Our Team

Alex grew up in upstate New York, near Lake Placid. She went to Colgate University, where she majored in Psychology. She got her first taste of working with refugees while working as a English as a Second Language intern at a local resettlement agency near Colgate. After getting her degree, Alex lived briefly in Rwanda, and then moved to Ethiopia for 2 and a half years as a Peace Corps Community Development/Education Specialist. Alex has worked at ECDC for just over two years; in her current position as Employment Programs Manager, she oversees all employment services and cash assistance programs for clients served by the Silver Spring office.

Fun Fact: Alex has been to 20 countries!

Atakhelti was born and raised in Ethiopia where he went to the Addis Abba University and majored in Law. After coming to America in 2004, Atakhelti was actually an ECDC client through the Matching Grant Program. This experience motivated him to become a longtime volunteer for our Arlington office and eventually apply for a position. Atakhelti currently works as a Community Advocate where he helps clients prepare and apply for government documentation and provides translation and interpretation services. He is one of the few people in our office accredited by the Justice Department to assist immigrants in immigration proceedings before the Department of Homeland Security.

Bethlehem grew up in Ethiopia and went to school at the Unity University College in Addis Ababa where she majored in Economics. After moving to the United States in 2008, she received a second degree in Social Work from the University of the District of Columbia before pursuing a Master’s in Social Work at Howard University. Beginning in 2011, Bethlehem worked as a volunteer and intern for ECDC before transitioning to a full-time position in 2013. In her current position as the Senior Program and Grant Manager, Bethlehem supervises and review program budgets/expenses and ensure all programs are meeting their respective objectives and outcomes.

Emily holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations with a concentration in Peace and Justice Studies from Roanoke College. While receiving her undergraduate degree, Emily volunteered with a local refugee resettlement agency as an experiential learning component of a class on international politics. She then went on to volunteer with Sub-Saharan refugees in Morocco and also study the European migrant crisis while interning in Brussels. After graduation, Emily served as a Refugee AmeriCorps with the Intensive Case Management program at the International Rescue Committee in Charlottesville, Virginia. Emily then started working at ECDC ACC almost a year ago as the Health Liaison, managing the Preferred Communities program and organizing educational health workshops for clients. Now, Emily works as the Resettlement Programs Manager for the ECDC ACC office in Virginia, managing the various resettlement programs.

Helen was born and raised in Ethiopia where she got her B.A. in Management and Public Administration at the Addis Ababa University. After graduation she joined Commercial Bank of Ethiopia and worked as customer service officer for four years. She pursued a Master’s degree in Development studies at Uppsala University in Sweden and immigrated to America in 2012. She got involved with ECDC when she volunteered at the 2015 Refugee’s First Thanksgiving Event. Her volunteer experience at ECDC motivated her to apply for a job and got hired as client-service coordinator in February 2016. She now works as a Self Sufficiency Program Coordinator at ECDC/ACC Arlington office. In this position, Helen assists clients in preparing for and finding employment and oversees incoming and outgoing donations. She also process payables for ACC which involves ratifying fund requests sent by case managers and other stakeholders.

Originally from Burke, Virginia, Jacqueline holds her bachelor’s degree in French and in linguistics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While an undergraduate, she worked as an ESL tutor and interned for both the IRC and World Relief Durham. Following graduation, she spent a year in Lille, France, working with the Teaching Assistant Program in France as an English assistant. She is very excited to continue her work with refugees and to join the ECDC as the new Refugee Health Liaison.

Jordan was born in New York to Jamaican immigrants and grew up in Rochester. He received a BS in Psychology at Andrews University, where he also previously worked as a college recruiter and enrollment counselor. Jordan joined ECDC in October of 2019 in the role of Supporting Communities Program Coordinator. In this role, he aids clients in goals that aid in their integration into the community, such as exploring higher education, and cultural orientation among other things. Podcasting, journalism, and immigration are passions of his, and he is currently exploring Masters in Journalism.

My name is Justin Miller and currently, I am a full-time Masters student at GMU. I worked at ECDC last year as an intern and now am back as a case aid for the organization. The job is always fulfilling to me, knowing that I’m doing my part to help refugees when they first come to the US. After I graduate, I hope to continue working with refugees or help in any way to help others.

Kate has worked in resettlement for over three years. She recently finished her Volunteer Systems AmeriCorps VISTA year at ECDC African Community Center in Denver, Colorado. Previously, she graduated from James Madison University with her Bachelors of Social Work and minor in Humanitarian Affairs. As the Extended Case Management Program (ECMP) and Services for Older Refugee (SOR) Case Manager, she aims to further clients’ self-sufficiency while creating a safe, inclusive space. She sets goals along with her clients, ensuring they have access to the resources and opportunities needed in order to meet them. She also works with older adults ensuring their basic needs are met and their overall well being is enhanced.

My name is Katie and I joined ECDC as an R&P Case Manager in June 2020. I graduated from Florida State University with Bachelor’s degrees in History and International Affairs. While at Florida State I interned with the IRC and helped run an ESOL tutoring organization for refugee and migrant students in Tallahassee, Florida. As a R&P case manager I am excited to continue to serve refugees and learn how to become a better advocate for this community.

Khadra was born in Somalia and lived in Kenya as a refugee before being resettled in the United States. Khadra joined ECDC/ACC DC in February as the Reception and Placement Program Manager. Khadra has over 5 years of experience working in resettlement in the role of direct service provider as well as program management. Throughout her career she has successfully performed supervisory functions such as assisting in hiring, training & evaluation of staff. In addition, she supervised Ameri-Corps volunteers, interns, staff, and community volunteers, and also assured that team members received appropriate training and support. 

Konjit was born and raised in Ethiopia where she graduated from AA University with an Associate degree in Management.  Konjit has over 26 years of experience in different management capacity both in public and non-government organizations in Ethiopia.  Currently serving as the Family Enrichment Specialist, on Family Wellness and Youth LST programs, she also works as an Immigration Counselor accredited by the Justice Department to assist immigrants in immigration proceedings before the Department of Homeland Security.

Mariko was born and raised in Japan.  She came to the US for the first when she was 16 years old as a high school exchange student to learn English for a year.  After graduating from high school in Japan, she came back to study more.  Mariko started off as a refugee youth mentoring program intern at ECDC, and officially joined ECDC in August 2020 as an Intensive Case Manager for the Preferred Communities (PC) program.  While she was in school, she worked in the legal field as a legal assistant and volunteered at a local nonprofit for asylum seekers.  Mariko received her BA in Global Studies with minors in Anthropology and Sociology from the University of Maryland.

International Development Professional experienced in Project & Program Design, Project Management, Monitoring & Evaluation and Capacity Building Projects. Involved in policy and strategy development for government and non-governmental organizations, Worked with refugees, Internal Displaced People (IDPs) and Returnees in conflict and post-conflict situations

Sarah was born in Ethiopia and lived in different parts of the world including west Africa, Europe, and Canada, eventually settling in the United States. She holds an MBA in Criminology and Spanish from the University of Montreal and Metropolitan State University of Denver and MPA from the University of Colorado and got her start with ECDC working for the ACC in Denver, Colorado for nearly four years. Currently she is the Director of the ACC DC Metro. Sarah oversees ACC DC Metro’s refugee resettlement and other social service support programs provided in the Washington, D.C., area. While she works in the Arlington ACC office, Sarah coordinate the activities and objectives of both offices, and facilitates communication between ACC DC Metro and the national office of ECDC.

Selamawit is born and raised in Ethiopia. She holds a BSc in Information Systems from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia and an MA in Sociology from Uppsala University, Sweden. Selamawit worked as a researcher on human trafficking, specifically labor trafficking of Ethiopian women to the Middle East and trafficking of African women to Europe for sexual exploitation. She has published two books through the research projects she worked on. As of July 23, 2019, Selamawit is working as Domestic Violence (DV) and Trafficking Victims Assistance Program (TVAP) advocate at ECDC. Selamawit is a creative writing enthusiast and has published short stories in two books in collaboration with other Ethiopian writers.

Tamar was born and raised in Republic of Georgia. She holds bachelor’s degree in International Relations Concentration Far East-Japan from Free University of Tbilisi, Georgia. Currently she is pursuing master’s degree in Public Administration at George Mason University. Tamar started at ECDC as a Reception and Placement Intern. As of August 2019, she is a Case Manager for the same program. She is excited for the opportunity to help Refugees while starting new life in the United States.

A graduate of Morgan State University, Tolu is the new Refugee Youth Mentoring Program Coordinator. Tolu started her international education career working in South Korea and has over four years of experience in that sector. Tolu has her bachelor’s in international social work and previously worked at a global language immersion program at Georgetown University. Tolu’s job as a youth program coordinator is to provide academic, creative, athletic, and vocational resources to newcomer youths in the DC metro area.