Meet Our Team!
Board
About Liz
Liz is a nonprofit Organization Development Consultant with Avenir Consulting Partners. With a passion to help nonprofits maximize their time and resources, she has spent more than 20 years in nonprofit operations and project management. Liz has been active in the refugee community since 2016, when she joined a church team that helped a Syrian family resettle in the East Valley. A proud foster/adoptive parent, she and her husband have 4 teenage daughters. They enjoy hiking, playing games, and volunteering together.
About Wendell
Wendell Hollinshead is a business operations and finance professional with over 30 years experience managing accounting and finance functions. Wendell has held leadership roles at technology based public and private companies. Wendell has acted as a board member and been involved as a volunteer for several valley organizations. In his spare time Wendell enjoys outdoor activities with his family. Wendell’s greatest personal accomplishment to date is completing an Ironman triathlon.
About Scott
Scott has worked in the business/real estate field in sales, account management and meeting facilitating. He has been volunteering with WTAP for a few years helping with Saturday welcomes. He became interested in WTAP after traveling internationally over the past dozen years and seeing the plight of people in other countries. Scott became hooked on WTAP after seeing the spirit of the refugees and the generosity of the volunteers and WTAP staff. When not volunteering, Scott enjoys traveling anywhere with his wife Claire.
About Matt
Matt is a business and transaction attorney with over 35 years experience and is a member of the law firm of Berens Blonstein PLC. He has been a volunteer and board member at WTAP since 2011 when he was made aware of the needs of refugee families through assisting in WTAP deliveries. He enjoys keeping up with his five grown children and two grandchildren, as well as coaching football and hiking with his spouse.
About Jim
Jim has been a committed WTAP volunteer in various capacities for many years, participating in Saturday welcomes, filling in as the truck driver, and picking up furniture donations from his business clients. Jim is passionate about the mission and essential services WTAP provides refugees settling in Phoenix. He likes that the organization not only provides for those in great need but also fosters hope, goodwill, empathy, and understanding in the entire community. WTAP has also become a family affair as both of Jim’s sons have been active volunteers for the organization. Professionally, Jim is an industry award winning and multi-million dollar producing Realtor with over 25 years of experience in residential real estate and mortgage banking. Prior to becoming a realtor, he was a Vice President and senior manager of a national mortgage banking company. Jim, an Ahwatukee resident, is a graduate of the University of Arizona with a B.S. in Business Administration/Finance.
About Pam
Pam is a Professor and Senior Global Futures Scholar at Arizona State University. With a 20-year career in international development and humanitarian response, she worked in the areas of population and development, environmental change, migration, and women and development, including reproductive health. As head of United Nations Population Fund’s humanitarian programs, she worked to bring attention to the needs of women and adolescents in emergency situations by leading a number of UN efforts to expand and improve basic standards for humanitarian response. Pam works closely with ASU’s Education for Humanity initiative, which seeks to expand access to higher education to camp-based and urban refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Uganda, Rwanda, and Ethiopia.
About Yaseen
Yaseen is an IT Architect in a technology consulting firm and is a volunteer for all seasons supporting a variety of causes. Starting in the 90s he taught himself how to use computers. His knowledge and dedication to helping others learn led him to active involvement with PCs for Refugees. Yaseen believes in guiding refugee communities toward self-sufficiency, and setting them up for success in today’s technology-driven world.
About Pamela
Pamela is a Retired University Counselor, with her Masters in Business Management/Human Resource. She is a Certified Financial Planner and loves Interior Design. Pamela became a volunteer with WTAP in 2012 with her Sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Inc., Tempe Alumnae Chapter of which she is Chair of International Awareness and Involvement Committee. She is committed to welcoming refugees to Arizona, and to helping refugees build a good life for their families.
About Joan
Joan Lowell has held leadership positions in the non profit sector for over 25 years. She served as Executive Director of Hospice of the Valley from 1983 to 1994, followed by two years in the Peace Corps, Kazakhstan, where she served as counselor in business and NGO development. She has continued this work to date in Arizona, Russia, Ukraine, Thailand,
Malawi, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
Upon her return from Peace Corps, Joan served as Senior Advancement Officer for Donor Services for the Arizona Community Foundation until 2007. She currently is a board member of three family foundations and three non profit organizations and consults to non profit organizations in Arizona. She serves as an Academic Associate at ASU.
Joan holds a BA from Queens College, N.Y., an M.S. from Adelphi University, N.Y. and an M.P.A from ASU.
About Matt
Prior to joining our board, Matt served in a variety of executive leadership positions, primarily in the health care sector. In those roles, Matt has fostered productive relationships with key external stakeholders and regulators and has demonstrated success in improving financial performance within the enterprise.
Matt is passionate about WTAP’s mission of welcoming friends to this country and community as they arrive, after great sacrifice, hoping to rebuild their lives and livelihoods. His involvement and interest began as a Saturday volunteer, welcoming new families from Afghanistan. Matt is well versed in a full range of challenges and opportunities facing mission-driven organizations seeking growth and stability.
Matt holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brigham Young University. He currently lives in Phoenix with his wife Andrea and four children.
Staff
About Kevin
Kevin and his family have been active in the refugee community since 2016. In addition, his philanthropic focus has been centered on Access to Justice, Refugees/Asylees, Sustainability, and Startups. He is an entrepreneur, investor, advisor, consultant, business executive, and an attorney.
About Amela
Originally from Bosnia and Hercegovina, Amela Duric, a former refugee herself, is now serving as WTAP’s Development Manager. Amela has her Bachelor of Science in Sociology and her Master of Science in Psychology from Arizona State University. With a passion for education, Amela hopes to pursue a PhD degree in the next couple of years. A lifelong volunteer of many organizations, Amela is an advocate of human rights for all and began spending her time with WTAP back in 2018. In her free time, she can be found traveling the world, exercising and spending time with those she loves.
About Athanase
Originally from Burundi, Athanase runs the WTAP warehouse and oversees our in-kind donations. Fluent in seven languages, he lived in five African countries before coming to the US in 2014 on an immigrant visa. Athanase earned an associate’s degree in computer repair and networking and worked as a network specialist back home for two years. Once here, he was able to complete his college degree and worked as a medical assistant, then as a case manager at a local resettlement agency prior to working at WTAP. With a passion for helping others, Athanase’s positive attitude and deep understanding of the refugee community are a wonderful asset to our team. On a given day he can be found facilitating home visits, communicating with donors and partners, driving our truck to pick up donations, and keeping our inventory stocked and organized. He loves traveling, playing soccer and handball, and spending time with his wife Lyse, whom he married in November 2021.
About Damir
As the Welcome People Manager, Damir coordinates volunteer opportunities and helps share WTAP’s mission through social media and email marketing. A refugee from Bosnia and Hercegovina, he is dedicated to making a meaningful difference in the lives of those seeking refuge and a fresh start in the United States. Damir holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and political science and has a professional background in public relations.
Outside of his professional life, Damir enjoys reading, hiking Arizona trails, traveling, playing music, and spending time with his family and friends.
About Omar
Omar has joined our team as a specialist in resources. He takes charge of managing donations, offering assistance through home visits, and providing driving support. With a background rooted in the Middle East and experience living in three African nations, he arrived in the United States in 2019. Omar possesses an Associates degree in political science and is currently pursuing a Bachelors in International Relations. He plays an essential role in our team dynamics. Leveraging his proficiency in Arabic, he greatly contributes to our ability to warmly welcome numerous friends. Originally from Somalia, Omar is multilingual, fluent in three languages, and actively learning a fourth. During his leisure time, he indulges in reading about history and engaging in independent research.
About Hannah
Hannah has a background in operations management and experience growing processes within start-ups. She’s always been passionate about helping others and prefers to have a direct impact on her local community. In addition to volunteering at many animal shelters, Hannah has helped mentor children in the foster care system. She is excited to focus her efforts on resettling refugees and making them feel welcome in their new homes. Outside of work, Hannah enjoys playing ukulele, training in traditional Chinese lion dance, is an avid reader, and loves exploring the outdoors with her family.
