Jennifer Paterson McLaughlin, (she/her) is a dedicated advocate for social justice and equity, with a focus on education and dignity for all. She holds a BA in Communication, a Master of Divinity, and an MA in Social Justice and Community Organizing.

In her role as Senior Program Manager for Youth and Education at the International Rescue Committee, Jennifer oversees education programs for refugee youth in Washington state. She is a firm believer in the Healing Classrooms approach, training educators to foster intellectual stimulation, self-worth, positive relationships, a sense of belonging, control, and teacher well-being.

Jennifer has over fifteen years of experience leading learning opportunities in immigration, race, and social justice. She is a legal sponsor for an asylum seeker and has supported over twenty women upon their release from the NW Detention Center. To aid in understanding, Jennifer has led a cross-partisan intergenerational group to join Borderlinks and No More Deaths|No Más Muertes to walk Migrant trails through the desert of southern Arizona.

Before joining the International Rescue Committee, Jennifer served in various roles including City of Lynnwood DEI Commissioner and Vice-Chair, Family Minister, Educator, Consultant, and Small Business Owner. Notably, while serving at Edmonds United Methodist Church, she initiated an anti-racism Vacation Bible School experience that ran for four consecutive years.

Jennifer’s diverse experience working with children, youth, families, refugees, immigrants, faith communities, non-profits, and government equips her to understand varying perspectives. She employs a trauma-informed, social-emotional asset-based approach in her work.

Angie Muthee currently leads the Survivor Services Program at IRC Seattle. Survivor services included the Family Wellness, Unaccompanied Children and WARN (Washington Anti-trafficking Response Network) programs and supports a collaborative community response to human trafficking in King County and surrounding areas. She has 20 years of experience implementing programming including cross cultural, collaborative partnerships and direct services to survivors of trauma.

Janet Gwilym serves as the Managing Attorney of the Children’s Legal Services program at the International Rescue Committee Washington. She leads a team of legal professionals who represent unaccompanied immigrant children, including with their  related state court proceedings, immigration removal proceedings, and applications with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Prior to joining IRC Washington, Janet managed other legal services programs for unaccompanied children and other newly arrived immigrants at local nonprofits. Janet has 30 years of experience in the field of immigration law. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and JD degree from the University of Washington School of Law. In her free time, she and her partner keep up with their two adult children, including following their actor son around town to see what is happening in the theatre scene.

Yusuf Onics Bukenya is the founder and Executive Director of MAREPA (the Safe shelter for LGBTQIA+ refugees in Nairobi, Kenya).

Suzanna Tierney earned an MA in Applied Linguistics at the University of Delaware. Tierney’s professional career includes University teaching (ESL, Spanish, Foreign Language Pedagogy, Service Learning Curriculum Design, First Year Leadership) designing & directing Study Abroad Language Immersion (Spain, Ecuador, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Mexico,) and working as a bilingual Paralegal at an Immigration Law Firm, where she specialized in Removal Cases.

She joined the IRC in October 2023.  Her roles on the Immigration Team include teaching Citizenship & TESOL classes and working as a Paralegal for clients with N-400 and N-600 applications.