Meet Our Team

The Brave House team consists primarily of interns and volunteers, who we proudly highlight below, as well as a small full-time staff of 3 who lead the day-to-day legal/holistic service provision and programming. We appreciate the time and energy of all our team members who leverage their unique professional/educational experiences and diverse perspectives to strengthen our mission every day. We are proud of our collaborative, community-based approach to making an impact.  

Read our DEI Statement here. ​
Support our mission here. 

LAUREN

​Immigration Attorney, Founder, and Executive Director

TENZIN

App Navigator

CORI ANA

Youth Advocate and Avodah Fellow

SHIYULLI

Mentorship Advisor

KETIA

The Brave Pod Host and The Brave Space Co-Founder

MORGAN

Program Manager

ERIKA

Outreach Director

JESSIE

Mentorship Coordinator

MABEL

Growth Director

CANDELARIA

Growth Co-Coordinator

GRABIELA

Intake Coordinator

AVA

App Resource Specialist

LILIENNE

English School Coordinator

VANESSA

Growth Co-Coordinator

RY

Outreach Coordinator

Board of Directors

PRIYA

​Chair of the Board

SABRINEH  

MIKELINA

EMILY

LORETTA

RACHEL

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Brave House Culture Manifesto.

 

Coming soon! Our team is currently collaborating to draft a document that highlights the values and ethos of the Brave House. Please check back during Summer 2022 to see the final version!

 

Lauren Blodgett

Founder & Executive Director.
​​Job. Immigration Attorney and Executive Director at The Brave House
​​Home. Brooklyn, NY
​​Pronouns. She/ her/ hers
​What “Brave” means to you.
Having hope, finding joy, and spreading love, despite the fear, pain and obstacles that you encounter.

 

Biography. 
​Lauren is an immigration attorney and founder of The Brave House. Lauren was previously an attorney & Equal Justice Works fellow the Safe Passage Project, where she provided legal representation to refugee children & youth fleeing gender-based violence. Lauren co-founded Las Mariposas (“the butterflies”), a girls empowerment group at Safe Passage, where she organized monthly activities aimed at wellness and community, such as self-defense, photography, and dancing. Lauren was honored on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Law and Policy and was in the New York Times regarding the challenges that immigration attorneys face during the Trump Administration. Lauren graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she served on the board of the Harvard Immigration Project and worked in non-profits in Morocco, Thailand, Jordan, Tanzania and Cambodia on various human rights issues. Before law school, Lauren spent a year as a Fulbright scholar in Innsbruck, Austria, and worked at a refugee center in Cape Town, South Africa. Originally from Boston, Lauren graduated summa cum laude from Boston College in 2011 with a double major in Political Science and German. When not in the courtroom, Lauren can be found going for a run in Prospect Park or on the dance floor at Daybreaker, an early-morning sober dance party hosted at locations throughout New York City. 

​​What song is energizing you today?

Where did you / your family immigrate from?
Portugal and Ireland ​​

 

Tenzin Choeyang

App Navigator.
Home. Queens, NY
​​Pronouns. She/ her/ hers
​What "Brave" means to you.
Being able to speak your mind.

 

Biography. 
​​I was born and raised in India. I am of Tibetan descent. I speak Tibetan, Hindi and English. I went to St. Lawrence University to study Economics and currently work in finance. My passion includes educating people on financial literacy and creating space for Tibetan Americans to speak about their experiences through Positionality podcast.

What song is energizing you today?

Where did you / your family immigrate from? 
India

 

Cori Ana Strell

Youth Advocate and Avodah Fellow. 
​​Home. San Diego, CA
​​Pronouns. She/ her/ hers
​What “Brave” means to you.
Following your intuition for a better future, even when it is uncomfortable.

 

Biography. 
Cori Ana graduated UCSC with a bachelors in Psychology and a minor in Sustainability studies in 2019. She’s worked a variety of stints with a variety of jobs and internships both in the nonprofit and for profit realm. Cori packed her bags for Brooklyn and waved goodbye to her west coast home to head towards the land where the ancestors on both of her parents side had bravely fled their home countries in search of a better life, in Brooklyn NY. In her new city, you’ll probably find Cori thrifting, skateboarding, and writing songs around the city.

​​What song is energizing you today?

Where did you / your family immigrate from?
Russia and Austria

 

Shiyulli Suriyakumar

 

Mentorship Advisor.
​​Job. Client Solutions Partner at ClassPass
​​Home. Brooklyn, NY
​What “Brave” means to you.
Speaking up for yourself and others (especially when it’s uncomfortable or unpopular); not letting trauma or obstacles define you; bringing kindness, humility, and tenacity to everything you do.​

Biography.
Shiyulli currently works for ClassPass, a fitness and wellness membership that allows you to book thousands of fitness classes, gym services, and wellness services all over the world through one easy app. She partners with large companies to bring a custom ClassPass membership to their employees. Previously she worked at Taproot Foundation, a nonprofit that builds the capacity of other social change organizations, where she worked with multinational companies to design and scale high-impact skill-based volunteering programs. Shiyulli also sits on the Junior Board of Hour Children, a New York-based nonprofit providing wraparound services for women re-entering society and reuniting with their families after incarceration. When she’s not at work, you can find her rock climbing with friends in the Shawgunks, tinkering in her kitchen, or buried in a great book.​

What song is energizing you today?

Where did you / your family immigrate from?
Sri Lanka

 

Ketia Miriam Jeune

The Brave Pod Host and The Brave Space Co-Founder. Home. Brooklyn, NY
​​Pronouns. She/ her/ hers 
​What "Brave" means to you.
To be fearless.

 

Biography. 
​Ketia believes her life is art, and she embodies that in everything she does. She’s been a part of the performing arts community since elementary school where she immersed herself in music, dance, and poetry. By high school, she was accepted to New World School of the Arts in Miami, Fl where she was surrounded by the most talented students in Miami-Dade County.After graduating from FSU, Ketia went on to New York University (NYU) and obtained her Masters in Public Relations with a concentration in Corporate Business Communications. Recently, Ketia became the host of the Brave Pod, a weekly podcast that features members, volunteers, and immigrants from all over the world to share their experiences. She's also one of our many youth advocates and works directly with our members.

What song is energizing you today?

Where did you / your family immigrate from? 
Haiti

 

Morgan Perry

Interim Program Manager. 
​Home. New York, NY
​What “Brave” means to you.
I think true bravery constitutes a lot that isn’t conventionally heroic, or courageous in the face of danger, or superhuman, historic, defying all fear whatsoever. It can be getting by, surviving – or being bold, speaking out – or otherwise engaging with something that intimidates but demands the right thing. It is following your gut; it is giving something your all when success isn't guaranteed; it is taking a chance with positivity and a growth-mindset – it is hoping for the best with commitment and passion.

 

Biography. 
Morgan, born and raised in New York City, is thrilled to join the Brave House's members in their crucial and courageous pursuits! They graduated from Hamilton College magna cum laude in May with a major in World Politics and a focus on migration and MENA studies. Morgan's experiences in educational, non-profit, and political advocacy has led them to intern (and volunteer, research, fundraise, etc.) for PEN America, the Yemen Peace Project, Citizens Committee, and, most recently, Senate Majority Leader Schumer's office for almost two years. They gave tours of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., studied abroad and researched in Uruguay, Jordan, Italy, and Tunisia, and deputy managed a 2021 City Council campaign in Brooklyn. Morgan is deeply passionate about survivors' advocacy, loves learning new languages (as a lifelong student of Spanish and Arabic), and writes, sings a cappella, and bikes in their free time.

What song is energizing you today?

Where did you / your family immigrate from?
Long Island! Though, some generations ago, Ireland, Wales, and Germany

 

Erika Gama

Outreach Director. 
Home. Mexico City, MX
Pronouns. She/ her/ hers
​What "Brave" means to you. 
Acting with empathy and being relentlessly optimistic. 

Biography. 
Erika graduated with a bachelor’s in International Relations from Universidad Anáhuac in Mexico City in 2021. She is passionate about advancing social justice through gender-focused and youth-led solutions and has interned for Ashoka and the Mexican Council of Foreign Affairs. Erika also loves to watch basketball and can often be found reading (and heavily underlining) books.

What song is energizing you today?

 

Jessie Himel

Mentorship Coordinator.
Home. Manhattan, NY
​​Pronouns. He/ him/ his 
​What "Brave" means to you.
Brave means feeling the fear, and doing what you’re afraid of anyway.​

 

Biography. 
I was born and raised in Manhattan. I recently graduated from NYU where I majored in Sociology and minored in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies. By way of background, I interned for 18 months with “Safe Passage Project,” a non-profit legal organization that provides free counsel and support to immigrant children facing deportation. I also help Wizard World, a national science-fiction/pop culture convention tour, to research and facilitate the donation of used graphic novels/books to local non-profit organizations. To date, I have successfully organized the donation of over 2,500 books/graphic novels to different non-profit organizations around the country. As for future goals, I plan to attend law school and pursue immigration law in the next few years. I am passionate about ethics. Specifically, as part of my independent study this semester at NYU, I researched and designed a semester-long middle school curriculum to teach students normative ethics through superhero comics. The curriculum includes robust lesson plans, discussion points, projects and readings. In my free time, I like to run around the reservoir, rollerblade around central park, take my dog for walks around the city, read comics and hang out with my friends.

What song is energizing you today?

Where did you / your family immigrate from? 
Ireland, Hungary, Poland and Germany

 

Mabel Smith

Growth Director.
Home. Manhattan, NY
​​Pronouns. She/ her/ hers 
​What "Brave" means to you.
Being comfortable out of your comfort zone.​

 

Biography. 
Mabel grew up in Berkeley, CA, and is graduating this May 2022 from Columbia University, studying Economics with a human rights focus. She is interested in continuously finding ways to constructively apply the patterns and history of Economics to the activist, artist, and social justice worlds. Besides landscaping, construction, and pizza slinging, she's worked in youth-focused and social-justice-focused organizations in the Bay Area, Mexico City, and New York City, including Educación para Compartir, Ashoka, ARTE (Art Resistance Through Education), and the Labor Economics Department at Columbia. In her free time, you can find Mabel biking, cooking, and playing the trombone. 

What song is energizing you today?

Where did you / your family immigrate from? 
Greece and Sweden

 

Candelaria Barrera Mejia

Growth Co-Coordinator.
​Home. Manhattan, NY 
Pronouns. She/her/hers
​What "Brave" means to you. 
When I think of bravery, the first people that come to mind are my two abuelitas, Rocio and Marta! Through them, I see that bravery means leading with love and joy, whether while overcoming obstacles to uplift yourself and the people you love or using your voice to speak up with courage and compassion. 

Biography. 
Candelaria grew up between Hamilton, NY, and Bogotá, Colombia, where her family is originally from. She is a student at Barnard College studying Sociology and Education Studies. Through past work at organizations such as Make the Road NYC, she has begun focusing on equity in education and community-centered social justice movements for policy reform. In her free time, she might be dancing around her room, at a museum, or on a silly little walk in the park. 

What song is energizing you today?

Where did you / your family immigrate from?
Colombia

 

Grabiela Pineda

Home. Brooklyn 
Pronouns. she/her 
​What "Brave" means to you. 
Brave to me means being strong and fearless about anything.

Biography.
I’m 22 years old. I’m currently enrolled in City Tech studying in the Human Services field. I am graduating at the end of this spring semester. I currently am working on creating my own business doing lash extensions as well as interning at The Brave House. I love the field I study because I aspire to make a difference in peoples lives as I’m able to meet them through work, school, internship. I grew up without much emotional support from my family and would want to be that support system for others especially in the youth community. Sometimes people just want you to listen to how they feel and be heard. Besides that I love to read, write, learn new things, explore and enjoy nature at it’s best. 

What song is energizing you today?

Where did your family immigrate from?
My mother immigrated from the Dominican Republic & my father immigrated from Mexico. 

 

Ava Erfani

App Resource Specialist.
Home. Charlotte, NC 
Pronouns. she/her/hers 
​What "Brave" means to you. 
Following your convictions, particularly when it is challenging to do so.

Biography.
Ava graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2021, studying political science as well as her own self-designed program of study centered around colonialism and neocolonial relations. Previously, she has worked for political campaigns in North Carolina, studied abroad in the Balkans, Austria, Tunisia, and Italy, and been heavily involved with political activism in her community. In her free time, Ava enjoys reading, cinema, and trying out restaurants in NYC. She is excited to be part of the Brave House and its efforts to provide its members with resources to make their lives easier.

What song is energizing you today?

Where did your family immigrate from?
Iran

 

Lilienne Shore Kilgore-Brown

English School Coordinator.
​Home. Eastern Washington State! 
Pronouns. she/her/hers 
​What "Brave" means to you. 
Brave means standing up and advocating for yourself and others—in any form.

Biography.
I am a current sophomore at Columbia University studying English and Comparative Literature, but originally hail from the West Coast. I read a lot (favorites include Beartown by Fredrik Backman, His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman, and Women of the Silk by Gail Tsukiyama), write (on my own and for a magazine on campus), bake and cook, love to meet animals, and adventure throughout the city. I'm really excited to be a part of the Brave House and so glad they're having me!

What song is energizing you today?

 

Vanessa Tasé Sueiro

Growth Co-Coordinator.
Home. Manhattan, NY
Pronouns. she/her/hers 
​What "Brave" means to you. 
I was introduced to the English word “brave” with a quote by Nelson Mandela written on the whiteboard of the first American classroom I set foot in. “The brave man is not he who does not fear, but he who conquers that fear.” ​

Biography.
Vanessa grew up in Cuba and came to the States with her family in 2012. Having to learn English as a second language fueled Vanessa's love for language itself. This passion has inspired her to continue learning more languages and to become a writer, publishing her work on her self-designed website vanessatasesueiro.com Vanessa also shares The Brave House's passion for and commitment to community, having worked for many years with other non-profit organizations (such as The Boys & Girls Clubs, UndosNow, and Girls Inc.) in her hometown of Sarasota, Fl. Currently, Vanessa is a Sophomore at Barnard College, where she is majoring in English (with a concentration in Creative Writing) and pursuing minors in Italian Language and Urban Education. 

What song is energizing you today?

Where did your family immigrate from?
Cuba

 

Ry Spada

Outreach Coordinator.
Home. New York, NY
Pronouns. she/her/hers 
​What "Brave" means to you. 
So often, to be brave is to stand proud in your authenticity regardless of what others may say or think. To love yourself, despite messaging that may say otherwise, is an act of bravery.

Biography.
Ry, born in New Jersey, is so excited for her work on The Brave House's outreach team. She is currently a student at Columbia University, where she studies American Studies and History with special emphases on Queer, Indigenous, and Women's Studies. Her passion for community outreach has led her to be part of Columbia's Housing Equity Project and Students for Justice in Palestine. Outside of her advocacy work, Ry is passionate about acting and directing and has been part of over 20 shows in her life. And when she's relaxing, Ry loves to spend time with friends, shake it all out to hyperpop, take bike rides, and foster her sewing skills. 

What song is energizing you today?

Where did your family immigrate from?
My great grandparents immigrated from Russia and the Ukraine while my grandfather immigrated from Sicily. 
​

 

Priya Ramanathan

Chair of the Board of Directors.
​​​Home. Brooklyn, NY
Job. General Assembly
​​Pronouns. She/ her/ hers
​What “Brave” means to you.
Being brave means not letting things scare you from achieving your dreams or supporting the dreams of others.

 

Biography. 
Priya is the VP of Government & Workforce Partnerships at General Assembly, a global pioneer in digital skills education that is committed to building accessible pathways meaningful careers in technology. Priya was formerly the VP of Growth & Strategy at Per Scholas, a national tech training organization that provides no-cost technology training to adults from communities that are often underserved, connecting them to careers in technology. In her more than 12 years working in both the public and private sector, she believes nontraditional educational options that are focused on skills of the future will remove barriers to economic prosperity for diverse talent that still remains grossly underrepresented in so many companies across the world. 

She received her BA at the George Washington University in Washington, DC and her MS in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. Priya and her family immigrated to the US from India when she was five years old.

​​What song is energizing you today?

Where did your family immigrate from?
India

 

Sabrineh Ardalan

Member of the Board of Directors.
​Job. Assistant Director and Clinical Professor of Law at Harvard Law School
Home. Cambridge, MA

 

Biography. 
​Sabi is the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program’s assistant director, as well as assistant clinical professor of law at HLS. Sabi supervises and trains law students working on applications for asylum and other humanitarian protections, as well as appellate litigation and policy advocacy. She teaches courses on immigration and refugee law and advocacy and on trauma, refugees, and the law. Sabi previously clerked for the Honorable Michael A. Chagares of Third Circuit Court of Appeals and the Honorable Raymond J. Dearie, Chief District Judge for the Eastern District of New York. She also worked as the Equal Justice America Fellow at The Opportunity Agenda and as a litigation associate at Dewey Ballantine LLP.

​​What song is energizing you today?

​​​Where did your family immigrate from?
Iran

 

Mikelina Belaineh

Member of the Board of Directors.
​Job.  Director of Impact, Last Prisoner Project
​Home. Brooklyn, NY. 
​What “Brave” means to you.
To be your most authentic self when the world tells you to be something or someone else.

 

Biography. 
​Mikelina has spent their carer exploring how to facilitate community regeneration and empowerment in marginalized communities. Their work has focused on examining the disparate impact of the criminal legal on black and brown communities, and working with various stakeholders (impacted community, advocates, government decision makers, and experts) to explore innovative solutions. Previously, Mikelina served as the Chief Program Officer for the nonprofit social enterprise InnerCity Weightlifting, a street violence reduction program serving street and gang-involved young adults by connecting them with new resources, networks, and opportunities. They now support the organization's work in an advisory role.

​Mikelina became interested in social justice issues in college, where they spent their four years organizing around LGBTQ issues in rural parts of Texas. In law school, they narrowed their focus to issues around criminal justice, recognizing it as a system that has implications for all areas of social justice, and therefore an opportunity to facilitate great impact. Mikelina holds a JD from Harvard Law School, where they served as co-president on the board of Lambda and co-founded the Queer and Trans People of Color student organization. Mikelina also has a BA with honors from the Texas A&M University. Mikelina was born and raised in Arlington, TX, where their family and community settled after immigrating from Ethiopia. ​

​What song is energizing you today?

Where did your family immigrate from?
Ethiopia and Eritrea

 

Emily Nash

Member of the Board of Directors.
​Job. Associate, Foley Hoag LLP
Home. Boston, MA
​​What “Brave” means to you.
Trusting yourself and your inner strength to carry you forward--in your principles, choices, words, and actions--despite whatever pressure you face to do the opposite.

 

Biography. 
​Emily is an associate at Foley Hoag LLP in Boston, where she works in litigation and labor and employment, and a pro bono practice including civil rights litigation and immigration.  She received her JD from Harvard Law School in 2016, after which she clerked for the Honorable Denise J. Casper, in the U.S. District Court for District of Massachusetts. 

Emily grew up in Armonk, NY, and she received her BA in sociology from NYU in 2011.  Emily's experience working with nonprofit organizations began in college, when she spent a semester as an intern at Amnesty International USA.  After graduating, she spent a year teaching English to children in Metz, France, after which she worked as a project manager at Innovative Philanthropy, providing development consulting and assistance--largely through grant review and major fundraising event planning--to nonprofits and foundations in New York City.

What song is energizing you today?

Where did your family immigrate from?
Italy and somewhere in Eastern Europe

 

Loretta Lopez Carstensen

Member of the Board of Directors.
​Job. Social Worker, Violence Intervention Program
Home. Brooklyn, NY
​​What “Brave” means to you.
Listening to the voices of the unheard and recognizing that they have stories to tell.

 

Biography. 
​Loretta was born and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico. She immigrated to NY at 18 to study Creative Writing at Bard College. Since then she has lived in Texas, Vietnam, and Queens, NY, her current home. She is a writer, aspiring illustrator, and a non-profit professional focused on bettering the lives of refugees and survivors of gender based violence. She's currently a graduate student on the clinical track at Columbia's School of Social Work.

​​What song is energizing you today?

​​​Where did your family immigrate from?
Mexico

 

Rachel Becker

Member of the Board of Directors. 
Job. Account Director at LinkedIn
Home. New York, NY
Pronouns. she/her/hers
What "Brave" means to you. 
​Brave means going outside of your comfort zone and establishing a new path. It means pushing the boundaries.

Biography. 
Rachel is an Account Director at LinkedIn and consults with clients, advising them on talent strategy. She received her MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business in 2018 and her BA in International Relations from Vanderbilt University in 2011. Rachel grew up in Westchester, New York and is the daughter of a Colombian immigrant mother. Rachel is inspired by her mother's story of bravery in establishing her life in the United States and paving the way for her younger sister, nieces and nephews.

What song is energizing you today?

Where did you or your family immigrate from?
Colombia, Russia