Anisa Ali

Anisa Ali is a Refugee Health Support Specialist and Repatriation Coordinator with the Minnesota Department of Human Services' Resettlement Program Office. But her connection to this work started well before she had a title for it; as an asylum seeker from Somalia, she brings that lived experience into everything she does.

Before joining DHS in 2024, Anisa spent 14-plus years as a Resource Coordinator for homeless families and children in a Head Start program, then worked as an MFIP (Minnesota Family Investment Program) Employment Counselor supporting refugee families in the nonprofit sector.

She also co-founded a community organization serving African immigrant and refugee communities, and works as a partner with the African Immigrant Health Research Collaborative (AIHRC), a multi-state initiative that centers the voices of African immigrants in health research, from study design through data interpretation. Anisa is currently a graduate clinical social work student at the University of St. Thomas and is excited to bring her professional and lived experience to her work in the United States Refugee Advisory Board (USRAB).