Your gift will change the lives of refugee women, children, and youth displaced by violence, persecution, and human rights violations.
Senior Officer, Individual Giving
Christopher Anderson serves on the engagement team at the Women’s Refugee Commission as senior officer, individual giving. He is a frontline fundraiser with deep experience leading multi-million-dollar capital campaigns and impact investment initiatives, as well as stewarding strong growth portfolios and relationships with major donors.
Before joining WRC, Christopher led the advancement efforts for Island Housing Trust on Martha’s Vineyard, where he raised over $18 million in donations and low-interest revolving loans to build and repurpose affordable rental and ownership homes. He also served as a parent representative on the board of Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School, and was a lead community organizer for the Coalition to Create the Martha’s Vineyard Housing Bank in its efforts to secure a permanent source of revenue dedicated to affordable housing. As a committee member with We Stand Together/Estamos Todos Juntos, he helped gain a commitment from local sheriffs to limit the use of town resources to enforce federal immigration laws.
Christopher has also worked as a public-school professional working with neurodivergent children, a writing instructor at Mercy College, an editor at a Bangkok law firm, and a copywriter with International Rescue Committee’s Resettlement network.
Christopher holds an MFA from Brooklyn College, a BA from Tufts, and fundraising and nonprofit management certificates from Boston University and the Institute of Nonprofit Practice.
Research Advisor
Aditi Bhanja is a research advisor at the Women’s Refugee Commission, advising and managing efforts in research, monitoring, and evaluation across WRC’s program areas, primarily on the integration of gender-based violence protection, and cash and livelihoods.
Before joining WRC, Aditi worked across several research areas, first in disaster epidemiology at New York University and later in health policy and management at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. While at NYU, she supported the assessment of two cohorts of displaced Hurricane Sandy and Hurricane Katrina survivors, analyzing long-term outcomes at five and ten years follow-up, respectively. At Harvard T.H. Chan, her work oscillated between examinations of American health policy on vulnerable populations and optimization of healthcare management by assessing dynamics of interdisciplinary teams and their leadership therein.
Aditi holds a master’s of public health in epidemiology from New York University and a bachelor’s in biology from Case Western Reserve University. Fundamentally, she is committed to turning research to action and improving the lives of the most vulnerable among us.
Senior Policy Advisor
Mario Bruzzone is a senior policy advisor in in the Women’s Refugee Commission’s Migrant Rights and Justice program. His work focuses on protecting the rights of unaccompanied children and reparative justice for the harms caused by family separation. He also coordinates several national working groups related to unaccompanied children’s care and protection.
Prior to joining WRC, Mario worked on the policy team at the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, covering a broad range of issues including unaccompanied children, federal appropriations, refugee and humanitarian protection, and regional protection in Latin America. While at the University of Wisconsin, he led a multi-year research project on Central American migrants’ survival strategies as they travel through Mexico, which included over 110 interviews with migrants, participant observation as a staff member at migrant shelters in the cities of Guadalajara and Celaya, and organizing a survey team for 300+ systematically sampled ethnosurveys.
Mario holds a BA from Oberlin College, as well as an MS and PhD in human geography from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Executive Director
Sarah Costa is the executive director of the Women’s Refugee Commission, a leading global organization advocating for the rights and protection of women, children, and youth displaced by conflict and crisis.
Under Sarah’s leadership, the organization has experienced significant growth, with the budget more than doubling, and has expanded its ability to ensure refugees’ right to sexual and reproductive health care, to safety from gender-based violence, and to economic and social empowerment.
Sarah has more than 25 years’ experience in the fields of women’s rights, reproductive health, gender, and youth development, as well as global philanthropy. Throughout her career, she has worked in partnership with those closest to the issues, from government officials to local women’s organizations.
Before joining WRC in 2010, Sarah served as regional director of the Global Fund for Women, a grant-making organization that supports women’s rights organizations working on economic security, health, education, and leadership. Previously, she was a program officer for the Ford Foundation in Brazil and New York, developing and managing international and national programs on gender, sexuality, reproductive health, women’s rights, HIV/AIDS, and health policy.
During her tenure as professor of women’s health at the National School of Public Health, Brazil, Sarah was active in the national women’s movement, serving as a member of the Advisory Committee to the National Council on Women’s Rights. She also served on the boards of several women’s organizations. She is a member of World Learning’s Global Advisory Council.
Sarah holds a master’s degree in medical demography from London University and a PhD in social medicine from Oxford University.
Associate Director, Research
Julianne Deitch is the Women’s Refugee Commission’s associate director for research. Her work focuses on promoting community-led research and evidence generation to inform policy, programming, and service delivery. She is particularly interested in developing and using innovative research methodologies with adolescents and youth to define and shape transformative social change goals in humanitarian settings.
Julianne has worked in global health for more than 15 years with international, regional, and community-based organizations. Her experience includes five years with the United Nations Secretariat, where she conducted research and provided guidance to UN member states on achieving the health-related Millennium Development Goals and implementing policies on gender equality. She has also supported UNICEF in data collection and reporting on adolescent health and well-being, and conducted qualitative and quantitative research with the RAISE Initiative at Columbia University.
Julianne holds a Doctor of Public Health from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Her dissertation examined risk and protective factors for adolescent pregnancy in conflict-affected settings using quantitative and qualitative data. She holds a master of public health from Columbia University, a master’s degree in development studies from the London School of Economics, and a bachelor’s degree in sociology and economics from the University of California, Davis.
Institutional Giving Officer
Emily Ervin is the institutional giving officer at the Women’s Refugee Commission. She manages government, foundation, and corporate fundraising to improve the lives and defend the rights of refugee and internally displaced women, children, and youth.
Before joining WRC, Emily had six years of experience at humanitarian and development organizations in proposal development, grants management, and program delivery related to refugee education and sexual and gender-based violence. She recently graduated with a master’s in international educational development from Teachers College, Columbia University, where she collaborated with refugee communities on various research projects that supported an asset-perspective that refugee women and children are the experts of their own contexts. She advocates for locally driven solutions for women and children experiencing emergencies.
Emily holds a bachelor’s in international service from American University and a master’s in international educational development from Teachers College, Columbia University.
Vice President, Programs
Susannah Friedman is vice president, programs at the Women’s Refugee Commission. She supports oversight and advancement of WRC’s program portfolio and works with the program team to shape WRC’s vision and strategy to address the needs of women, girls, and marginalized groups in crisis settings.
Susannah has been working in humanitarian affairs for nearly 20 years, with NGOs, UN agencies, and in academia. Before joining the Women’s Refugee Commission, Susannah was the UN Refugee Agency’s head of the strategic planning and analysis unit, where she led a team responsible for global and thematic strategic planning, deep analysis, and foresight. Prior to that, as CARE’s senior director for humanitarian programming and policy, Susannah oversaw global emergency program quality, policy, and research efforts and was instrumental in advancing CARE’s role as a leading agency in gender in emergencies work. Earlier in her career, Susannah lived and worked in Asia and East Africa leading emergency responses and improving emergency preparedness with CARE and Save the Children UK. Susannah started her career in international humanitarian and development work as a US Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal, where she served as a water and sanitation coordinator. She is on the adjunct faculty of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where she teaches courses in humanitarian affairs. She served as the associate director of the humanitarian policy study track from 2019-2021.
Susannah holds a master of international affairs degree from Columbia University and a bachelor of arts in history from the University of Michigan.
Associate Director, Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights
Catherine Harrington is an associate director at the Women’s Refugee Commission and campaign manager of the Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights, a coalition of national and international NGOs, UN agencies, academics, and civil society partners. The Global Campaign is housed within the Women’s Refugee Commission.
Catherine has more than a decade of experience in advocacy and civil society capacity-building on issues related to gender equality, human rights, and citizenship. She represents the Global Campaign as a member of the advisory committees to the UN Women-led “Equality in Law for Women and Girls by 2030” initiative and the Coalition on Every Child’s Right to a Nationality, and served on the High-Level Group on Justice for Women.
She previously worked at Women’s Learning Partnership, where she was the senior program officer for advocacy and communications. Catherine has also been a research assistant at the Center on International Cooperation and an editorial assistant for Foreign Affairs at the Council on Foreign Affairs. She has co-produced two films – one on the backlash against women’s rights post-Arab Spring, Because Our Cause Is Just, and a documentary on combating gender-based violence, From Fear to Freedom.
Catherine holds a master’s degree in global affairs from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in history from Tulane University.
Senior Advisor, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
Lily Jacobi is a senior advisor with the Women’s Refugee Commission’s Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Program and research unit. She works in a number of areas, including family planning, adolescent sexual and reproductive health, and community-based disaster preparedness for sexual and reproductive health.
Prior to joining WRC, Lily worked with programs in St. Louis and Chicago supporting survivors of domestic and intimate partner violence and has conducted research and advocacy on a range of topics, including abortion access and rights in humanitarian settings, gender-based violence among asylum seekers from Mexico and Central America, and migration and trafficking in Europe.
Lily received her master’s degree in human rights studies from Columbia University and her bachelor’s degree in anthropology and women, gender, and sexuality studies from Washington University in St. Louis.
Vice President, Finance and Administration
Eldar Kekic is the Women’s Refugee Commission’s vice president, finance and administration. He leads the organization’s financial management function, including planning, budgeting, and reporting.
Eldar has more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit financial management and accounting. Originally from Bosnia, he has dedicated much of his career in the US to working with nonprofit agencies. Prior to coming to WRC as finance controller in 2011, he spent 12 years with Volunteers of America, where, most recently, he was senior staff accountant.
Eldar holds a master’s degree in accounting from Hunter College and a bachelor’s degree in business administration, accounting from Baruch College, where he graduated magna cum laude.
Advocacy Officer
Sadia Kidwai is the Women’s Refugee Commission’s advocacy officer, advancing WRC’s advocacy priorities on gender-based violence (GBV), sexual and reproductive health and rights, and gender inclusion with policymakers and practitioners around the world.
Sadia has over a decade’s experience working in research, advocacy, and policy on refugees and migration, climate change, gender-based violence, conflict, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. She has expertise in working with marginalized groups, including women, youth, diaspora, and religious minorities, as well as leading capacity-sharing, training, and campaigning work with local communities.
Prior to joining WRC, Sadia led Islamic Relief Worldwide’s policy and research on refugees and forced migration. At the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith & Local Communities, Sadia convened interdisciplinary research and learning networks on GBV in Southern Africa and governance and peacebuilding in East Africa, as well as a global network on refugees, forced migration and faith. Her work on forced migration has been published in the Forced Migration Review (Oxford University) and two edited volumes.
Sadia completed her BSc in international relations and history at the London School of Economics, and her MSc in violence, conflict, and development at the School of Oriental and African Studies.
Director of Migrant Rights and Justice
Zain Lakhani is the director of Migrant Rights and Justice at the Women’s Refugee Commission. Along with her team, she develops research and policy recommendations on the needs of migrants seeking safety in the US, focusing on the needs of migrant women and girls.
Zain has built her career working at the intersection of gender and migration issues, both as an academic and policy maker. Prior to joining the Women’s Refugee Commission, she served on the White House Gender Policy Council, where she developed and led its first-ever portfolio on human trafficking and migrant women. She has also consulted with migration organizations such as the National Immigrant Women’s Advocacy Project and Centro de los Derechos del Migrante on a variety of policy areas, including labor migration, sexual and reproductive health, and gender-based violence.
Zain began her career as an academic, focused on gender, law, and human rights. She has worked on a variety of border and migration policies, including asylum, labor migration, and human trafficking. She has held academic positions at The University of California at Berkely, Harvard University, and the University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law.
Zain holds a PhD in History from the University of Pennsylvania and a JD from Yale Law School. Her bachelor’s degree in history and sociology is from Queen’s University, in Canada.
Program/Office Manager
Dhana B. Lama is the program/officer manager at the Women’s Refugee Commission. Previously, he was WRC’s program coordinator. In his current role, he oversees and manages the organization’s travel, logistics, security, and administrative matters.
Before coming to WRC in 2011, Dhana worked as an administrative assistant for the United Nations Population Fund for South and West Asia.
Dhana has a bachelor’s degree in business studies from Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal. He is fluent in Hindi and Nepali.
Deputy Vice President of New Initiatives
Kellie Leeson is deputy vice president of new initiatives at the Women’s Refugee Commission.
She has 20 years of experience working in East and West Africa, Latin America, and Europe. She has designed, led, and managed large-scale health, education, and livelihoods programs for displaced people. She has held senior leadership roles with the International Rescue Committee and NYU’s Development Research Institute. In addition, Kellie has held advisory and management roles with American Institutes for Research, Concern Worldwide, InterAction, UNICEF, and the International Institute for Environment and Development. She co-founded the Refugee Self-Reliance Initiative, initially hosted by the Women’s Refugee Commission and RefugePoint, and serves as US Board Chair of Cohere. She also co-founded Empire State Indivisible (ESI) a local organizing group dedicated to building a compassionate and more equitable New York.
Kellie is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service. She graduated with a BA from UNC-Chapel Hill and an MA from Teachers College at Columbia University.
Executive Assistant and Board Liaison
Tania Maddalena is the executive assistant and board liaison at the Women’s Refugee Commission. She manages the executive director’s office along with all board-related matters.
Before joining WRC, Tania built her foundation in global humanitarian operations at the International Rescue Committee and Helen Keller International, where she supported the executive management team and key stakeholders. She spearheaded board engagement activities, such as field visits with global programs, and coordinated special events and initiatives.
Tania holds a bachelor of arts degree in political science and international relations and global studies from Pace University.
Program Assistant
Ava McLaughlin Gagliardi is the program assistant at the Women’s Refugee Commission. She provides administrative support across all of WRC’s programs.
Prior to joining WRC, Ava worked at the Institute for International Humanitarian Affairs as the design research fellow leading the Design for Humanity initiative. The initiative focuses on the ability of the design fields to impact humanitarian response related to migration, conflict, crises, and climate change. Ava previously worked with youth leadership development and educational programs in Belize, Philadelphia, and New York City.
Ava holds a master’s degree in international political economy and development from Fordham University. As an undergrad, she studied psychology and anthropology.
Senior Legal Advisor
Jessica Mider is the Women’s Refugee Commission’s senior legal advisor. She provides legal advice on issues that include review of contracts, policies, and other legal documents, compliance, risk, corporate relations, and governance.
Jessica started her legal career in London where she represented clients in the mining, insurance, and telecommunications industries, as well as sovereign issuers, in matters relating to corporate finance, securities regulation, and corporate governance.
Jessica received her law degree from Cornell Law School. Prior to studying law, Jessica received her bachelor’s degree from Drew University.
Policy Advisor
Barthelemy Mwanza is a program advisor at the Women’s Refugee Commission. He is also the refugee youth-led organization (RYLO) coordinator for the Global Refugee Youth Network (GRYN), which was co-founded and is supported by the Women’s Refugee Commission. He works with GRYN to coordinate the capacity building and funding that GRYN is channeling to RYLOs.
Originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Barth is a refugee leader and activist based in the US, with a passion for journalism. Previously he was co-chair of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ Global Youth Advisory Council. He supported the launch of the Engaging Men in Responsible Practices to Prevent Gender-Based Violence against Women and Girls (EMAP) initiative when he was a refugee in Zimbabwe.
Vice President for Advocacy and External Relations
Melanie Nezer is the Women’s Refugee Commission’s vice president for advocacy and external relations. Melanie and her team share WRC’s research and recommendations with policymakers, media, supporters, and the wider public in the US and at the global level to improve the lives and protect the rights of women, children, and youth displaced by conflict and crisis.
Melanie has over 25 years of experience in global refugee and humanitarian policy and advocacy, development, communications, and nonprofit management. She has extensive knowledge of immigration, asylum, and international refugee and humanitarian law through legal practice, drafting legislation and advocating in Washington and internationally, teaching and training, and monitoring refugee programs around the world.
Before joining WRC, Melanie was HIAS’ senior vice president of global public affairs and immigration policy director for the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. Before her work in Washington, Melanie was in private legal practice in Miami, Florida, where she specialized in immigration law and criminal defense. She has been quoted extensively in major media outlets and her TED Talk, “The Fundamental Right to Seek Asylum,” has been viewed 2 million times.
Melanie received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and her Juris Doctor degree from Boston College Law School.
Director, Human Resources
Leathy Pittman joined the Women’s Refugee Commission as human resources (HR) director in 2018.
In her junior year of college, Leathy landed a role as an HR intern at Time Inc., which the company created especially for her. After graduation, she was invited to stay on and begin a career in HR, working largely at their publishing arm where she supported some of their core businesses and magazine titles (Time, Essence, People). After “growing up” within the ranks of the media giant, Leathy has assumed a vast number of HR roles.
Over the years, Leathy has expanded her interests to include cognitive science and innovative HR solutions. She is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management.
Leathy holds a bachelor’s degree in biology, with minors in anthropology and women’s studies, from the University at Albany.
Chief Writer and Editor
Diana Quick is the Women’s Refugee Commission’s chief writer and editor. Since 2018, she has managed all aspects of the organization’s editorial production, including writing and editing website content, reports, and other publications. From 1995 to 2016, she worked in a range of communications roles at WRC, covering all areas of internal and external communications.
Before she returned to WRC, Diana was communications and digital strategist at ChildFund Alliance. She led all aspects of communications of the Secretariat of a global network of children’s development and rights organizations. Early in her career, she worked at Amnesty International USA and at the Quaker United Nations Office in New York.
Diana holds a bachelor’s degree in linguistic and international studies from the University of Surrey in the UK. She also studied in Paris and Berlin.
Communications Strategist
Marie-Hélène Rousseau is the communications strategist for #WelcomewithDignity, a national campaign for asylum rights in the United States. The Women’s Refugee Commission is a founding member of and hosts the campaign.
Marie-Hélène previously led communications initiatives at NGOs responding to the impacts of conflict and forced displacement, primarily in Greece and in the Middle East. Prior to joining WRC, she worked on narrative change and social and behavior change campaigns with various national and international organizations at the Metropolitan Group. Marie-Hélène previously led communications, fundraising, and advocacy for Lighthouse Relief, an organization in Greece providing emergency and psychosocial support to refugees. She also worked with the Syrian American Medical Society as a communications officer, raising awareness of attacks on healthcare, and the conditions for forcefully displaced people within Syria and the surrounding countries.
Marie-Hélène holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and comparative literature from New York University, and a master’s degree in human rights and humanitarian action, with a focus on migration, from the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po).
Senior Director of Individual Engagement and Marketing
Katherine leads the Women’s Refugee Commission’s engagement efforts. She works to grow and strengthen relationships with the many generous individual donors and extraordinary friends whose meaningful commitment of unrestricted support empowers the WRC’s mission, expands our reach, and deepens our impact for displaced women, children, and the most vulnerable.
Before WRC, Katherine served in key marketing and fundraising roles at leading organizations—the International Rescue Committee and Helen Keller International—where she drove bold, all-embracing strategies to build vital, donor-centric brands rooted in client voices and humanitarian values.
Over 30 years in the nonprofit and social sector, Katherine has managed change, complexity, and crisis to shape campaigns, platforms, and partnerships that inspire connection and giving. She has been a grateful collaborator with global coalitions and local communities to help protect and transform human rights and lives.
Katherine holds a master of fine arts degree in creative writing from The New School.
Controller
Maura Sawyer is the Women’s Refugee Commission’s controller. She is responsible for coordinating annual audits and 990 tax return filing; performing monthly financial closing and preparing accurate and timely financial statements; analyzing financial statements for discrepancies; performing general ledger journal entries; reconciling balance sheet accounts; assisting the finance director with the day-to-day financial operations and resolving accounting issues; maintaining internal controls and integrity of the accounting system; and administration of the payroll and supporting human resources with compliance-related issues.
She has more than 25 years of experience in corporate accounting, including financial statements reporting and analysis, and has extensive experience in budgeting, auditing, payroll, and tax. Before joining WRC in 2016, Maura worked as a senior accountant for the Wallace Foundation for 10 years, and for Rockefeller & Co. for 12.5 years as an accounting manager.
Maura holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration, with a major in accounting from University of the East, Manila, Philippines, a forensic accounting certificate from New York University, and a certificate in nonprofit accounting.
Senior Digital Media Officer
Christine Show is the Women’s Refugee Commission’s senior digital media officer. She oversees the strategy and operations of WRC’s digital communications, including its website, social media, and email platforms.
Christine’s previous experience includes serving as associate director of digital platforms at the Joyful Heart Foundation and as website editor at Columbia Law School, and working as a reporter for several news organizations, including the Orlando Sentinel, Associated Press, and Newsday.
Christine holds a master’s degree in journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and a bachelor’s degree in newspaper journalism and women’s studies from Syracuse University. At Syracuse, Christine served as student representative on the board of directors of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
Staff Accountant
Salonee Onta Shrestha is the Women’s Refugee Commission’s staff accountant. She is responsible for accounts payable and receivables, accounts reconciliation and analysis, and provides support with the monthly closing, annual audit, and other critical accounting functions.
Salonee has more than 16 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. Most recently, she worked for over six years at Seeds of Peace, a peace-building youth organization that works in seven countries worldwide to bring youth from areas of conflict to its international camp in Maine.
Salonee earned a bachelor’s degree in business, with a major in finance, from Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Development Operations and Donor Services Manager
Marcline St-Germain is the development operations and donor services manager on the Women’s Refugee Commission’s individual giving and engagement team. She supports the team and donors by cultivating positive relationships.
Marcline has more than 12 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. Most recently, she worked for over 10 years at the Colon Cancer Foundation, an organization that works to lead the fight against colorectal cancer through supporting research and educating the public.
Marcline holds a master’s of public health in behavioral science and health promotion from New York Medical College and a bachelor’s in biology from Pace University.
