New name.
Same mission.
LIRS is now Global Refuge.
Welcoming newcomers since 1939.
See Our EvolutionLeadership
President's Council
Established in 2020, the Global Refuge President’s Council is an advisory committee that includes business and nonprofit leaders, policy experts and advocates, and faith leaders of varied backgrounds and sector experience. The Council provides Global Refuge President & CEO Krish O’Mara Vignarajah with strategic advice related to the organization’s key priority areas and its efforts to effectively fulfill its mission and vision.
Susan Aplin
Co-CEO | World Trade Center Institute
Diane Batchik
Independent Advisor
Sindy Benavides
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
Betsy Biern
Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area Foundation
Fred and Sylvia Black
Blackstar Strategies
Angela Chee
Media and Communication Coach | Keynote Speaker
Kathy Collins
Vice President of Finance (Retired) | Rice University
Christopher Davis
Former Resident Counsel | Ford Foundation
Angela Dejene
President and Founder | Dejene Communications
Judy Diers
Diers Consulting, LLC
Habib Enayetullah
Hilton
Mary Forrell-Davis
Former Pastor
Tom Grevlos
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church
Christine Grumm
Chris Grumm Consulting Group
Mike Hansen
Hansen and Associates
Muhsin Hassan
Lever for Change
Ed Hatcher
The Hatcher Group
Matthew Jordan
Covercraft Industries
Daya Khalsa
Anchorum St. Vincent
Donna Kinzer
DK Healthcare Consulting
Karen Kress
Nonprofit Executive (Retired)
Sean Long
PowerTransitions LLC
James Longenecker
Northbay Education Inc.
Lori Lovelace
The Vessel
Rev. Rufus Lusk
Pastor (Retired)
Donald Manekin
Seawall
Bill McKibben
350.org
Paul C. Miles
We Raise Foundation
Bryn Parchman
Port Discovery Children’s Museum, (Retired)
Joanna Pena-Bickley
Designed By Us, Design Corps
LeRoy Pingho
Great Elm Solutions, Inc.
Sridhar Prasad
The Bridgespan Group
Thomas Regnante
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Anne C. Richard
US State Department, Former Assistant Secretary for PRM
Peggi Rockefeller
Rockefeller Properties
Eric Shafer
Pastor (Retired)
Rogers Smith
University of Pennsylvania
Michele Speaks
Co-Chairman, Warnock Foundation
Linda Stoterau
Former Global Refuge Board Member
Jose Antonio Tijierno
Hispanic Heritage Foundation
Laurel Vicklund
Peregrine Global Services
David Warnock
Warnock Foundation
Debbi Weinberg
Girls Empowerment Mission
Reinhard Ziegler, PhD
The Vessel
Board of Directors
The board includes former refugees or first-generation immigrants, professionals, and community members who are committed to advancing the dialogue surrounding refugees and immigrant rights.
Meet our Board of Directors