Isaac James

Isaac James
Delegate for Tennessee
Resettled Sudanese Refugee

Isaac James is the Refugee Congress Delegate for Tennessee. He is a former Sudanese refugee.

Isaac works as a youth education and care assistant with the Refugee Empowerment Program in Memphis, Tennessee. His work encompasses many things including providing homework help, mentoring youth, and assisting teaching English to adults.

Isaac is passionate about empowerment. He volunteers with the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Coalition and has worked on voter drives, rallied support for the resettlement program among county officials, and participated in the Black Immigrant Caucus.

He sees the importance of education among the refugee and immigrant communities and hopes to work with educational institutions and administrators to educate them on the importance of recognizing refugee and immigrant students and ensuring they have the resources to be successful.

Isaac has received numerous awards for his work, including the Hansen Fellowship, the Harry S. Truman Scholarship, a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, a U.N.A.I. and M.CN. Millennium Fellowship, and a PPIA Fellowship.

He graduated from Rollins College with a bachelor’s degree in Public Policy and Political Economy. He hopes to utilize the skills he gained in that program to advocate for and create inclusive refugee and immigrant policies.

Whether playing sports, playing card games, or having deep conversations, Isaac enjoys building community and values time with others.

“Refugee resettlement protects lives, gives hope, creates futures, and restores humanity. We advocate so that the world can become a better place. Refugees make their host communities better while also giving back to their home communities.”

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