The Refugee Organizing in Action (ROA) Collaborative Project was built on the successes of the previous ROA Network and establishes a more integrated model driven by current Ethnic Community-Based Organizations. The ROA Collaborative Project expects to help and support current and emerging Ethnic Community- Based Organizations to strengthen their capacity, provide direct culturally and linguistically appropriate services, and work to promote refugee representation and participation in decision-making bodies and other actions that impact refugee access to quality services.

Emily Pelton

Emily is the Executive Director Refugee Family Services, an organization that promotes self sufficiency for refugee women and children through economic opportunity and education. She is a seasoned non-profit strategist and manager with public policy, advocacy, and fundraising expertise. Emily has worked in Atlanta for 12 years. Prior to joining RFS, Emily worked as a consultant specializing in strategic planning, organizational development, and fundraising with a clientele of non-profit and non-governmental organizations throughout the Southeast. Previously, Emily served as the Vice President for Development and Strategic Integration at Hands On Network, where she oversaw the fundraising team and ensured effective strategy development across departments. Emily worked for the humanitarian organization CARE for six years, where she worked closely with the CEO and held the positions of Director of Foundation Fundraising and Director of Policy Analysis. Earlier in her career, Emily served as Government Relations Director for Case Western Reserve University. She also provided policy support to prominent universities and science organizations for the Washington DC lobbying firm Lewis Burke Associates. Prior to that, Emily worked in the White House: first as an analyst at the Office of Management and Budget, and later as a senior policy advisor to the President’s Science and Technology Policy Advisor. Emily received her B.A. in Physics and Soviet Studies from Cornell University and her M.P.A degree with an international affairs concentration from Princeton University.

Brittany Bromfield

Brittany, who is a native of Atlanta, is an AmeriCorps Member who serves as the ROA Community Organizing Specialist Assistant. She recently received her B.A. in Cultural Anthropology and Spanish from Agnes Scott College. She has volunteered and worked with several local non- profit organizations, received training as an Intercultural Dialogue and Safe Zone facilitator. Brittany hopes to apply her experience in group facilitation, ESL Tutoring, and refugee and youth empowerment to The ROA Collaborative Program.

Mersada Mujkanovic - Community Organizer

Mersada Mujkanovic was born and raised in Bosnia and came to Atlanta as a refugee in 1997. While working at Marshalls, Inc. and Our Way Corporation, she volunteered at local agencies assisting Bosnian women. In 1999, she started her career at Refugee Family Services, working as a job developer, Health Project Coordinator, and Child Care Coordinator. She currently works as the Coordinator of Refugee Organizing in Action. She is certified by the DHR as a Childcare Coordinator and has been trained in many topics including domestic violence prevention, refugee mental health, and immigration law. Her education includes four years of study at Brcko Technical Institute in Bosnia.