As the Executive Director, Debbie oversees the day-to-day operations and mission of City of Refuge. Her goal is to build off the growth that City of Refuge has experienced by equipping and supporting the staff, volunteers, and refugees. You can reach Debbie at debbie@cityofrefugecolumbia.org.
As Director of Refuge Care, Barry works hands-on with every refugee who comes through City of Refuge. From the beginning, Barry and Lori have been helping refugees, even before City of Refuge officially began. Barry loves being able to work with folks from other countries and being able to affect their lives in a positive way.
As Refugee Care Coordinator, Lori works hands-on with every refugee who comes through City of Refuge. Lori was one of the original founders for City of Refuge and has been helping her refugee friends in Columbia for decades. The refugees are her family. They eat, celebrate, and live in community together.
After living in Namibia, Africa with his family for the past 12 years, David has joined the City of Refuge Team! Throughout their time overseas, their love for engaging new cultures and passion for walking with the marginalized has become central to their lives. David is is intent on meeting and building lasting relationships with refugees in Columbia. He knows firsthand that crossing cultures and building a home in a foreign country can be difficult and is thrilled to be serving our new neighbors in this capacity.
As Event/Donation Coordinator, Kellye manages every in-kind gift and works with our Care Coordinators to get them to a family in need. She also plans and runs City of Refuge events, such as our garage sales. Her hope is to live her life making this community, this world, a little better off than before. The work of City of Refuge serves to offer love, respect, and guidance to those who are most in need of it. You can contact her at: kellye@cityofrefugecolumbia.org
As the Director of Development, Dan shares about City of Refuge’s work with partners in ways that will extend and deepen our programming. He loves to mobilize others to share resources that will make Columbia a great home for refugees.
Garrett has been blessed with a life of wildly different opportunities, ones that have readied him to help with tech, processes, relationships, and executing the vision of the staff and refugees! He considers it an honor to serve, and let the lives of refugees be blessed as a result.
Candace Hulsizer | Director of EducationAs she works with youth from Pre-K through college, Candace’s goal is to encourage students to reach their highest potential by taking advantage of the wonderful educational and extracurricular opportunities Columbia has to offer.
Being part of the story of City of Refuge means developing and fostering relationships. Throughout Jenn’s years with CPS, she has had the incredible privilege to work with our refugee community, hear their stories and get to know the students and families as a whole. Many of these relationships now carry over into her work at City of Refuge. She is looking forward to supporting our refugee learners in a different capacity, serving as a bridge between the student, family and school.
As the Financial Literacy & Employment Education AmeriCorp VISTA Member, Stefanie serves to strengthen financial literacy and employment opportunities for refugees in our community. By creating curriculum and building partnerships, her aim is to offer hope and guidance as City of Refuge helps refugees regain control of their lives.
Kelly’s passion is using her creativity whenever she can and telling compelling stories to wide audiences. She is excited to be part of the amazing story of City of Refuge. She comes from the field of communication, so telling stories is part of her nature. She looks forward to being creative, sharing experiences, and seeing both our community and City of Refuge grow. Her hope is to bring passion, skills, and uniqueness to the role as social media manager.
We would love for you to support the refugee families that have been placed in our community. We are always in need of volunteers, as well as material and financial donations. There are also occasional job openings and internship opportunities available.
If you have any questions about our organization or how to get involved, feel free to contact us today.