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.
Kalia and her husband recently moved to Columbia from New Mexico. She has worked with college students throughout most of her career and enjoys getting to walk through life with students as they figure out what they are passionate about. The excitement and passion that the interns bring to City of Refuge is so valuable, and she can’t wait to implement new programs with the students to serve the refugee population in Columbia.
Leah Glenn | Program CoordinatorAs Program Coordinator, Leah collaborates with our Refugee Care Coordinators to implement services and partner volunteers to help refugees recover and regain control of their lives in Missouri. Leah believes in the mission of City of Refuge and cares deeply about the work we are doing.
Jessie is passionate about supporting healthy births among refugee women and families in Central Missouri. As a doula, she will join mothers for prenatal appointments, during labor and delivery, and throughout the postpartum period. She is so excited to support mothers and families in this role. Jessie also has background in strategic design and has stepped into our Social Media Manager role with passion to grow our presence in the social media world.
Candace Hulsizer | School LiaisonAs 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.
Chloe started volunteering at City of Refuge in 2018 and, since then, has done just a little bit of everything! She now works closely with our kids and parents, as well as volunteers, helping connect people with any and all tutoring needs. She is a recent graduate from Columbia College and wants to make a career out of working with non-profit organizations like this one.
Pray Meh is from a Thailand Refugee Camp. She hopes to help the Karenni families and become a part of their resettlement process. In her new role, she will interpret for parents and tutor students.
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.
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.