Refugee Resettlement in Wisconsin with Jewish Social Services

Registration

Join us for a special IRIS NRC event with Jewish Social Services!

Register to learn about:

• The ins and outs of refugee casework, and resettlement of refugees coming into the US
• Career advice for students interested in working with refugees
• Opportunities for becoming involved locally with refugee relief
• How educators can support the social-emotional health of refugee students and provide a welcoming environment in their classrooms

Speakers Becca Schwartz, Stephanie Taylor, and Gilbertine Harerimana will discuss their experience working with refugees, and what steps they took in their professional development to work in humanitarian relief.

Becca Schwartz joined JSS in early 2017 to head up the new Refugee Resettlement Program and considers herself very fortunate to have the opportunity to help newcomers establish themselves and become a part of the community in Madison. Becca spent over a decade working in various parts of East and West Africa. She earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Iowa and an M.B.A. from Drexel University, before joining the Peace Corps where she started working in small business development. Since then she has worked in leadership positions in both social enterprise and non-profit. Becca has lived in Senegal, Uganda, Ghana and Nigeria and has a working knowledge of French and Wolof. She now lives with her family in Madison and enjoys rediscovering her hometown.

Stephanie Taylor joined JSS in the fall of 2021, after spending time volunteering at Fort McCoy with the Afghan Refugees who had come to Wisconsin. This experience made her realize that working with refugees was incredibly important to her, and she wanted to get back to her Social Work roots after spending time as a Lactation Consultant and raising her young children. Stephanie earned her B.A. in Women and Gender Studies at Washington University in St. Louis and her Master’s in Social Work at University of Chicago. She also has her M.B.A. from Babson College. Stephanie has worked in a variety of non-profits where she has spent time in programming, development, and direct service.

Gilbertine Harerimana is a Burundian native who is fluent in Kirundi, French, and Swahili. In 2005, she received her technical diploma in management from a school in Bujumbara. For six years, she lived in The Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi, where she worked as a child minder for The Resettlement Support Center Africa. She also worked with various ministries as a reconciliation facilitator. When Gilbertine moved to Madison in 2018, she worked as a Special Education Assistant for The Madison Metropolitan School District. She is currently a student at Madison College, where she studies Early Childhood Education. In her free time, she enjoys music and dance. She lives with her husband and three children, two boys and one girl. She is very excited to join the JSS team and we are equally excited to welcome her!

Registration for the event is open to all. We encourage you to bring your questions!