Our Team

Carrie Mann is the founder of the Transatlantic Refugee Resettlement Network and a research and management consultant. She has worked in direct services as well as on strategy and measurement in the areas of refugee resettlement and food secure resettlement. She has directed research and taught M&E for refugee resettlement and integration programs. Carrie also has many years experience in program design and management.

Theresa Samuel-Boko is a lifelong advocate for refugees and immigrants and has worked in  the Refugee Resettlement field for over a decade providing program management, direct services and advocacy within different regions in the U.S and overseas. Theresa serves on the boards of Refugee and Immigrant Services International and Mercy Beyond Borders. Theresa has a BA in Agriculture from the University of Khartoum and an MS in Human Services Administration from Springfield College in Massachusetts. Theresa came to the US as a refugee from Sudan.

Kristin Wood Hegner is a social change consultant with over 10 years of experience in leveraging the intersection of education, social justice, and innovation. She is a recent graduate of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies with a Master's degree of Public Administration and a Master of Arts in International Education Management.

Eric Chavez is a recent graduate of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Educational Administration.

Yusuf Abdi is the Program Director of Refugee Services for Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota. Yusuf oversees operations for LSS Refugee Services and provides overall leadership for the development, direction and integration of refugee services. Yusuf was a child refugee himself. He has been affiliated with LSS since 2000, when his family received assistance to resettle in Pelican Rapids, MN.

Dr. Khatharya Um is Associate Professor and Chair of Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies Program in the Department of Ethnic Studies, and Chair of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. She is also affiliated faculty of the Center for Race and Gender and is Faculty Adviser for the Berkeley Human Rights Center. She is a Chancellor Public Scholar and the first Cambodian American woman to receive a Ph.D. In addition to her academic work, Professor Um does advocacy on issues of refugee integration and of educational equity for linguistically and culturally diverse students.