The LFRP provides support services to Liberian refugee families in the Bay Area who have fled Ghana refugee camps after a decade of civil unrest. The program provides services to more than 100 refugees in an attempt to further their self-sufficiency and integration into the U.S. Along with her two colleagues, Potts organizes free literacy classes, childcare resources, afterschool programs, job training and community orientation. The LFRP is currently funded by a non-renewable, 14-month grant from the Office of Refugee Resettlement under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Lisa [LFRP Program Coordinator] and I have been responsible for implementing the grant from the get-go,” says Potts. “It has been a fascinating exercise in everything from office/IT management, to program planning, to project implementation, to supervision and monitoring.”

In addition to case management activities and working as a liaison between the program and the California welfare system, Potts is responsible for the afterschool and childcare programs and for managing the 50+ volunteers that help the organization. As the Youth Program Assistant, she began by offering a summer activity program that included a 10-day sleep-away camp, a trip to a local park in San Francisco, and a trip to the movie theater. With the onset of the academic year, Potts guided the 40 youths into the Afterschool Program, which meets in two locations four times per week and provides assistance with homework. “As some youth spend large amounts of time in refugee camps, or were even born in the camps,” she says, “there can exist quite a gap between their educational background and current grade level which is based on age. Other youth are right on target, so we try to stimulate these children while offering additional tutoring for the youth that need more support.” All afterschool tutors are volunteers supervised by Potts. She also serves as an educational advocate, facilitating communication between the students and teachers, and lends a hand tutoring when needed.

In addition to her humanitarian experience, Potts has a strong background in publishing, which she has incorporated into her new professional role. “Knowing how to identify and write for a specific audience…to communicate a specific message…has proved invaluable not only in publishing but also in program management and resource development,” she says. Potts has been given the extra task of working closely with the Resource Developer as the program’s Grant Writer. She has been working steadily on this project outside of her normal working hours with the hopes of continuing and developing the program further. If the program does end as scheduled at the end of July, she would like to continue her employment with the IRC in one of their field offices in Africa, especially Liberia. “Considering that Liberia has just held peaceful democratic elections and is starting to rebuild itself after 15 years of civil war, there are a lot of new projects and possibilities there,” she says.

Potts credits her time with the University Professors Program for instilling a sense of vocation. “In the humanitarian line of work, as in many others, there sometimes exists a dichotomy between being a ‘doer’ and a ‘thinker’,” she says. “UNI trained me to be a person of both worlds.” She feels UNI instilled this doer/thinker balance within her by allowing her to pursue a mix of passions during her college career. She can now work directly with refugees while still following national and international policy and legal debates. Potts fondly recalls UNI’s ability constantly to question its students, thereby teaching them to question themselves following graduation. Commenting on what Potts calls UNI’s “dynamic environment full of debate and dialogue,” she claims, “only with time have I realized that this environment recreated itself within me to the point that even though I’m no longer in a classroom, I constantly present learning challenges to myself.” One of these challenges is continuing her education after possibly spending time overseas with the IRC. Taking advantage of living in the Bay Area, Potts is looking to attend one of the university’s graduate programs in Public Heath beginning in 2007.