Leadership
Email us for more information about the Women's Refugee Commission. For general information, email info@wrcommission.org. For media inquiries, email media@wrcommission.org. For ways to give to WRC, email dev@wrcommission.org.
Email us for more information about the Women's Refugee Commission. For general information, email info@wrcommission.org. For media inquiries, email media@wrcommission.org. For ways to give to WRC, email dev@wrcommission.org.
Your gift will change the lives of refugee women, children, and youth displaced by violence, persecution, and human rights violations.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
