United States Refugee Advisory Board Welcomes Its Newest Advisors
WASHINGTON, DC, September 22, 2026 — The United States Refugee Advisory Board (USRAB) is thrilled to welcome seven new advisors, who, in addition to their lived experience of displacement, bring decades of professional expertise in refugee resettlement, humanitarian response, community organizing, and public policy.
They begin their terms at a moment when the systems built to protect displaced people are dismantling. Forced displacement worldwide continues to grow while the current US administration has suspended refugee admissions, restricted access to asylum, terminated protections for people who have built their lives in the U.S, and cut the humanitarian funding that sustains response abroad. Decisions about who receives protection are not equitable, often made quickly, and people most affected by those decisions are not at the table..
“Governments and humanitarian agencies are making consequential decisions about displaced people faster than at any point in recent memory, and too often without us in the room,” said Faith Akovi Cooper, Chair of the U.S. Refugee Advisory Board. “The seven advisors joining the Board carry both the technical expertise and the lived experience to contribute significantly to global protection work. Our work is to ensure that policymakers, UN agencies, and our NGO partners hear directly from the people most impacted by these policies. As world leaders gather this week for the UN General Assembly 81, it is a timely moment to reimagine refugee protection and global responsibility and to take action.”
The new advisors will begin with intensive coursework at Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of International Migration, focusing on global refugee governance, international policy-making, and advocacy strategy, followed by the Board’s annual strategic planning retreat at the end of October. Over their three-year term, running through September 2029, the USRAB advisors will engage with other government bodies, the UN system, especially UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and civil society and refugee-led organizations across the United States and globally.
Meet the newest USRAB advisors:
Will you be in New York for UNGA81 High-level Week? Join USRAB and its partners at R-SPACE, a refugee-led forum for critical dialogue that shifts away from state-centric conversations toward solutions driven by impacted communities. Learn more about R-SPACE events here.
About the United States Refugee Advisory Board
The United States Refugee Advisory Board was established by Refugee Congress, Refugee Council USA, and Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of International Migration to ensure that forcibly displaced people influence policy-making across global refugee policy fora. USRAB provides a transparent and accountable mechanism for meaningful participation in multilateral settings, so that the interests, perspectives, and experiences of displaced people carry influence on the issues that affect them.
For questions about the US Refugee Advisory Board, contact usrab@refugeecongress.org.
