Chol Majok came to the United States from South Sudan as a young boy. His journey and that of thousands of other Sudanese refugees was captured in a series of documentaries, in which they were dubbed the “Lost Boys.” In 2013, he landed a job at City Hall with then-Mayor Stephanie Miner. He rose through her administration to become director of constituent services. Majok is an active member of the Syracuse city community and the refugees and New Americans community.

Fatuma Mohamud spent 18 years in a refugee camp in Kenya before resettling to Syracuse in 2012 with her mother and grandmother. After graduating from high school, Fatuma attended OCC and then earned a degree from Bryant and Stratton College. She has since found a passion working with children and is a licensed daycare provider.  Since coming to Syracuse she has volunteered for resettlement agencies such as Interfaith Works, CYO, RISE and helps newcomers with translation and interpretation services with hospitals, legal services and other documentation. In 2017 she began to work with middle and high school girls through the New American Women Empowerment organization. She is proud to be making a difference in the City of Syracuse as an immigrant, refugee and Muslim woman.

Nada Odeh is a Syrian artist, activist, humanitarian and a modern-day poet. She was born and raised in Damascus and has lived in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and came to the USA in 2013 due to the conflict and revolution in her country. Nada earned a MA in Museum Studies at Syracuse University. She earned her Bachelor in Fine Arts from the Damascus University.The medium she works in is acrylics on canvases, Arabic miniatures, Middle Eastern colors. The key theme in her artwork is the Syrian refugees in camps and Syrian women in exile. She has exhibited her art in Damascus, Dubai, New York City, Detroit, Toledo, Tiffin, Washington D.C, Syracuse, and Troy.

Jasenko Mondom  was born in the former Yugoslavia –– today that part of the country is called Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1992, just a few months after the civil war started in Bosnia, he fled with family to Germany. In 1997 the United States opened a program to accept some of Bosnian refugees he and his family were lucky enough to be accepted to resettle to Syracuse NY.Since 2000 he has been employed at Syracuse City School District as an adult education teacher on special assignment as a job developer at Refugee Assistance program – Bob’s School. His main tasks are: to conduct pre-employment training, help refugees to apply and obtain employment in the United States, as well as helping them to retain their jobs.

Mostafa Shalaby is originally from Cairo, Egypt. He moved from Egypt to the United States to seek better college education opportunities. He has lived  in Syracuse since 2015.He received a Bachelor of Science degree from CUNY, College of Staten Island majoring in Accounting/Finance, and acquired a Master degree from Cornell University in International Development. He is an experienced Non-Profit Consultant specializing in United States Government and International Organizations. Has been working on managing development projects in areas including the US, the Middle East and other parts of Africa. He has been contributing to the community of Syracuse through serving on the board of directors of New American Forum and the American Red Cross CNY. He is also is an active contributor to the Muslim community in Syracuse.

Tai Shaw is the owner of CNY Uniforms, and the president of the Vietenmase Community in Syracuse. Tai has worked to bridge the differences between those from the north and south Vietnam as well as bringing together refugee communities in Syracuse in the New American Forum. He was the lead behind World Refugee Day, June 29th this year in Syracuse.

Jay Subedi  was born in Southern Bhutan in 1979. In 1992, Jay fled to  a refugee camp in Nepal and grew up in that same refugee camp. He felt there was no hope after spending 18 years in Camp but 2008, Jay immigrated to Syracuse NY for a better future and to pursue the American Dream. He started a career in Subway as a sandwich artist and an interpreter at Interfaith Works, then as a Case Manager and Housing Coordinator. Today, he is the Founder & CEO of TruCare Connections,  Board of Director on New American Forum & running for 1st district Councilor.