Our People

Smita Dazzo is Vice President of Legal & Asylum at HIAS. With over a decade of experience in working with forcibly displaced persons, she oversees HIAS’ Direct Immigration Legal Services, the Pro Bono and Partnerships team, programming strategy along the U.S./Mexico border, and HIAS’ newest Direct Social Services team. Prior to joining HIAS, Smita provided direct immigration legal services in Washington, D.C. and Maryland.  She also worked in Protection with the UNHCR in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She received her J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law and a M.A. in International Politics at American University, School of International Service.

Cristina Garcia is the Regional Director for HIAS in Latin America and the Caribbean supporting, overseeing and connecting HIAS regional response to the displacement situation in 11 Latin American Countries where HIAS has more than 1,000 staff and around 60 field offices.

Cristina is a humanitarian professional with more than 18 years of experience in both humanitarian response and development work in America, Africa and Asia. During that time she has led and managed programs in various contexts. She has managed in displacement settings such as the Sahrawi refugee camps in Western Sahara and the Venezuelan displacement crisis. As well as heading peace building and human rights strengthening programs in the Philippines and Colombia, Cristina has successfully worked with UNHCR and other UN agencies, donors such as Spanish Aid-AECID, and international NGOs including MSF Switzerland and TGH-France.

Specifically trained to provide general protection as well as the prevention of gender-based violence in emergency situations, Cristina has led in a number of emergency humanitarian interventions including those responding to the 2003 Algerian Earthquake, Guatemala’s Hurricane Stan disaster in 2005 and Typhoon Haiyan that hit the Philippines in 2013.

Cristina is a passionate advocate for refugees and holds a Master’s Degree in Human Rights with a specialization in International Refugee Law from the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), a Diploma in Humanitarian Aid and Development Cooperation from Bioforce in Lyons and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and Management from The University of Alcalá.

Mark Hetfield first joined HIAS in 1989 as a caseworker in Rome, Italy. He has worked for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a large law firm as an immigration attorney, and has held multiple roles at HIAS over the years. Since being named HIAS’ President and CEO in 2013, Mark has led the transformation of HIAS from helping refugees because they were Jewish to helping refugees because we are Jewish.

Mark is proud of HIAS’ role in assisting and resettling refugees of all faiths and ethnicities and as a major implementing partner of the United Nations Refugee Agency and the U.S. Department of State. He is a frequent commentator and writer on refugee issues on television, radio, newspapers, and other media outlets. Mark holds three degrees from Georgetown University in Washington, DC: a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service, a Masters in Business Administration, and a Juris Doctor.

Muluemebet Hunegnaw serves as HIAS’ Vice President for Strategy and Measurement. In this role, she provides leadership in setting the organization-wide strategic framework and alignment across the broader HIAS organization. She works with the Executive Leadership Team to institute a culture of measurement to track organizational performance as well as promote evidence-based programs and policies to help forcibly displaced people.

Mulu has previously served in various senior leadership roles, including as Save the Children USA’s Africa Regional Director, as Country Director in multiple countries, and as a global advisor for planning and impact evaluation. She has also served as the mission’s monitoring and evaluation advisor at the United States Agency for International Development, and as a senior Energy expert with the Ethiopian Energy Authority.

She holds an MA in Development Economics from the University of East Anglia, United Kingdom, and a BA in Economics from Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. She is a Yale World Fellow.

Rachel leads HIAS’s global policy and advocacy to advance the rights and protection of refugees and other displaced people. Working to influence leaders in Washington, DC and around the world, including in government, UN agencies, and the private sector, she helps communicate the organization’s global impact and thought leadership to bring tangible change to the lives of people HIAS serves.

Rachel previously served as HIAS’s VP, International Policy and Relations and as VP, International Programs, where she expanded HIAS’ global impact. In prior roles she led research and advocacy on refugee legal rights, gender-based violence, LGBTQ protection, and multifaith engagement.

Before coming to HIAS, Rachel co-founded Turkey’s first legal clinic for refugees and litigated race and gender discrimination claims in federal court in New York City. She received her BA from McGill University and a law degree from the University of British Columbia.

Rui Lopes, Chief Information Officer, aligns HIAS’ technology vision with our business strategy through the integration of appropriate technologies.

Previously, he served in senior IT leadership roles with The International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Save the Children to name a few.

His 30 plus years of experience encompass all aspects of managing information technology and telecommunications, including staff management, operations, implementation and customer service. He has been published and quoted in several trade magazines and newspapers because of his work with international telecommunications and emergency response projects.

Sabrina Lustgarten is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at HIAS. In this role, she promotes organizational growth and the alignment of international operations to HIAS’ global goals. Prior to assuming this position, Sabrina worked for over 18 years as Country Director in Ecuador where she led a team of over 400 staff to serve thousands of refugees annually. Within the Latin America & Caribbean region, she also supported the opening of HIAS operations in Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, and Panama.

Sabrina is a strong advocate for human and refugee rights. She helped to pioneer the implementation of Psychosocial Support and Economic Inclusion Programs for refugees in Ecuador. Additionally, Sabrina has participated in activities to promote the inclusion of refugee populations in host countries in Latin America, such as the Brazil Plan of Action and the Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela. To respond to the Venezuela refugee crisis, Sabrina coordinated HIAS’ interventions with the Ecuadorian Government, other civil society organizations, and international partners, providing humanitarian assistance to the families who needed it most.

Sabrina holds an undergraduate degree from Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia, and a master’s degree in Management for Social Development from the Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar in Quito, Ecuador. She is married, with two daughters and two granddaughters, and is very close to her family.

Raphael Marcus joined HIAS in 2018 as SVP Programs and to oversee Global Programs, Emergency Programs and the Humanitarian Partnerships, Policy and Practice departments. As part of the Executive Leadership Team, he helps drive HIAS’ mission to protect refugees, support host communities and help forcibly displaced populations to access their rights so they can rebuild their lives.

Formerly, Raphael served as Director of International Operations for Humedica, a global humanitarian NGO, focusing on medical rapid-response aid mechanisms and complex emergencies. Raphael has led emergency humanitarian operations during disasters such as the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines (2013), Liberia’s Ebola outbreak (2014), and the Nepali earthquake (2015) as well as in protracted displacement crises such as the 2011 famine in the Horn of Africa and the civil unrest in the Central African Republic.

Raphael was born in Switzerland, grew up in Israel and holds an MPH in Emergency and Disaster Management from Tel Aviv University.

As Chief External Relations Officer, Beth Oppenheim oversees HIAS’ communications, marketing, community engagement, private fundraising, and institutional development, which play an important role in expanding HIAS’ impact and ability to support HIAS’ mission of supporting forcibly displaced persons.

Beth’s previous roles include Chief Partnerships Officer for Splash International (2022-23), Vice-President for Business Development of Church World Service (2012-21), and Co-Founder and Interim Director of Voice for Refuge (2020-21).

Beth is an expert not only in NGO business development, but also on displacement and economic development. She holds a PhD in Development Studies from the University of Cape Town, a Master of Science in Global Affairs from NYU, a Master of Science in Urban Affairs and Planning from Hunter College, and a BA from New York University, where she double majored in Metropolitan Studies and Hebrew and Judaic Studies. She has written and published extensively about development and the NGO sector. She is fluent in Portuguese, and conversational in Hebrew and Spanish. She is based out of Colorado.

Jessica Reese serves as HIAS’ Chief Institutional Development Officer, leading agency-wide institutional public and private fundraising, and new business development. Jessica also has a very personal connection to HIAS, which helped resettle her grandparents after the Holocaust.

Jessica has worked in humanitarian assistance, early recovery, and emergency response for two decades, working with numerous UN agencies and international NGOs. She has direct field experience in the Balkans, Central and East Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. She served on IRC’s emergency response team for five years as their first-ever Emergency Monitoring, Evaluation, and Grants Coordinator and led humanitarian response programs in Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan, Indonesia, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and Ethiopia.

She also has extensive experience in the design, monitoring, and evaluation of programs, and led external evaluations for large-scale development projects for multi-donor UN funds in Iraq and Palestine. Jessica holds an MSc in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics, with a focus on ethnic conflict and nationalization, and BA in Political Science from Rutgers University.

Naomi Steinberg joined HIAS as Vice President, Policy and Advocacy in September, 2017.

Previously, Naomi was the Director of Refugee Council USA (RCUSA), a coalition dedicated to refugee protection, welcome and excellence in the U.S. refugee resettlement program. In this position, she led the overall work of the Council, including facilitating partnerships between RCUSA and other nongovernmental organizations, as well as fostering strong communications between international, federal and state partners. Prior to her work with RCUSA, Naomi was the Deputy Director of the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC). At SEARAC, she focused on building the capacity of community-based, refugee-led organizations.

Naomi has an M.A. in Southeast Asian Studies from Cornell University and a B.A. in Political Science from Macalester College.

Alicia joined HIAS as the Senior Director for Resettlement and Integration in 2019. Alicia leads U.S. Programs: supporting refugees and asylees from their initial arrival to their long-term integration. This portfolio includes resettlement and livelihoods programming such as employment and micro-enterprise development as well as financial literacy programming. She also oversees the holistic social integration programs aimed to support the most vulnerable through intensive case management, community group programming, access to medical and mental health services, and activities that promote belonging. By testing new volunteer, sponsorship, and partner models, Alicia oversees a team working to create welcoming host communities that are receptive to refugees. The HIAS network includes 27 partners spanning 18 states. Prior to joining HIAS, at Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Alicia launched their integration programming in their 38-site network. Before her refugee resettlement focus, she was the Executive Director of Kenya Connect, an NGO improving the school experience and options for skilling up for students and teachers in 54 schools in Machakos County, Kenya. She holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the University of Chicago.

Merrill Zack is the Vice President for Community Engagement at HIAS. She and her team educate, organize and mobilize the American Jewish community to act in support of refugees and asylum seekers. For more than two decades, Merrill has worked at the intersection of Jewish values and action for a more just world, at organizations such as American Jewish World Service, the National Council of Jewish Women and the New Israel Fund. She holds a BA in religion and anthropology from Kenyon College and an MPA in nonprofit management and public policy from New York University.

Mark Hetfield first joined HIAS in 1989 as a caseworker in Rome, Italy. He has worked for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a large law firm as an immigration attorney, and has held multiple roles at HIAS over the years. Since being named HIAS’ President and CEO in 2013, Mark has led the transformation of HIAS from helping refugees because they were Jewish to helping refugees because we are Jewish.

Mark is proud of HIAS’ role in assisting and resettling refugees of all faiths and ethnicities and as a major implementing partner of the United Nations Refugee Agency and the U.S. Department of State. He is a frequent commentator and writer on refugee issues on television, radio, newspapers, and other media outlets. Mark holds three degrees from Georgetown University in Washington, DC: a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service, a Masters in Business Administration, and a Juris Doctor.

Tamar Newberger is a computer scientist who has held executive positions at AT&T Bell Labs, Novell, and SCO, as well as several Silicon Valley start-ups. Her areas of expertise are computer security, operating systems, and technology in service of better democracy. She is active in promoting technology and science to young women considering careers in these fields.

Her civic engagement focuses on refugee rights, education, women’s advocacy, and technology for the common good. She is currently the Midwest Finance Co-Chair of Harris For President. She is also a trustee of the Francis W. Parker school in Chicago, the Jewish Women’s Foundation of Chicago. She is on several boards, including that of The In(heir)itance Project arts organization, which brings disparate communities together to create theater, and on the nominating committee of the Vaclav Havel Center’s Disturbing the Peace Award, given annually to a courageous writer currently being punished by an oppressive regime. Ms. Newberger served as a Diplomatic Spouse when her husband was the U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic.