{"id":60557,"date":"2024-12-05T15:11:56","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T20:11:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/pardeeschool\/?p=60557"},"modified":"2024-12-05T15:14:13","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T20:14:13","slug":"urban-refuge-alumni-reunion-highlights-careers-and-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/pardeeschool\/2024\/12\/05\/urban-refuge-alumni-reunion-highlights-careers-and-impact\/","title":{"rendered":"Urban Refuge Alumni Reunion Highlights Careers and Impact"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Urban Refuge Reunion<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On November 18, the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies hosted a career networking roundtable as part of Professor Dr. Noora Lori’s Urban Refuge Reunion Initiative, bringing together alumni from the 2016 Forced Migration and Human Trafficking class with the 2024 cohort. Six distinguished alumni\u2014Meaghan Delaney, Sara Lopez Gonzalez, Ellie Hitt, Raina Kadavil, Victoria Kelberer, and Taylor Resteghini\u2014shared how they transformed a classroom innovation into a lasting humanitarian initiative.<\/p>\n

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Urban Refuge alumni meet with Pardee students at the networking roundtable.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The alumni began their journey in 2016 in Lori’s IR 500 course, where they developed a smartphone app to map aid organizations for Syrian refugees in Jordan. What started as a class project grew into Urban Refuge through a successful $17,000 crowdfunding campaign and partnerships with Microsoft New England and BU’s Initiative on Cities. The alumni now hold influential positions: Delaney in corporate affairs at KPMG, Lopez Gonzalez as an Analyst at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Hitt as Director of Operations for Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, Kadavil as Senior Analyst at Mastercard, Kelberer as Agile Senior Manager at Vanguard Charitable, and Resteghini as Design Producer at Curriculum Associates.<\/p>\n

The alumni shared how their experiences with Urban Refuge shaped their diverse career paths. Kelberer, who began as Professor Lori’s graduate assistant and became the organization’s first CEO, discussed her transition from international relations to leading data science and technology teams. “Urban Refuge really set me on a different course in my own career,” she reflected. “Technology is a place for me too.”<\/p>\n

Kadavil shared her journey from international relations to the private sector, highlighting how she transitioned into Mastercard’s philanthropy department. Under her leadership as CEO from 2018 until last year, the platform expanded to California and New York, while also initiating projects in Beirut and Cairo. “If you’re very passionate about something, it doesn’t have to be your 9-to-5,” Kadavil advised. “You can still continue impacting that change in the 5-to-9 that you have after you leave that job.”<\/p>\n

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Urban Refuge alumni meet with Pardee students at the networking roundtable.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The roundtable event featured three rotating discussion-based Q&A sessions, where alumni shared key insights:<\/p>\n