About

Brianne Casey

With a career spanning the local, state, and national levels, Brianne has had a front-row view of receiving communities and refugees creating stronger, more vibrant communities. First working as a volunteer coordinator and sponsorship developer in Raleigh, NC, Brianne later served as a national community and ecumenical engagement coordinator for CWS in New York, NY. Prior to Refugee Welcome Collective, she worked as a consultant in resource design and learning facilitation for national resettlement agencies, state offices, and sponsored newcomers. She holds a BA in ESL education from James Madison University and an MA in community development and planning from Clark University.

Derek Feldman

Derek brings years of hands-on experience designing and leading community sponsorship programs at the local and national levels. Derek is working remotely from Lexington, Kentucky. He has moved from his previous role with CWS as a Faith Community Organizer who helped stand up the APA Institutional Partner Program. Before that, Derek was the Community Engagement Coordinator for Kentucky Refugee Ministries – Lexington where he was responsible for facilitating co-sponsor groups and created a “Welcome from Home” model utilizing remote options during the COVID-19 pandemic. He holds a BA in Psychology with a certificate in Gender Studies from Webster University and completed graduate work in Marriage and Family Therapy at the University of Kentucky.

Grace Cunningham

Grace is a Florida-based multimedia communications professional and international law specialist with experience in both the public and private sectors. She discovered her interest in international relations and law while completing her BA in Journalism and Media at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. This led her to pursue an MA in Diplomacy and International Law at the American University of Paris, focusing on human rights, humanitarian, and refugee law. During this program, she also completed a human rights law intensive at the University of Oxford where she further developed an expertise in refugee law. Grace joins CWS after more than three years living in France, during which time she spent a year working in communications in the OECD's Statistics and Data Directorate at the Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (PARIS21).

Jessica Ashcraft

Jessica received her BA in Psychology from Georgetown College and her Master of Science in Social Work degree from the Kent School at the University of Louisville. During her time in Louisville, she worked with Americana Community Center where she discovered a passion for working with immigrants and refugees. Jessica has experience in program development, strengths-based case management, mental health group work, and training development and implementation. Most recently, she served as the Volunteer and Internships Coordinator at Kentucky Refugee Ministries overseeing the recruitment, training, and management of interns, volunteers, and community support groups.

Jessica Chapman

Prior to joining the Refugee Welcome Collective, in her role as Director of Community Engagement at ECDC, Jessica designed a national co-sponsorship program, established local resettlement offices built around co-sponsorship, and led the development of the Wider Welcome, an initiative to engage diverse communities in Community Sponsorship (CS) programs. Jessica has five years of experience leading programs for refugees in Malaysia in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). She brings a deep understanding of the challenges and realities refugees face before they enter the U.S. and believes CS can help newcomers adjust and local communities thrive. Jessica has an MA in International Affairs from the New School and a BA from Hampshire College.

David Sulewski

David has worked with forcibly displaced persons in the U.S. and abroad and is committed to strengthening the role of agencies and communities in welcoming newcomers. As an employment specialist with the International Rescue Committee-Boston and later with Jewish Vocational Service-Boston, David assisted newcomers with job placement and skills training. David then co-managed a welcome center for forced migrants in Quito, Ecuador as part of the Mennonite Central Committee, working with UNHCR on durable solutions and partnering with grassroots peacebuilding collectives to foster positive host-migrant relations. He most recently supported case management and co-sponsorship programs as a volunteer coordinator with the International Institute of New England. David has also consulted on projects for CWS, UNHCR, and the Shapiro Foundation, and has participated in a Sponsor Circle to welcome an Afghan family. He holds an MA in Human Security and Global Governance with a certificate in conflict resolution from UMass Boston, where he is currently a PhD Candidate researching the emergence of complementary pathways in Europe.

Leya Neema

Leya joins RWC as a Senior Program Officer, Community Sponsorship with over 10 years of refugee and immigrant experience. She received her BA in psychology from the University of Northern Iowa. Leya has worked at the Catherine McAuley Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa supporting refugee resettlement development. Leya currently serves on multiple committees that support refugees and immigrants through creating change that enhances self-sufficiency, social acceptance, language access, cultural humility, and other challenges. Most recently, she worked in income management for the SNAP, FIP, and Medicaid programs for the Iowa Health and Human Services where she served various communities including refugees and immigrants.

Joy Mikhail

Joy is a seasoned senior program officer with over a decade of experience working with refugees and immigrants across multiple regions, including the United States, Middle East, and Southeast Asia. She brings extensive expertise in refugee resettlement, community engagement, and sponsorship. With a deep passion for social justice and a commitment to empowering marginalized groups, she has spent her career working towards creating sustainable and effective solutions for displaced populations and providing technical assistance to refugee resettlement organizations.

Over the course of her career, she has gained extensive experience in community-based programming, including developing and implementing innovative initiatives to support refugee integration and self-sufficiency. She has also worked closely with community stakeholders, including private entities, development agencies, financial institutions, civil society, and faith-based organizations to build strong partnerships, and leverage resources.

Through her work in various regions, she has developed a deep understanding of the complex challenges facing refugees. She believes in the power of storytelling and has worked to amplify the voices of refugees, sharing their experiences with policymakers, funders, and the broader public.

Japhet Ajani

Japhet is an accomplished professional with a diverse educational background and extensive experience in the field of linguistics and education. With a passion for language, education, and research, Japhet has excelled in various roles as a teacher, qualitative researcher, language consultant, academic skills coach, and education and training development expert.

Japhet received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Linguistics and Nigerian Languages from Ekiti State University (EKSU), and a Master of Arts degree in Linguistics and African Languages from the prestigious University of Ibadan. He has an additional Master of Arts degree and a Doctorate in Linguistics from Tulane University.

After his studies at the University of Ibadan, he was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to teach the Yoruba language at Ohio University, highlighting his commitment to advancing knowledge and cultural exchange. During his time at Tulane, he received a Mellon Fellowship in Community Engaged Scholarship which enabled him to provide a community-based teacher training for primary and secondary school teachers in Ogbomoso, Nigeria and to volunteer with a local New Orleans nonprofit to help find solutions to challenges faced by minority groups in the city.

He brings to RWC exceptional qualifications and is well-positioned to help navigate resources, teaching, and learning challenges faced by minority groups, refugees, immigrants, and other vulnerable populations of the community.

Maggie Cawley

Maggie's professional background spans communications, advocacy, community outreach, and journalism. In her most recent role as a strategic communications manager, she supported and amplified multi-issue grassroots advocacy campaigns to advance healthy, just, and equitable communities in Vermont and New Hampshire. Prior to that, her advocacy and outreach work centered on issues of food access and rights in Central Massachusetts, including for many refugee and immigrant community members. She is excited to offer her existing skill set and to learn from the RWC team, while joining the critical efforts to improve experiences for refugees as they resettle in the United States, create stronger communities, and contribute toward a future in which all people can live with safety, dignity, and the resources they need to thrive.

Maggie holds a BA in Politics from Oberlin College (2010) and an MA in Sustainable Development (2020) with the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont.

Jordan Cowell

Jordan has been working in project and program management for the majority of her career, specializing in building tech-enabled processes and scalable programs from the ground up. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Intercultural Communications and graduated from two PMI-accredited Project Management Professional courses.

She has significant international experience, including living and working in Argentina for six years. Having learned Spanish while living there, she has an appreciation for adult language learners and has spent several years volunteering as an English language trainer and career coach with nonprofits like Upwardly Global, The English-Speaking Union, and FELT Education.

Prior to joining Refugee Welcome Collective, she designed and led a free English Language and Career Confidence program for skilled immigrants and refugees looking to restart their careers in the U.S.

Katherine Gambir

Katherine directs MEL efforts across the Refugee and Welcome Services (RWS) department at Church World Service (CWS). She is responsible for ensuring accountability, effectiveness, and continuous improvement of RWS programming through development of MEL systems that incorporate participant feedback and inform program design.

Prior to joining CWS in 2024, Katherine was a Senior Researcher, Gender Equality & Inclusion at Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC). She led the conception and implementation of robust research and evaluation initiatives among marginalized crisis-affected communities in humanitarian contexts globally. She was the Principal Investigator of a multi-country evaluation aimed at generating evidence to expand access to medical and psycho-social care for survivors of sexual violence in crises. Katherine also led research trainings and capacity strengthening of WRC staff and global partners. In her prior role in the Gender, Poverty, and Youth department at the Population Council, she held trainings to strengthen the capacity of community-based organizations to design, implement, and evaluate girl-centered programming and conducted research an adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights using participatory research methodologies and systematic reviews.

Katherine received her master’s degree in public health from Boston University School of Public Health and a bachelor’s degree from Hamilton College. She is also a certified labor doula.

Aubrey Grant

Aubrey, PhD(c), MPP, began working in refugee resettlement in 2009, serving as a case manager for Church World Service in Greensboro, North Carolina. Over the past decade she has held various refugee resettlement roles in research, policy, practice, and advocacy. Aubrey received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Affairs from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, a Master of Public Policy from American University, and is completing a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Policy from George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government.

Fatima Sheikey

Fatima is a dedicated refugee advisor with over six years of extensive experience working within the refugee community in Malaysia. Throughout her career, she has been actively involved in various roles, collaborating with both refugee schools and organizations, with the primary aim of dismantling barriers that hinder youth, especially girls, from accessing quality education. Fatima's commitment lies in empowering young refugees to become agents of change by enabling them to address the pressing issues that hold significance for them.
Fatima firmly believes in the transformative power of education and community engagement to uplift and empower individuals in their pursuit of a brighter future.

Chol Majok

Chol has over 19 years of government work experience in the local and state executive and legislative branches, not-for-profit, and manufacturing sectors. Chol has over five years of not-for-profit work experience in workforce development and human resources. Chol was elected to the Syracuse Common Council in 2019 as the first-ever naturalized refugee and immigrant to the Common Council in Syracuse and Onondaga County in 171 years and again in 2021. In 2022, Chol was a candidate for Congress in New York’s 22nd Congressional District. His campaign focused on inspiring participation from historically overlooked and unrepresented community members in the political process. Chol was again elected recently in 2023 for a city-wide Common Council seat. Chol is currently a Manager of Workforce Development at Loretto Management Corporation, overseeing partnerships, internships, and developing pipelines of workforce opportunities. Chol is a board member at On Point for College, New American Forum, and a Senior Warden at his local ethnic church.

Anna Niyonzima