Staff
Carl Nelson, Acting Executive Director
Christopher Nelson, Development Director
Kate Shermer, Communications Director
Estera Nyquist, Administrative Coordinator
Mike Bergman, Program Developer
Direct Program Services
Rebekah Phillips, Director of Refugee Services
Audelia Kouame, Program Coordinator, Refugee Cash Assistance and Resettlement
Hannah Schmokel, Housing Resource Coordinator
Refugee Employment Services
Briana Williamson, Employment Counselor
Reception and Placement
Ruth LePage, Reception and Placement Program Manager
Danielle DeRose, Reception and Placement Case Manager
Zachary Hall, Reception and Placement Case Manager
Esther Madimban, Reception and Placement Case Manager
Immigration Legal Services
Christine Phillips, Director of Immigration Legal Services, Attorney at Law
Allegra Drobnick, Immigration Counselor
Ashlyn Vosika-Scherzberg, Immigration Counselor
Tracy Nelson, Immigration Assistant
Church Mobilization Ministries
Wendy Meyering, Director of Church Mobilization Ministries
Rochester
Adam Cheney, Rochester Area Coordinator
St. Cloud
Samantha Grimsley, St. Cloud Area Director
Melissa Oler, St. Cloud Area Coordinator
Willmar
Jenny Groen, Willmar Area Coordinator
Good Neighbor Program
Kelsey Manfred, Good Neighbor Program Director
Matt Blackford, Good Neighbor Coordinator
Akram Matta, Good Neighbor Coordinator
Madeline Kertzmann, Good Neighbor Coordinator
Currently Hiring, Good Neighbor Coordinator
Somali Adult Literacy Training
Currently Hiring, SALT Director
David Pestel, SALT Associate Director
Brad Henkel, SALT Program Director
Melissa Petersen, Language Resource Coordinator
Board of Directors
Carl Nelson
President, Transform Minnesota
Acting Executive Director, Arrive Ministries
Chuck Martel, Board Chair
Senior Vice President of RWD Solutions and Operations, ConcertAI
Mindy Conradi, Board Vice Chair
Retired Pilot, Delta Air Lines
Patrick Flowers, Board Secretary
Manager, Water Quality Xcel Energy
Rev. Mark Bendell
Interim Pastor Ministries
Pastor Jean Pierre Gatera
International Association for Refugees
Jill McFarling
Senior Vice President of Fraud Analytics and Strategy, U.S. Bank
Cher Moua
Leadership Development & Strategic Partnership, Cru Inner City
Natalie Schmidt
Elementary Ministry, Emmanuel Covenant Church
