Co-Managing Director

Rez Gardi is an international lawyer and human rights advocate . Being born as a refugee in Pakistan, Rez sought to use her difficult start in life as motivation to help others. She became New Zealand’s first female Kurdish lawyer and the first Kurd to graduate from Harvard Law School, where she graduated as a Fulbright Scholar with a Master of Laws.

Co-Managing Director

Prior to joining at R-SEAT, Mustafa Alio was a co-founder and former Managing Director of Jumpstart Refugee Talent, an organization devoted to the economic inclusion of refugees. In 2017, Jumpstart pioneered the Economic Mobility Pathways Program (EMPP), currently supported by IRCC to help resettle Ukrainian refugees.

Partnerships and Stakeholders Advisor

Since 2015, Marisa has worked on policy and advocacy on migration, refugee, and human rights issues extending from the multilateral sphere to the national, regional, and city levels. At the national level in the United States, she lobbied Congress to promote regularization pathways for undocumented migrants, halt discriminating travel bans, and increase refugee resettlement numbers.

Program & Policy Lead

Hannah Loewith has been working with R-SEAT since its inception. She is a graduate of the Master of Migration & Diaspora Studies program at SOAS University, where she wrote her thesis analyzing responses towards different refugee crises. She is also a graduate of the Master of Global Affairs program at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto.

East Africa Regional Lead

Jean Marie’s journey is deeply rooted in his own experiences as a refugee in Kenya. Having faced numerous challenges in his early education, including a language barrier and struggling to afford school fees, as well as lacking refugee identity documents, he understands firsthand the hardships endured by refugees and their families, especially with regard to the lack of Identity Documents.

LERRN Project Director

James Milner is a Professor of Political Science at Carleton University. He is currently Project Director of LERRN: The Local Engagement Refugee Research Network, a 7-year, SSHRC-funded partnership between researchers and civil society actors primarily in Canada, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon and Tanzania.

Executive Assistant to the Co-Managing Director

Ahmad Amini is an internationally educated MBA and a current student of IEP Business Management at York University. With extensive experience as an Executive Assistant and Project Manager/Coordinator, Ahmad brings valuable skills and insights to his role at R-SEAT. As the Executive Assistant to the Co-Managing Directors, he ensures they and the whole team can work efficiently and effectively.

Policy Analyst Intern

Laura Hochheim Thomé is a second-year Master of Global Affairs (MGA) student at the University of Toronto, originally from Brazil. Her professional journey spans the public sector, NGOs, and international organizations, focusing on the protection and meaningful participation of forced migrants and refugees, particularly in Latin America.