Refuge America Appoints New Board Members for 2023/2024
Refuge America Strengthens Board of Directors with Key Appointments
Refuge America is delighted to announce the addition of three exceptional individuals to our esteemed Board of Directors. These new appointments mark an important milestone in our organization's mission to advocate for asylum pathways and provide comprehensive support through our Welcoming program for LGBTQI+ refugees.
Since our establishment in 2020, Refuge America has been at the forefront of creating new opportunities for LGBTQ refugees to migrate to the United States. Our newly expanded board comprises seasoned professionals from diverse backgrounds, including humanitarian fields, legal expertise, resettlement, lived refugee experience, and leaders in various sectors. Their collective wisdom will further enhance our existing programs, provide invaluable guidance, and help us realize our vision of a world where forcibly displaced individuals can reclaim their lives free from persecution.
We extend a warm welcome to Timothy Ceci, Brian Merlano, and Dominic Ramos-Ruiz as they join our existing board members. Their expertise and passion for our cause will undoubtedly bolster our efforts and drive positive change in the lives of those seeking refuge. We are truly honored to collaborate with these exceptional leaders and look forward to working together to turn our program's vision into a tangible reality.
Brian Merlano
Proudly born and raised in Miami by an immigrant family from the Caribbean coast of Colombia, Brian Merlano is a First-Generation, Queer Latino who loves culture and the people who make it happen.
In 5 years within the advertising space, Brian has laid out a path in creative management and operations led by an empathetic infusion of a human-first lens, a balance approach to leading conversations surrounding qualitative and budgetary make ups of creative departments and a spirit cultivation and curations in operationalizing organizations’ creative and business goals.
Tim Ceci
Managing Director of Hall des Lumières in New York with extensive retail industry. He is an avid NYC Marathon runner, volunteers for New York City Parks and Beaconforchange.org South Africa, and serves as a Brooklyn Fashion Incubator New York board member.
Dominic Ramos-Ruiz
Dominic Ramos-Ruiz is a Senior Advisor at The Conduit, where he is driving community development and expansion efforts in the Americas. Through this role, he advocates for social impact and cross-sector collaboration, fostering partnerships among entrepreneurs, philanthropists, impact investors, activists, and civil-society leaders.
New board members will be joining our existing board members for an opportunity to deepening our work on welcoming LGBTQ refugees through the welcome Corps program.