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Staff

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Aemal YusufzaiEmployment Specialist
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Ahmad ArifiCase Manager
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Alejandra AyalaExecutive Assistant
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Alex MainaResettlement Program Coordinator
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Alexis NsabimanaAssociate Case Manager
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Ameera HaydarPreferred Communities (PC) Intensive Case Manager
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Arsalan SyanMatching Grant Case Manager
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Cathy BartleyHuman Resource Specialist
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Daymis SantanaImmigration Specialist
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Emily BenderDevelopment and Communications Coordinator
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Hager AhmadCase Manager
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Hayat ZahraCase Manager
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Lucia CanizaresImmigration Counselor
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Madison ReeseRefugee Health and Outreach (RHEO)/Medical Liaison
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Natalia VerkoAssociate Case Manager
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Olga BaltazarVolunteer Coordinator
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Rebecca SpragueYouth and Employment Program Coordinator
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Rodrigue MakeleleRefugee Community Organizer
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Sarah Alice ColemanAssociate Director of Programs
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Selena SherzhadHousing Coordinator
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Spes ManirambonaFamily Resiliency Caseworker
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Spes ManirambonaFamily Resiliency Caseworker
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Susannah LepleyVirginia Director
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Thierry BarihinyuzaHealthcare Career Pathways Case Manager

Church World Service is a faith-based organization transforming communities around the globe through just and sustainable responses to hunger, poverty, displacement and disaster.

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Church World Service, Inc., is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.

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Church World Service • 1.800.297.1516 • info@cwsglobal.org • Privacy
  • About Us
    • ← Back
    • Area Information
    • Employment and Internships
    • Our Staff
    • FAQ
  • Programs
    • ← Back
    • Reception and Placement
    • Integration and Extended Services
    • Emergency Response Programs
    • Immigration Legal Services
    • Community Engagement
    • Advocacy
  • Events
    • ← Back
    • Calendar
  • Get Involved
    • ← Back
    • Volunteer
    • In-kind donations
    • Donate
  • Donate
  • News

Aemal helps new arrivals and long term clients find jobs and reach their career goals. His aim is to find the talents and guide them to the right path. He believes that every individual who comes to the U.S. has valuable talents and new ideas which can strengthen the community. He is fluent in English, Farsi, Russian, Urdu (Indian dialect) and basic Arabic and Spanish languages. He loves to learn about cultures and languages.

Bio coming soon!

Alejandra provides support to the CWS Harrisonburg leadership team. She grew up in Northern Virginia and graduated from George Mason with a bachelor's degree in Criminology. She is a US Army Veteran serrving 5 years as an Intelligence Analyst. In her free time she likes to spend time outdoors with her two sons and listen to true crime podcasts. Alejandra speaks Spanish.

Alex helps new arrivals integrate and settle into the community through coordination of the Reception and Placement Program. He holds an MA in Public Policy and an MPA in Nonprofit/Organizational Management from Liberty University. He speaks Kiswahili and Ekegusii.

Alexis supports the case management team as a case management associate. He studied Clinical and Social Psychology at the Great Lakes University in Burundi. Before coming to the United States, he worked with different organizations that intervene in the field of gender-based sexual violence doing counseling for victims of HIV/AIDS. He worked for Mennonite Central Commmittee in Burundi and worked as a certified nurse assistant after arriving in the United States. He enjoys spending time with his family.

Ameera assists vulnerable populations in their journey to self-sufficiency. She is originally from Iraq. In her prior career, she was in charge of the computer department for the Ministry of Education in Iraq. She also worked as a protection officer with the International Middle East Peace Research Center, a field officer with Support to Life organization in Batman, Dyarbakir Turkey, and a teach in a refugee camp in Kurdistan. Ameera has a degree in accounting and also attended general education in WVU Parkersburg. She loves to garden and keeps chicken, sheep, and cows. She speaks Arabic, Kurdish Kurmanjee, and is practicing Turkish and Spanish.

Arsalan is the Matching Grant Case Manager. He graduated from the University of Technology in Baghdad with a degree in Engineering and has worked with CWS as an employment specialist and case manager since 2017. He has four sons and lives with his wife in the Harrisonburg area. He also owns a trucking company. He speaks Kurdish and Arabic.

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!

Emily coordinates fundraising, special events, and community outreach and education to promote refugee resettlement services. She has an MA in International Migration from the University of Kent Brussels School of International Studies. Prior to moving to Harrisonburg, she worked with Mennonite Central Committee in Papua, Indonesia and UNHCR in Washington DC. She enjoys weaving, biking, and spending time with her family.

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!

Lucia assists clients with applications for legal services such as asylum, citizenship, green card applications, and family reunifications. She is accredited by the Department of Justice to practice immigration law. She speaks Spanish and French.

Madison provides health education to refugee-eligible populations, helps newcomers navigate the United States healthcare system, and helps with access to health and mental health services. She is local to Harrisonburg and a recent graduate of Bridgewater College. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her nieces and nephews and her rescue pitbull, Valentine. In the upcoming years, Madison hopes to pursue her Master's Degree in Social Work so she can continue to welcome refugees to our community.

Natalia supports the case management team and works directly with Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolees. She is a Harrisonburg local and graduated from James Madison University with a BA in International Relations. In her free time, she loves to paint and draw. Natalia is fluent in Ukrainian.

Olga recruits and trains volunteers for a variety of projects to support CWS programs. She was born in Harrisonburg but grew up in Mexico, and enjoys hikes with friends and family. Olga graduated from Eastern Mennonite Univeristy with a bachelor's in Spanish Language and Hispanic Studies, and she is fluent in Spanish and Otomi.

Rebecca leads the staff working on intensive case management, employment, career pathways, adult education, integration support, youth programming, and small community grants providing oversight of all operations and services. She represents the mission of the projects coordinated and serves on several local coalitions working collaboratively with other community agencies with the same goal.

Rodrigue works with the CWS policy and advocacy team to develop and implement strategies to increase support for refugee resettlement with policymakers in the state of Virginia. He also supports building refugees’ civic engagement efforts in the State of Virginia through capacity building and trainings. He holds a Master’s degree in Conflict Transformation from Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, VA, and a B.S. in Information Technology from Institut Superieur d’Informatique et de Gestion in Goma, DRC. He speaks several languages including French, Swahili, and Lingala.

Sarah Alice provides oversight of programs that provide direct services to clients and coordinates resettlement activities. She has an MSW from Virginia Commonwealth University and enjoys raising sheep, running, and gardening in her free time. Sarah Alice speaks French.

Selena works alongside the case management team to provide safe and affordable housing solutions for newly arived refugees. She received her BS in Christian Ministries at Indiana Weslyan University and will be pursuing an MA in Conflict Transformation at Eastern Mennonite University this fall. She loves working in the humanitarian field, cooking Afghan dishes with her husband Sediq, and enjoying time with her kitties.

Spes provides on-going and supportive services to help victim survivors of domestic violence cope with trauma while helping them access the additional resources available in the community. She provides support and accompaniment to court for individuals who wish to seek a protective order and helps the survivors to file for child support. She offers education and information about domestic violence prevention. Spes supports all individuals and families regardless of economic status, immigration status, gender identity, religious beliefs and/or ethnicity in crisis because of domestic violence. She likes raising livestock, and reading books, articles, research, and magazines about health.She speaks French, Kirundi, Kinyarwanda and Swahili.

Spes provides on-going and supportive services to help victim survivors of domestic violence cope with trauma while helping them access the additional resources available in the community. She provides support and accompaniment to court for individuals who wish to seek a protective order and helps the survivors to file for child support. She offers education and information about domestic violence prevention. Spes supports all individuals and families regardless of economic status, immigration status, gender identity, religious beliefs and/or ethnicity in crisis because of domestic violence. She likes raising livestock, and reading books, articles, research, and magazines about health. She speaks French, Kirundi, Kinyarwanda and Swahili.

Susannah provides leadership and oversight to all CWS offices operating in Virginia, working collaboratively with the Office of New Americans to advance the shared vision of welcome across the state and the provision of professional, compassionate services to displaced populations. She lives in Harrisonburg with her spouse and dogs and enjoys riding her motorcycle and trying different foods from around the world. Susannah grew up in Brazil and speaks Spanish and Portuguese.

Thierry helps immigrants and refugees in Harrisonburg acheive their career goals in healthcare. He speaks Swahili, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, French, and a bit of Lingala.