Refugee Congress launches new Councils under the National Refugee Leadership and Lived Experience Council (NRLLEC)™ program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sheridan Block, Refugee Congress, sheridan.block@refugeecongress.org and media@refugeecongress.org
Washington, DC - Refugee Congress is pleased to announce the launch of a second year of the National Refugee Leadership and Lived Experience Council (NRLLEC)™, with two new cohorts of the National Young Adult Leadership Council (NYALC), serving young adults between the ages of 18 and 24.
The NRLLEC is led by Refugee Congress in partnership with Refugee Council USA, Every Campus a Refuge, Church World Service, and USA Hello, and is a federal initiative of the Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). The program provides individuals with lived displacement experience with an intensive 10-month leadership development training.
“We are thrilled to continue our work on the NRLLEC program alongside our colleagues at ORR,” said Nili Sarit Yossinger, Executive Director of Refugee Congress. “By providing this dynamic professional development opportunity for refugee leaders, we are making an investment in our communities as a whole.”
The first NRLLEC Council, an inaugural cohort of the National Young Adult Leadership Council, ran from January to September 2025, and served 15 young adult refugees from 10 different states. These young adults participated in more than 50 hours of training on topics such as community engagement, civic engagement, and public speaking. They also worked on impactful community projects to improve the experience of their newcomer neighbors and collectively reached more than 300 community members from New York to Alaska.
"Through NYALC, I gained public speaking skills, leadership training, and mentorship,” explained one cohort member. “Now, I actively organize community events, speak on behalf of refugee youth, and collaborate with local organizations to address language barriers and create opportunities for newcomers.“
In 2026, the NRLLEC program will offer two distinct cohorts of the National Young Adult Leadership Council (NYALC): a cohort for emerging leaders and a cohort for experienced leaders. Both Council cohorts are open to refugees, asylees with granted asylum status, and all other ORR-eligible populations who are between the ages of 18 and 24 and have lived in the United States for less than 5 years at the time of application. Applications to participate in a 2026 NYALC cohort are now being accepted through November 10, 2025. Candidates must submit their applications here: https://refugeecongress.org/nrllec-y2.
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