Refugee Advisory Group

📍United States of America

Basma Alawee is a refugee leader, policy strategist and nonprofit executive with over 15 years of experience advancing refugee protection and inclusion at local, national and global levels. She has secured more than $210 million in philanthropic commitments and mobilized hundreds of thousands of Americans to welcome refugees. She was the first refugee delegate in a U.S. government delegation to the UNHCR Executive Committee in Geneva. As Senior Advisor on Policy, Advocacy and Advancement, she partners with governments, multilateral institutions and philanthropic organizations to advance protection and inclusion for displaced communities.

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📍Canada

Dacious Richardson is a Liberian-born Canadian community leader and refugee advocate. He arrived in Canada at 13 after fleeing civil war in Liberia, and found healing and belonging through sport. At 17, he founded Rise Above Reality Expectation (RARE) Community Services Society. RARE provides leadership development, mental health support and safe spaces for Black, refugee, newcomer and at-risk youth through sports tournaments, workshops and mentorship programmes. He has represented Canada as a refugee delegate at the Consultations on Resettlement and Complementary Pathways (CRCP). He has also served as a Youth Advisor to the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism and the UN Alliance of Civilizations. He works as a school liaison with the Surrey School District and is a referee and coach with BC Wrestling and Canada Wrestling.

📍New Zealand

Daniel Gamboa is CEO and co-founder of the New Zealand National Refugee Youth Council, the country's only refugee youth-led organization. At 12, he and his mother fled Colombia after threats to his life, spending six years in Ecuador before resettling in New Zealand in 2012. A proud member of the rainbow community, he has led initiatives supporting rainbow refugees. Daniel has held senior advisory roles across New Zealand government departments and served as Private Parliamentary Secretary to several ministers. He is Deputy Chair of the Youth Working Group of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) and has spoken at the UNHCR Global Refugee Forum. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science and Development Studies and received the New Zealander of the Year Local Hero Award.

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📍France

Elvis Uwimana is a refugee advocate, community leader and educator. He fled Burundi and has lived as a refugee in Rwanda since 2015. He is Co-founder and Executive Director of Light4Refugee, a refugee-led organization in Mahama Refugee Camp. It supports hundreds of refugee youth with academic preparation, English instruction, leadership development and access to complementary pathways. As Network Lead for Theirworld's Climate Task Team, he shaped advocacy on climate and education, bringing youth perspectives to the UN General Assembly and the G20. He holds a Master's degree in Human Rights and Humanitarian Action from Sciences Po, pursued through the UNIV'R University Corridor, a complementary pathway for refugees. He also holds a Bachelor's degree from African Leadership University.

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📍Australia

Faiza Shakori is a community advocate working to advance equity, inclusion and social cohesion. Originally from Afghanistan, she resettled in Australia as a refugee in 1999, arriving with limited English and few resources. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Economics from Macquarie University and a Master of Human Resources Management from the University of Sydney. For over a decade, she has worked across the not-for-profit and corporate sectors. She leads initiatives that promote economic participation for refugees and people with disabilities, builds cross-sector partnerships and elevates underrepresented voices.

📍Türkiye

Jîn Dawod is a Syrian refugee leader and Founder and CEO of Peace Therapist. This refugee-led and women-led social enterprise provides culturally sensitive mental health and psychosocial support to communities affected by conflict, displacement and crisis. She has built a multilingual network of more than 150 mental health professionals, reaching over 80,000 people in 26 countries. Her work connects mental health with peacebuilding, social cohesion and humanitarian policy, and she contributes to international discussions on refugee leadership and durable solutions. Her recognition includes the UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award – Europe, the UN SDG Action Award and Forbes 30 Under 30.

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📍Pakistan

Khatira Abdul Samad is an Afghan refugee, refugee rights advocate and social entrepreneur based in Pakistan. She founded the Ameen Foundation for Refugees (AFRe), a refugee-led initiative working with refugees, internally displaced people and marginalized communities on education, livelihoods, health, protection and women's rights. Through AFRe, she has created mobile and pop-up classrooms for children and girls unable to access formal education. She also helps Afghan refugees and asylum seekers navigate protection services and find information on resettlement and complementary pathways. She has participated in the Global Refugee Forum and represented Afghanistan as an International Youth Climate Delegate at COP28. Her work has been recognized with the Peter Drucker Purpose Summit Audience Award and the Ember Caring for the Carers Award.

📍United Kingdom

Lam Joar is originally from South Sudan and became a refugee in Kenya after fleeing his country at 15. Passionate about sport, he was selected in 2015 for the first Refugee Olympic Team. After the 2016 Olympics, he focused on higher education and became Camp Coordinator for the Refugee Olympic Team through the Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation. His experience spans humanitarian programming, sport for development and project management. He has worked with organizations including UNHCR, One Young World, AHEEN and, currently, On Running, and has supported refugee-led initiatives across Africa and Europe. He holds a master's degree in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies from the University of Oxford.

📍United States of America

Nigina Abdul Moqim is a refugee leader and humanitarian practitioner with over 15 years of experience advancing refugee protection, integration and participation across Afghanistan, Europe and the United States. After fleeing Afghanistan as a child, she began her education in a refugee camp. She later represented refugee youth at the UNHCR NGO Consultations in Geneva and went on to work with UNHCR in Afghanistan. Displaced again in 2021, she rebuilt her life with her family in the United States. As Program Manager for Family Wellness & Integration at HIAS, she leads national initiatives and contributes to its work on community sponsorship, labour and education pathways and family reunification. She holds a Master of International Affairs from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, and a Bachelor of Law.

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📍Australia

Rooan Al Kalmashi is a lawyer, policy professional and human rights advocate. Through Settlement Services International's ECOSOC status, she has represented Australian civil society at multilateral forums. These include the Global Refugee Forum, UNHCR Global Consultations with Refugees and the Commission on the Status of Women. She advocates for the protection of ethno-religious minority communities in the Middle East. Over the past five years, her work has focused on humanitarian aid in fragile conflict zones, including emergency responses in Afghanistan, and on regional dialogue on protection, durable solutions and complementary pathways. She was named Third Sector's 2023 Young Leader of the Year. Rooan is an Associate at the New South Wales Cabinet Office and holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Technology Sydney.

📍Australia

Sagalee Omer is Founder and Director of Shooters Shoot, an Australian youth organization that uses sport, culture and storytelling to create belonging and improve well-being for young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds. He also founded Locationest, a storytelling platform centring community voices. At the 2025 CRCP, he spoke on refugee resilience and integration through arts and sport. His work focuses on youth engagement, post-arrival integration, mental health and community-led solutions. He advocates for refugees and young people to be recognized as experts and partners in shaping the systems that affect them.

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📍Australia

Saina Avesta is a proud trans woman and former refugee from Iran. A refugee community leader, human rights advocate and independent consultant, she specializes in trauma-informed, inclusive practice in protection, resettlement and settlement contexts. At 18, she fled persecution in Iran based on her gender identity and spent almost seven years in Türkiye. There she became a peer leader in the queer refugee community, before resettling in Australia through UNHCR in 2021. She founded the Persian Queer Network, which supports Persian-speaking LGBTIQA+ refugees and asylum seekers, and runs the consultancy Avesta Advisory. She is a Refugee Community Specialist at STARTTS in Sydney. In 2025, she delivered a plenary statement for the Forcibly Displaced People Network at the GRF Progress Review in Geneva.

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📍Canada

Salah Jawish is a refugee rights and community development practitioner with a decade of experience working with refugee and displaced communities in Egypt. His work focuses on legal aid, protection, advocacy and community-based support. He co-founded Tafawol Association for Special Needs and Development, a refugee-led organization where he is Deputy Chair of the Board and has headed its Legal Aid and Psychosocial Support programmes. He also co-founded the United Refugee Network in Egypt and is a Refugee Legal Fellow with PILnet. His work is grounded in access to justice, meaningful refugee participation and community-led protection.

📍Canada

Yusra Herzi is an international human rights lawyer and Program Officer for Forced Displacement at PILnet, where she works to expand access to justice for refugees, stateless people and forcibly displaced communities. Originally from Somalia and now resettled in Canada, she brings both lived and professional experience to her work. Over six years in labour and international human rights law, she has led strategic litigation and advocacy strengthening refugee labour rights across Southeast Asia. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and a Master of Arts in Strategic and Defence Studies. She co-authored Refugees at Work: Rights and Realities under International Law with Emily E. Arnold-Fernández.

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