IRIS-Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services
Meet our team
IRIS is a diverse team that includes staff who are former refugees, asylees, humanitarian parolees, and undocumented immigrants.
With this multilingual, culturally adept, and deeply experienced staff, along with our dedicated volunteers, IRIS is uniquely suited to provide support to refugees, immigrants, and also to those who sponsor refugees.
Maggie Mitchell Salem
Executive Director
SYED AHMED
Employment Specialist (Outreach)
SPOGMAI AKBERZAI
PC Case Manager
Muhanad Alhamwi
Post R&P Case Manager
Yazan Al Doumani
Housing & Donation Assistance
Birtukan Ali
Senior Manager, Resettlement Finance
BONNY AMADOR-LOPEZ
Bookkeeping and Finance Assistant
Cristal Arguello
SUN Case Manager
JOANNA ARPIE
Early Childhood Education Teacher
Tava Auslan
Employment Services Specialist
Tamana Azizi
Family Literacy Program Assistant
PEMA BHUTIA
Health and Wellness Manager
ANA CARDENAS
Operations Manager
DANIELA CARRANZA
Senior Manager – Preferred Communities
Zahra Chaudhry
Paralegal
Diana Church Empsall
Associate Director of Development
Melissa Cisija
Outreach Programs Coordinator
Lori Clemens
ESOL Instructor
Doris Cordova
SUN Case Manager
Faqeerullah Darwish
Ukrainian Program Data Coordinator
BARBARA DAVIS
Community Sponsorship Developer
Asha Delcogliano
Private Sponsorship Outreach Coordinator
Addison Dickens
Staff Attorney
RACHEL DOFT
Director of Immigration Legal Services
MIRKA DOMINGUEZ-SALINAS
Manager, Services for Undocumented Neighbors (SUN)
MICHAEL DOYLE
Senior Staff Attorney
CYNTHIA DUNN
Community Sponsorship Developer
BISMILLAH ENSAFI
Education & Enrollment Specialist
Massita Fadiga
Resettlement Program Manager
Shafiullah Faizee
Health Coordinator
Danielle Faulkner
Case Manager Assistant
Julia Febos
Case Management Assistant
DENNY FERNANDEZ
Housing & Donations Manager (Hartford)
Nick Fiorentino
Volunteer & Intern Manager
Dahiana Fulgencio
Education & Enrollment Specialist
Alexis Garcia
Post-R&P Case Manager
Kyle Gibbs
Operations Procurement Officer
Delaila Grey
SUN Case Manager
Samantha Gudis
Housing Set Up Liaison
Ana Lucia Gutierrez Gomez
SUN Healthcare Coordinator
LAL HABIB DELAWAR
IT Manager
Sharon Hall-Smith
Deputy Director for Resettlement Services, Hartford
Becca Harrison
Welcome Corps Application Coach
JENNIFER HARTLEY
Education Advocate & Family Engagement Specialist
Fatima Hassan
Education Assistant
Shauntasia Hicks
Manager of Housing
Michelle Hopson
Senior Director of Finance
Erin Howe
Deputy Director, Welcome Corps
Shah Jahan
HR Coordinator
Rafiqullah Jan
Employment Service Specialist
TANYA KIMBALL
Director of Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, & Learning (MEAL)
Lisa Kinney Bajwa
Higher Education Coordinator
Anna Kilty
Ukrainian Program Case Manager
Brooklyn Kline
Director of Operations
Andrii Kryvoruchko
Ukranian Asylum Coordinator
KEVIN LANGSON
Grant Writer
KATY LAWDER
Director, Community Engagement
AMY LYNN
Director of Finance
Chance Mbaye
Case Manager Assistant
Lisa McGowan
Case-Manager
Brittany Medinger
Employer Engagement Liaison
Susana Mejia
Paralegal
MISAEL MERCADO
Housing and Donations Coordinator
Gisou Mercado-Vega
Office Manager (Hartford)
Kate Merschman
Senior Manager – Preferred Communities
Nagy Mishriky
Employment Services Specialist
Zohra Moradi
Case Manager – Post R&P
Mariana Morales
Humanitarian Sponsorship Program Case Manager (Cuban/Haitian)
Victoria Morales
R&P Case Manager
Azad Mousou
Case Manager
Muna Mustafa Alnabelsi
Education & Enrollment Specialist
GLADYS (NDENGO) MWILELO
After School Coordinator
PAIMAN NASIRI
Training & Compliance Officer
ELISABETH NEITERMAN
Volunteer Coordinator (Hartford)
Sami Niazai
Welcome Corps Application Coach
ALEM NUGUSE
Custodian
Colin O’Brien
Housing and Donation Assistant
Jessica Patti
Director, Client Services (New Haven)
Tetyana Pavelo
Ukrainian Program Community Integration Specialist
Doh Paw
Benefits Specialist
LAUREN PETERSEN
Deputy Director, Immigration Legal Services
Daniel Pflueger
Manager, Post-R&P Services
Jane Renaud
Staff Attorney
DEBRA RIDING
Director, Education & Employment
RONA ROHBAR
Senior Manager, Health Team
Maggie Rodriguez
Legal Fellow
Mohammad Salim
R&P Case Manager
Hossna Samadi
Outreach Coordinator
ANDREA SANCHEZ
Senior Employment Specialist
DAAD SERWERI
Senior Manager – Co-Sponsorship
Andrea Streets
Interpreter Quality Coordinator
Johanna Snyder
Food Pantry & Bike Program Coordinator
SUE SOBOLEWSKI
Receptionist
ANIKO SZABO
Associate Director, Education & Employment
Anthony Tembera
Employment Services Specialist
Venu Thirumala
Annual Fund Manager
PATRICIA TYNAN-KRAWCZYK
Manager, Education & Employment
Iryna Velbytska
Case Management
Jen Vickery
Senior Manager, Communications
Bashir Watandost
Employment Services Specialist
Susan White
ESOL Coordinator
Michael Wolven
Systems Manager, Welcome Corps
Omar Yacoub
Manager, Youth Education Programs Michelle Hopson
Senior Director of FinanceMichelle Hopson, Senior Director of Finance at IRIS since October 2024, brings over 16 years of experience in nonprofit financial, programmatic, and organizational growth. Known for her strategic capacity-building approach, she aligns organizational goals with strong financial management, human resources, and technology. Born in the Philippines, Michelle speaks multiple languages and views language as a powerful tool for problem-solving. Her collaborative leadership fosters cross-departmental partnerships and multi-team success, driving impactful outcomes for organizations with budgets up to $100 million.
Beyond her professional commitments, Michelle remains deeply engaged in her community. She serves as a commissioner on her local Zoning Board of Appeals, chairs the Parish Council Board at her church, and teaches as an adjunct professor of engineering and technology at a local community college.
Michelle holds a bachelor’s degree in legal and policy studies from Fordham University and earned an Executive Education Certificate from Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business and Graduate School of Social Services’ Center for Nonprofit Leaders. In 2015, she was selected to attend a Harvard Advanced Leadership Institute symposium for nonprofit and public sector leaders. Her contributions to the public-private landscape were further acknowledged in 2024 when she was honored as one of Schneps Media’s Power Women of Manhattan for her role in uplifting communities across New York City. She resides in Westport with her husband, daughter, and their beloved shih tzu.
Maggie Mitchell Salem
Executive DirectorMaggie joined IRIS as Executive Director in January 2024.  Throughout her nearly 30-year career, Maggie has managed diverse teams focused on civic education, intercultural dialogue, social and political rights, and forced displacement. She arrived in Connecticut following three years leading the National Democratic Institute’s democratic governance program in Tunisia.
Given the exponential increase in the number of refugees, humanitarian parolees, and other immigrants that IRIS assists, Maggie has focused on organizational structure, systems, and policies that create a strong foundation for the organization’s continued growth.  Her previous experience at Global Refuge (formerly Lutheran Immigration & Refugee Services) and Fugees Academy have underscored the importance of collaborative, communicative leadership and management.
For more than a decade, she was the founding executive director of Qatar Foundation International and expanded Arabic language and culture education to public K-12 schools across the U.S., UK, Ireland, and Germany.  As the Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), she expanded or created new programs in Jordan, Jordan, Palestinian territories, Egypt, Lebanon, Iran, and Iraq.  Maggie started up and led the Middle East Institute’s Communications Department from 2001-2004.  She also served as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer in Mumbai and Tel Aviv, and as staff on the Executive Secretariat of Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
Maggie was a Fulbright Scholar in Syria while studying for her Masters in Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University. She received a Bachelor’s degree in political science and psychology from The Johns Hopkins University.  She is the proud mom of two sons and two daughters.  She lives with her six dogs and two cats in East Haddam and enjoys volunteering with the Goodspeed Guild.
SYED AHMED
Employment Specialist (Outreach)
SPOGMAI AKBERZAI
PC Case Manager
Muhanad Alhamwi
Post R&P Case Manager
Cristal Arguello
SUN Case Manager
Tava Auslan
Employment Services Specialist
PEMA BHUTIA
Health and Wellness Manager
DANIELA CARRANZA
Senior Manager – Preferred Communities
Doris Cordova
SUN Case Manager
MIRKA DOMINGUEZ-SALINAS
Manager, Services for Undocumented Neighbors (SUN)
Massita Fadiga
Resettlement Program Manager
Shafiullah Faizee
Health Coordinator
Danielle Faulkner
Case Manager Assistant
DENNY FERNANDEZ
Housing & Donations Manager (Hartford)
Alexis Garcia
Post-R&P Case Manager
Kyle Gibbs
Operations Procurement Officer
Delaila Grey
SUN Case Manager
Ana Lucia Gutierrez Gomez
SUN Healthcare Coordinator
Samantha Gudis
Housing Set Up Liaison
Shauntasia Hicks
Manager of Housing
Rafiqullah Jan
Employment Service Specialist
Chance Mbaye
Case Manager Assistant
Lisa McGowan
Senior Case Manager
MISAEL MERCADO
Housing and Donations Coordinator
Zohra Moradi
Case Manager – Post R&P
Mariana Morales
Humanitarian Sponsorship Program Case Manager (Cuban/Haitian)
Victoria Morales
R&P Case Manager
Azad Mousou
Case Manager
PAIMAN NASIRI
Training & Compliance Officer
Colin O’Brien
Housing and Donation Assistant
Jessica Patti
Director, Client Services (New Haven)
Doh Paw
Benefits Specialist
Daniel Pflueger
Manager, Post-R&P Services
RONA ROHBAR
Senior Manager, Health Team
ANDREA SANCHEZ
Senior Employment Specialist
Johanna Snyder
Food Pantry & Bike Program Coordinator
ANIKO SZABO
Associate Director, Education & Employment
PATRICIA TYNAN-KRAWCZYK
Manager, Education & Employment
Bashir Watandost
Employment Services Specialist
Faqeerullah Darwish
Ukrainian Program Data Coordinator
BARBARA DAVIS
Community Sponsorship Developer
Asha Delcogliano
Private Sponsorship Outreach Coordinator
CYNTHIA DUNN
Community Sponsorship Developer
Anna Kilty
Ukrainian Program Case Manager
Lisa McGowan
Case-Manager
Kate Merschman
Senior Manager – Preferred Communities
Tetyana Pavelo
Ukrainian Program Community Integration Specialist
Yazan Al Doumani
Housing & Donation Assistance
Julia Febos
Case Management Assistant
Dahiana Fulgencio
Education & Enrollment Specialist
TANYA KIMBALL
Director of Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, & Learning (MEAL)
Nagy Mishriky
Employment Services Specialist
ELISABETH NEITERMAN
Volunteer Coordinator (Hartford)
Mohammad Salim
R&P Case Manager
Sharon Hall-Smith
Deputy Director for Resettlement Services, Hartford
Anthony Tembera
Employment Services Specialist
Gisou Mercado-Vega
Office Manager (Hartford)
Iryna Velbytska
Case Management
Diana Church Empsall
Associate Director of Development
Melissa Cisija
Outreach Programs Coordinator
Nick Fiorentino
Volunteer & Intern Manager
KEVIN LANGSON
Grant Writer
KATY LAWDER
Director, Community Engagement
Sami Niazai
Welcome Corps Application Coach
Hossna Samadi
Outreach Coordinator
Venu Thirumala
Annual Fund Manager
Jen Vickery
Senior Manager, Communications
Muna Mustafa Alnabelsi
Education & Enrollment Specialist
JOANNA ARPIE
Early Childhood Education Teacher
Tamana Azizi
Family Literacy Program Assistant
Lisa Kinney Bajwa
Higher Education Coordinator
Lori Clemens
ESOL Instructor
BISMILLAH ENSAFI
Education & Enrollment Specialist
JENNIFER HARTLEY
Education Advocate & Family Engagement Specialist
Fatima Hassan
Education Assistant
Brittany Medinger
Employer Engagement Liaison
GLADYS (NDENGO) MWILELO
After School Coordinator
DEBRA RIDING
Director, Education & Employment
Iryna Velbytska
Ukrainian Program Education Specialist
Omar Yacoub
Manager, Youth Education Programs
Susan White
ESOL Coordinator
Birtukan Ali
Senior Manager, Resettlement Finance
BONNY AMADOR-LOPEZ
Bookkeeping and Finance Assistant
ANA CARDENAS
Operations Manager
Brooklyn Kline
Director of Operations
AMY LYNN
Director of Finance
Zahra Chaudhry
Paralegal
Addison Dickens
Staff Attorney
RACHEL DOFT
Director of Immigration Legal Services
MICHAEL DOYLE
Senior Staff Attorney
Andrii Kryvoruchko
Ukranian Asylum Coordinator
Susana Mejia
Paralegal
LAUREN PETERSEN
Deputy Director, Immigration Legal Services
Jane Renaud
Staff Attorney
Maggie Rodriguez
Legal Fellow
LAL HABIB DELAWAR
IT Manager
Shah Jahan
HR Coordinator
ALEM NUGUSE
Custodian
SUE SOBOLEWSKI
Receptionist
Andrea Streets
Interpreter Quality Coordinator
Becca Harrison
Welcome Corps Application Coach
Erin Howe
Deputy Director, Welcome Corps
Michael Wolven
Systems Manager, Welcome Corps