Who We Are
We are happy to welcome our new Interim Director, Luz Casio.
Our Board
Olivia Jungeun Lee brings an array of experience in working with disadvantaged children in communities and in carrying out research for improving their life chances and social opportunities. She earned her MS at the Seoul National University in Korea and completed her MSW at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Currently, she is a doctoral student in the School of Social Work at the University of Washington, Seattle. She is involved in two research projects; 1) Young Women’s Health Study whose main goal is to promote a knowledge base for practitioners and policymakers who are concerned about the well-being of teen-pregnant mothers and their children; 2) Social Development Research Group whose main goal is to provide knowledge for promoting healthy development of disadvantaged children and to evaluate prevention programs for those children. By joining RIFC, she is following her passion for working with disadvantaged families and children in their communities.
Andy Bogart is a public school teacher turned biostatistician, and has worked for the University of Washington for the past year. His work involves the statistical analysis of data from medical studies, most of which involve American Indians and Alaska Natives. He serves as a statistical mentor to the Native Investigators in UWCCER’s NERC program, a fellowship for emerging Native American biomedical researchers. He works closely also with the SPIPA Comprehensive Cancer Control Program’s Youth Subcommittee as a statistical consultant and facilitator. Andy served as a teacher and teacher-trainer in Nepal as a Peace Corps Volunteer from 1994 to 1996. Andy spent 5 more years teaching secondary mathematics in Denver, Colorado and two years teaching in Istanbul, Turkey. Andy moved to Seattle from Denver in 2003 to study Biostatistics at the University of Washington, and earned his masters degree there in 2005.
Lisa Kagan joined the board at the Refugee and Immigrant Family Center after seven years of working in research and advocacy. She has worked at the Office of Children’s Administration Research, the State Legislature, and the University of Washington, as well as the non-profit sector. She has a Masters degree in Social Work and does policy planning in the areas of child development, juvenile justice, foster care, and education. Lisa and her family immigrated to the United States with the aid of small non-profits dedicated to helping immigrant and refugee families. By joining the effort at the RIFC she is able to continue that work for other families.
Mel Stennett came to RIFC with over ten years of business experience specifically in program development, business planning, strategy and process improvement. In addition, Mel has over fifteen years of volunteer experience ranging from serving as a crisis line counselor, mentoring high-risk teens and program development for local non-profit community centers. Mel has a bachelor’s degree in Pre-Law and Sociology from Central Washington University and a Masters of Business Administration from Seattle Pacific University. She also completed graduate studies in European Enterprise and International Business at Exeter College of Oxford University. Mel’s passion includes traveling, gardening, hiking, reading and volunteering her time to help communities.
Hannah Lidman earned a Master of Public Administration from Seattle University and a B.A. in Government from Cornell University. Hannah conducts policy research and analysis on early childhood education at the Economic Opportunity Institute. She has a background in communications, advocacy, and outreach having worked as a public affairs associate with Pyramid Communications
