Board of Directors

Board Chair & Treasurer
Michael J. Van Leesten

Laura-Miller — Vice-Chair
Laura B. Miller, MPH

Secretary
Zehra Patwa, PWP, ARM

Community Engagement Officer
Katherine C. McKenzie, MD. FACP

Anup-Khattar — Board Member
Anup Khattar

JEFF_KINNEY — Board Member
Jeffrey Kinney

Board Member
Jennifer S. Milano, Esq.

Mostafa — Board Member
Mostafa Analoui

Robert Statchen Head Shot — Board Member
Robert Statchen, Esq.

board member photo — Board Member
Roya Hakakian

Board Member
Teodoro Garcia Jr.

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Board Chair & Treasurer

Michael J. Van Leesten

Michael is currently a Partner in Social Venture Partners CT, a philanthropic network. His role is to grow SVP’s statewide presence and deepen its community relationships. From 1997 to 2005, Michael served as the CFO of the Construction Division of Travelers Insurance Co. He earned an MBA from Columbia University with Honors in 1997, and undergraduate degrees in English and Economics from Dartmouth College. Deeply engaged in the New Haven community, Michael has also served as a soccer coach, a math teacher, on the Board of Elm City Montessori, and as the Director of Pathfinder Hopkins School, an award-winning academic enrichment program for middle schoolers from New Haven-area public and parochial schools.

Vice-Chair

Laura B. Miller, MPH

Laura Miller is currently the Senior Technical Advisor for Health Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning for the International Rescue Committee (IRC). In this role she leads the development of global tools, processes and systems that support the use of high-quality monitoring, evaluation and research data for evidence-based programming. Previously, she worked in various IRC positions providing technical assistance to humanitarian health programs in Bangladesh, Liberia, Libya, Myanmar, Serbia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Syria, Thailand, and Zimbabwe, and managing the health and Ebola response programs in Sierra Leone. She has also worked for the New York City Department of Health and the International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC).

Secretary

Zehra Patwa, PWP, ARM

Zehra is currently Senior Project Manager in Digital Customer Delivery at the Knights of Columbus. Her significant expertise in risk management has been honed both at the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and through numerous pro bono appointments. Zehra’s academic achievements include receiving First Class Honors in her double major as an undergraduate at University of Bradford School of Management, UK, as well as earning the Maîtrise des Sciences de Gestion (Diploma in Business Studies), Université de Montpellier, France. Outside of her professional work, in 2015 Zehra co-founded WeSpeakOut to fight female genital mutilation, using social media to build public awareness and understanding of the issue. She has voluntarily served as a key advisor on capital campaigns, personnel committees, and multicultural affairs for numerous Connecticut organizations, including Yale’s Bodel Child Care Center and the Foote School. Her active Board commitments also include Chair for the Sahiyo US Advisory Board (sahiyo.org) and as Trustee and Chair of the Building & Grounds Committee, Hopkins School.

Community Engagement Officer

Katherine C. McKenzie, MD. FACP

Kate is a faculty member at Yale School of Medicine. She currently directs the Yale Center for Asylum Medicine (YCAM), which she founded. In this capacity, she performs forensic evaluations of asylum seekers at Yale and in detention facilities, leads the asylum medicine teaching program at Yale, mentors clinicians across North America, and lectures extensively on topics of asylum, detention, and physician advocacy. She is a past recipient of the Leonard B. Tow Award for Humanism in Medicine and Yale’s Faculty Award for Achievement in Clinical Care. Kate’s work has appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, Time magazine, CNN, and many other publications. She is consistently named a “Top Doctor” by Connecticut Magazine, in addition to being certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine since 1995.

Board Member

Anup Khattar

Anup is a retired IT Executive with over thirty years of experience in strategic planning, operations management, and governance. Nowadays, he brings his experience managing diverse workforces to his passion for nonprofit management, and has recently completed a highly selective and intensive deep immersion program on nonprofit management through UConn’s Department of Public Policy. Anup also holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and an MBA. He is passionate about using his skills to aid vulnerable populations with necessities like education, housing, and food. In addition, Anup actively volunteers for many organizations including Foodshare, Inspirica, Habitat for Humanity, the Town of South Windsor Senior Center and the United Way.

Board Member

Jeffrey Kinney

Jeff is retired, having spent the majority of his career in corporate banking, and more recently as a nonprofit executive with a large human services organization. His nonprofit responsibilities included oversight of marketing, fund raising, advocacy, and strategic planning. Jeff has served on numerous nonprofit boards in New England and has a passion for serving refugees and immigrants.

Board Member

Jennifer S. Milano, Esq.

Jen worked as an attorney in private practice for 25 years, and now focuses on volunteer work with a particular interest in international human rights. She has served on several nonprofit boards and been an active community volunteer in her hometown of Guilford since she moved there in 2004. Jen has been an IRIS volunteer since 2008,and especially enjoys forming friendships with the refugees she has helped resettle.

Board Member

Mostafa Analoui

Mostafa is the Carlton Highsmith Endowed Chair of Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and Professor of Business at Quinnipiac University. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Brown University (Providence, RI). Mostafa has served in the business and scientific leadership roles in various universities and corporations, including Pfizer and IBM. He has served as CEO and Chairman of the Board of Private and Public companies in the US and Canada. He received his PhD from Purdue University and engaged in several collaborative and nonprofit initiatives in the US and internationally. Mostafa has authored more than 130 publications, including journal articles, a book and book chapters, and technical reports.

Board Member

Robert Statchen, Esq.

Bob is currently a Clinical Professor of Law at Western New England University School of Law where he directs a Small Business Legal Clinic. His clinic creates the opportunity for upper-level law students to provide transactional legal services to low-income entrepreneurs. Prior to teaching, he practiced privately in Connecticut for ten years. His legal career began as a JAG in the Air Force for four years. Assigned by U.S. Air Force to work with the recently created Bosnian Department of Civil Aviation, Bob was negotiated and drafted air traffic control agreements between neighboring countries during the immediate post-war period. Bob served 26 years in the Connecticut Air National Guard, until 2023.

Board Member

Roya Hakakian

Roya is currently an SNF Agora Visiting Fellow at Johns Hopkins University. A writer who works both in Persian and English, Roya has been a recipient of the Guggenheim fellowship in nonfiction. Her memoir, Journey from the Land of No, about coming of age as a Jewish girl in post-revolutionary Iran, received Elle Magazine’s Readers Choice Award. Her latest book, A Beginner’s Guide to America: For the Immigrant and the Curious, has been called a “must read for all immigrants and those who love them.” As a journalist, she has written for leading newspapers, and produced for network news units, including CBS 60 Minutes.

Board Member

Teodoro Garcia Jr.

Teddy is currently an Accountant at Yale University where he manages the billing for University Service Providers. The cores are providing microscopy and sample handling for internal and external clients pushing innovation in medical research to new levels. He has received multiple promotions at Yale within finance positions, starting as intern, then a financial assistant and most recently as a compensation analyst and held a brief position at Yale New Haven Health Systems as a financial analyst. Teddy is a New Haven Promise scholar and an alum, a proud New Haven native, with roots from Puebla, Mexico.

Board Fellows

Neha Jain | Graduate Student at Yale School of Management

IRIS means hope, helping refugees and immigrants rebuild their lives and strengthen our communities.

New Haven Office
235 Nicoll Street,
New Haven, CT 06511

Hartford Office
25 Main Street,
Hartford CT 06106

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 203.562.2095

IRIS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
EIN 06-0653044

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