Understanding America: Refugee Resettlement & Immigrant Services: Connecticut & U.S. Landscape
OISS is pleased to announce our next conversation in our Understanding America series where we will be joined by Ann O’Brien, the Director of Community Engagement for IRIS - Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services, and IRIS Ambassador, Azhar Ahmed.
In this conversation, Ann and Azhar will break down the steps of the refugee resettlement process from getting to the United States to settling into a brand new country and community. Ann will discuss the role that IRIS plays in this process and Azhar will share her personal experience as a former refugee from Sudan and her story of settling into life in the U.S.
Speaker Bios:
Azhar Ahmed - Azhar is a former refugee from the Nubian Mountains of Sudan and is currently working toward her degree in Social Work. Azhar is also the mother of two, an accomplished chef with IRIS’s partner, Sanctuary Kitchen, and has not only completed over 25 speaking engagements as an IRIS Ambassador, but has also been featured with her family on the cover of The New York Times.
Ann O’Brien - Ann O’Brien has over 20 years of experience in non-profit operations and financial management, as well as grassroots organizing and fundraising. Ann has worked with immigrant populations in Missouri, Illinois, New York, and Connecticut. She co-chaired a refugee resettlement group in Ridgefield, Connecticut that welcomed a Syrian family in 2016 and she is the Director of Community Engagement at IRIS (Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services) in New Haven, Connecticut, an agency that has resettled more than 1,300 refugees in the last four years.
As a reminder, our Understanding America discussion series brings together expert speakers from Yale and the New Haven community to break down key issues happening at Yale, in New Haven, and the U.S. at large and to provide some historical context. We want you to have a comfortable space to engage in a lively discussion, offer opinions, and gain insights into some complex features of U.S. society and culture. We hope to see you there!
Note: Not suitable for children under the age of 15. The series is open to the Yale Community, and we encourage you to come with questions and an open mind. Please RSVP in order to attend.
Contact: molly.hampton@yale.edu