONS REPRESENTATIVE
Michelle Brown joined Refugees International in 2000 and currently represents the organization at the United Nations. She has conducted field assessments in the Horn of Africa, West Africa, Latin America and South Asia. On her more than 20 missions in the past six years, Ms. Brown has focused her advocacy on issues such as protection of internally displaced people and refugees, reintegration assistance in post-conflict situations, and children affected by armed conflict. Before joining RI, she worked for three years as an English teacher in Japan. Ms. Brown also worked in South Asia with various women’s health organizations and with women’s micro-enterprise organizations in Cambodia. She has a Master’s degree in International Development Studies from George Washington University.

DAWN T. CALABIA, RESIDENT FELLOW
Dawn T. Calabia is a resident fellow. Associated with RI since 2004 she has participated in missions to Afghanistan, Burma, Cote d’Ivoire, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Jordan, Senegal, Syria, Thailand and Uzbekistan. In 2010 with Roberta Cohen she co-authored a Brookings’ report on ways to  improve US policy and programs for internally displaced persons. Previously, she served ten years in the United Nations as deputy director for the UN’s Washington Information Office and as senior external relations officer for UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Earlier Dawn was director of refugee policy and development at the US Catholic Conference and spent ten years as staff to the House of  Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee and as an aide to a NY representative.  She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, treasurer of the Women’s Foreign Policy Group, and a founder and Commissioner of the Women’s Refugee Commission. Dawn has a Masters in Social Service from Fordham University and a BA from St. John’s University of New York. In 1995 she was honored by President Clinton for her work on behalf of refugee women and children.

KRISTEN CORDELL, ADVOCATE
Kristen A. Cordell has served the United Nations in missions to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia and Lebanon. Within these contexts she has advised on issues related to sexual and gender based violence, security sector reform, policy interventions for improved national capacities and empowerment strategies for women in post conflict contexts. She has authored several books and reports on the role of gender in post conflict reconstruction including: Women and Nation Building (RAND, 2007) and Best Practices in Gender and Peacekeeping (UN-DPKO, 2010). She has also worked on Gender Evaluation for the World Bank’s Independent Evaluation Group. Ms. Cordell was heavily involved in the advocacy and passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1820, “Against the Use of Rape as a Tool of War,” now being implemented across member states. From 2009 to 2010 she served as the Senior Gender Advisor for the Lebanon Field Office of UNRWA. Ms. Cordell holds a Masters Public Policy from Pepperdine University, which in 2010 prominently featured her work with women refugees in the Alumni Magazine article: “A Safer Future Secured.” She also holds a B.A. in History and Political Science. Within RI, Kristen focuses on Gender, Protection and Peacekeeping in the Middle East and North Africa. 

SUSHETHA GOPALLAWA, FELLOW
Sushetha Gopallawa began her work as a Fellow with Refugees International in January 2012. She is currently completing a Master of Laws in Law & Government. Ms. Gopallawa previously worked as an Advocacy Director at the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights (RFK Center), where she implemented and managed programs to support the work of RFK human rights partners from Africa, Asia, the Middle East and North America, as well as China and Vietnam. Prior to working for the RFK Center, Ms. Gopallawa served at The World Bank Legal Vice-Presidency, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka including its Mission to the United Nations in New York and the Embassy to the USA. While at the ministry, Ms. Gopallawa negotiated the South Asian Association for Regional Corporation (SAARC) Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking of Women and Children for Prostitution, and agreements to repatriate failed asylum seekers from Italy, Switzerland, The Netherlands, and The United Kingdom. She has also worked with women’s organizations in Sri Lanka to support the rights of refugee and internally displaced populations. Ms. Gopallawa has a Master of Laws degree in International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law from the American University Washington College of Law.

MARC HANSON, GOVERNMENT RELATIONS SENIOR ADVOCATE
Marc Hanson joined Refugees International in June 2011 and is responsible for advancing RI’s advocacy agenda with the U.S. government. Mr. Hanson covered foreign policy, economics, budget and tax policy as legislative assistant with Congressman Sam Farr (CA - Monterey). While with the Farr office he worked on the State, Foreign Operations and Financial Services appropriations bills. Previously, he was community-political organizer with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) where he led a legislative campaign to expand the labor rights of low-wage home healthcare workers. Mr. Hanson, a onetime bookseller at Kramerbooks, was a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras, a volunteer with Servicio Paz y Justicia in Argentina, conducted field research on local institutions in Trinidad & Tobago and observed elections in Azerbaijan and El Salvador. He has a degree from Santa Clara University in Political Science and Philosophy and Master of Arts in Urban Planning from the University of California, Los Angeles.

TAKAWIRA KAPIKINYU, FELLOW
Takawira Kapikinyu comes to Refugees International as an Atlas Corps Fellow. Takawira has seven years of experience in the nonprofit sector. He has earned several degrees, including a Postgraduate Diploma in Project Planning and Management and a Master of Science degree in Rural and Urban Planning from the University of Zimbabwe. While at university, Takawira was an active member of the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace Zimbabwe and a student representative to the Students Representative Council for his faculty. He interned with Development Associates Consultants and has worked for the Jesuit Refugee Service as a Project Officer. Takawira most recently was an Associate Researcher with Gender and Rural Development Consultants (GERUDE), providing consultancy services to NGOs and development agencies. He is currently the vice president of the Proudly Zimbabwean Trust Zimbabwe Chapter. Takawira is very gender sensitive and has a passion for making a difference in people's lives.

PETER ORR, SENIOR ADVOCATE
Peter Orr joined Refugees International in April 2011 as a Senior Advocate and focuses on the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Sudan. Previously, he was field coordinator and head of mission for Medecins Sans Frontieres in various contexts, including Ethiopia, the Gaza Strip, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria and southern Sudan. Peter has also worked as an independent journalist. He has a B.A. from McGill University and a Master in International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

MATT PENNINGTON, ADVOCATE
Matt Pennington joined Refugees International in September 2009 and currently leads RI's research and advocacy on South Asia and North Africa. Matt has led and conducted field missions with RI to Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, and Afghanistan, as well as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He also serves as the coordinator of the Washington-based Partnership for Effective Peacekeeping, a non-partisan working group led by RI that focuses on strengthening international peacekeeping. Prior to joining RI, Matt served as a legislative assistant for Representative Dennis Cardoza of California, advising the Congressman on foreign affairs, human rights, transportation, labor, corrections, and appropriations policies. Previously, he worked for the Brookings Institution and Bayer Corporation's Office of Legislative Affairs. Matt holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of California, Berkeley.

SARNATA REYNOLDS, STATELESSNESS PROGRAM MANAGER
Sarnata Reynolds joined Refugees International in October 2011 as the Program Manager for Statelessness. She serves as the principal liaison and focal point for RI with the UN, the US government and focus countries on this issue. Sarnata is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center where she teaches a seminar on statelessness, and taught a human rights fact-finding course in 2011. Sarnata is a member of the National Lawyers Committee for Human Rights’ Mexico Advisory Team, she served as the Vice-Chair of Refugee Council USA and she chaired the Iraqi Refugee Working Group. Sarnata has appeared before Congress many times to discuss a variety of issues including the indefinite detention of stateless children in the United States before the Human Rights and Children’s Caucuses. Prior to joining RI, Sarnata worked as the Advocacy and Policy Director for Refugee and Migrants’ Rights at Amnesty International USA. In this position she promoted the enforcement of international human rights standards pertaining to refugees, asylum seekers, the stateless, migrants, and other uprooted people. Sarnata has also litigated asylum and deportation defense cases before the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, United States District Courts and Executive Office for Immigration Review. She has published multiple articles on international human rights and the intersection of US constitutional and immigration law. Sarnata completed her Women’s Studies degree magna cum laude at the University of Minnesota and the University of Ulster in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She completed her law degree at the University of Minnesota, and studied European Union law at University College Dublin.

FATIMA SCHOEMAKER MINARDI, GRANT WRITER
Fatima Schoemaker Minardi joined Refugees International in June 2011. Prior to joining RI, Ms. Schoemaker Minardi was the Operations and Planning Manager for the Native American Youth and Family Center, a nonprofit serving the Urban Native American community in Portland, Oregon. She played diverse roles within the organization which included raising millions in government and foundation funding that facilitated the doubling of staff size within her department; managing the department’s $4 million annual operating budget; and organizing three multicultural coalitions to advocate on behalf of communities of color in Portland. As part of her undergraduate program, Ms. Schoemaker Minardi studied human rights and women’s rights issues on the border of the United States and Mexico in El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, focusing on the impacts of domestic violence, race and socioeconomic factors on the lives of people living in border towns. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Goucher College in Baltimore.

ELLIE STAMATOPOULOS, INDIVIDUAL GIVING OFFICER
Ellie Stamatopoulos joined Refugees International in December 2008. As Events Manager, she works closely with the development committee and other board members to help direct the growing number of events important to building RI’s base of support, including the annual gala in Washington, DC, each May and donor circles across the United States. Prior to joining RI, she managed events and conferences on several continents for Worldwide ERC, a trade association for expatriates, for six years. On a volunteer basis, she helped to plan several Washington, DC, fundraisers to support the Afghan Health and Social Assistance Organization, New Orleans Kid Camera Project, and the 2008 Breakthrough Summit at The National Cathedral. She is active in numerous local organizations, including serving as Chair of the International Network of the Women’s Information Network (WIN) in 2008; the Public Leadership Education Network (PLEN); Americans for Informed Democracy (AID); and Dining for Women. Ms. Stamatopoulos received a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Business Management from Elms College in western Massachusetts and is fluent in Greek.

MELANIE TEFF, SENIOR ADVOCATE & EUROPEAN REPRESENTATIVE
Melanie Teff began her work as an Advocate with Refugees International in July 2007. Since joining RI, she has conducted missions to Liberia to assess the humanitarian needs of returnees, to northern Uganda to assess the needs of internally-displaced people and returnees, to the Dominican Republic focusing on statelessness of people of Haitian origin, to northern Iraq and Syria on the situation of displaced Iraqi women, to Colombia on the situation of internally displaced women, and four missions to Sudan, on the situation of returnees to southern Sudan and on humanitarian action in Darfur. Ms. Teff’s international experience includes two years in the Solomon Islands with VSO working as legal advisor to a local nongovernmental organization combating domestic violence and child abuse. She then spent three years as a human rights advocacy trainer in the Dominican Republic, where her focus was on statelessness among the Haitian migrant and refugee communities. Ms. Teff later established and coordinated the international advocacy and policy office for Jesuit Refugee Service in Rome, where she worked between 2003 and 2006. This position involved frequent travel to overseas offices of Jesuit Refugee Service and representing the agency’s advocacy positions in Geneva to UNHCR. She has also co-coordinated the International Coalition on the Detention of Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Migrants. Prior to getting involved with international work, she spent eight years as a lawyer in England with a focus on child rights, child abuse, and legal cases involving family law. Ms. Teff has a Master of Laws degree in International Human Rights Law from the University of Essex. She is a British citizen and is fluent in Spanish.

ALICE THOMAS, CLIMATE DISPLACEMENT PROGRAM MANAGER
Alice joined Refugees International in May 2010 as the Climate Displacement Program Manager. Alice previously worked as a staff attorney in the international program at Earthjustice (formerly the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund) where she implemented programs designed to defend and seek redress for communities from the impacts of pollution and climate change. Prior to working for Earthjustice, Alice served as Deputy Director of the American Bar Association’s Asia Law Initiative where she was responsible for overall management and implementation of ABA's technical legal assistance programs in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. She has also worked in Uzbekistan and Bosnia on issues related to environmental good governance and public participation in environmental decision-making. She began her career in the litigation practice groups at Dewey Ballantine and Arnold & Porter. Alice has a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School and a Bachelor’s degree in History from Princeton University.

ERIN A. WEIR, SENIOR ADVOCATE FOR PROTECTION AND SECURITY
Erin is the Senior Advocate for Peacekeeping at Refugees International where her work bridges the gap between RI’s humanitarian advocacy and the security centered analysis of peacekeeping and civilian protection. Erin’s advocacy is based on ongoing field assessments, including trips to Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chad and Somalia to assess the civilian protection efforts of United Nations, African Union, and European Union peacekeepers. Erin has been central to the development of training materials on the Protection of Civilians for the UN Department if Peacekeeping Operations. She is a regular instructor on the AIPR Raphael Lemkin Seminar for Mass Atrocity Prevention in Military Practice delivered through the U.S. Army Command General Staff College. Prior to joining RI Erin was a Research Associate at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center in Accra, Ghana. She has a BA (Hon.) in Political Studies from Queen’s University in Canada and an MSc in International and European Politics from the University of Edinburgh in the UK. Erin is currently a PhD candidate in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London. She is a Canadian citizen and fluent in French.

MARK YARNELL, ADVOCATE
Mark joined Refugees International in December 2011 as an Advocate for the Horn of Africa. Previously, he was a Stimson Center Congressional Fellow, based in the office of Senator Richard Lugar, where he coordinated the Security for a New Century study group.  Mark has worked in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a food security consultant for Oxfam GB and as a program officer with Merlin. In Kenya, he volunteered with the Ruma Women's Group, a community-based organization that supports children orphaned by HIV/AIDS, where he co-facilitated a village-level needs assessment. Additionally, Mark worked as a senior program associate for the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office in New York and as a program associate for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs in Washington, DC. He earned a Master of Science in Foreign Service degree from Georgetown University, where he worked as a teaching assistant to former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Mark earned a BA in political studies and history from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.