Talent Beyond Boundaries appoints USA Advisory Council

TBB is proud to announce the appointment of ten new members to our USA Advisory Council, which will support the development of our Labor Mobility Pathway Program as well as our ongoing Afghan Talent initiative.

Since our inception in 2016, TBB has led the charge to open Labor Mobility Pathways for refugees to secure employment in Australia, Canada, and the UK. We’re now pursuing expansion into the United States and other locations - drawing on lessons from existing programs. 

TBB’s inaugural USA Advisory Council brings together experienced professionals in humanitarian fields, legal, resettlement, lived refugee experience, and leaders in varying fields to support our existing programs, provide guidance, and expand our vision of a world where forcibly displaced people can use their skills to secure their futures. 

We are honored to work with these leaders to make our vision for the US program a reality. Welcome to the team, Nikki Busel, Susan Din, Allyson Eastman, Betsy Fisher, Susanne Gellert, Mark Guy, Muhsin Hassan, Andrew Lee, Tom McGuire, Sepideh Moafi, and Larry Tobin.

Nikki Busel

Having managed and operated healthcare employment teams for over 10 years, Nikki has a proven track record for ‘hiring smart’, fostering teamwork, and creating positive work cultures.

She has utilized her unique talents to lead major healthcare facilities to operate more efficiently, streamline their systems and processes, and capture more revenue. 

Nikki’s approach lies in her keen understanding of the nuances of diverse cultures. She tackles all aspects of talent acquisition and management and specializes in assisting eligible candidates with navigating certification and training criteria. Nikki has a relentless passion for helping those around her to be successful—be it her employees, clients, or colleagues.

In her spare time, Nikki enjoys voice-over acting for children’s animated programs, taking ballet classes, and making hair accessories with her daughters!

Susan Din

Susan is a humanitarian and social impact professional with more than 10 years of experience at the intersection of humanitarian response, human rights and philanthropy.

She currently leads fundraising and development at NetHope, a consortium of 60+ global NGOs working to leverage the power of technology to increase scale and impact across the humanitarian, development and conservation sectors.

As the daughter of immigrants, Susan has dedicated her career to refugee and forced migration issues and is deeply committed to diversity, equity and inclusion where affected communities and local leaders are empowered and at the heart of programs and relief efforts. Previous employers include HIAS, the Tent Partnership for Refugees, Mercy Corps, UNHCR, International Rescue Committee, Talent Beyond Boundaries, and the U.S. State Department.

Susan received her MPA from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and her undergraduate degree in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia.

Allyson Eastman

Allyson’s passion is working at the intersection of the public and private sectors. She is an Economic and Workforce Development Manager in the Global Public Policy group at Amazon Web Services (AWS).  Before joining AWS, she was a Strategy and Management Consulting Manager at Accenture for over six years. Prior to Accenture, she practiced law for nine years in Philadelphia, mostly working on government transactions and city planning matters, and as a Pennsylvania Superior Court Clerk.

One of her passions is being active in the community and she has experience serving on the boards of various organizations focusing on workforce development for immigrants and refugees, race relations, education, public sector philanthropy, and leadership development. 

Allyson has a M.P.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, a J.D. from Temple University, and a B.A. from the University of Michigan.

Betsy Fisher

Betsy is an advocate for refugee resettlement and immigration. She serves as the Advocacy Committee Lead for United Stateless, a community advocating to improve the rights of stateless people in the US. She is also a lecturer in International Refugee Law at the University of Michigan Law School.

Previously, Betsy was the Director of Strategy at the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP). She coordinated IRAP’s efforts to screen potential clients and develop tech tools and self-help materials for refugee communities. Betsy has published op-eds and academic articles about statelessness and refugee resettlement in publications like the New York Times and the Michigan Law Review.

Betsy received a J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School, an M.A. in Middle Eastern and North African Studies from the University of Michigan Rackham Graduate School, and a B.A., magna cum laude, in Political Science and Arabic from Denison University. Betsy is a member of the Michigan and Minnesota bars.

Susanne Gellert

Susanne is the Vice President of the German American Chamber of Commerce, Inc. in New York. She is an expert on German-American business expansion and advises, supports, and represents German companies that wish to develop or expand their business activities in the United States by providing market entry strategies and legal advice and support. 

Susanne studied law at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich (Germany), Universidad de Sevilla (Spain) and Fordham Law School (New York). She is admitted to the bar in Germany and New York - and has worked for law firms in Germany, Spain and the US.

She is actively engaged in supporting local service organisations such as the Bowery Mission, Coalition for the Homeless, and Nazareth Housing. She also played an instrumental role in the creation and implementation of an Entrepreneurship Training Camp and the building of a school - both in Haiti. She is the Founding President of the Rotary Club of Wall Street and served as Primary Representative to the UN for Rotary International for several years.

Mark Guy

Mark is a senior program officer with GHR Foundation’s Children in Families initiative. Mark supports GHR’s array of partners in Cambodia and Zambia who are working collaboratively in each country to strengthen social welfare systems at local and national levels and prioritize family- and community-based care for children. In addition, Mark has served multiple terms as the Steering Committee Chair of Elevate Children Funders Group, the leading global network of funders focused exclusively on the wellbeing and rights of children and youth.

A global development and philanthropy professional with over 15 years of experience, Mark previously split his time between GHR and its sister foundation, Better Way Foundation, supporting community-led Indigenous language and cultural revitalisation early childhood development (ECD) partnerships in seven different Native American communities, as well as advancing a collective of ECD partnerships with various local non-profit organisations in Tanzania and Lesotho.

Muhsin Hassan

Muhsin is an Awards Director at Lever for Change, where he serves as the client lead and primary relationship manager for donor partners who sponsor customized competitions or fund proposals through the Bold Solutions Network. Muhsin has spent his career at the intersection of philanthropy, international development, and strategy.

Prior to Lever for Change, Muhsin worked at a global strategy consultancy firm advising HNWIs, foundations, and non-governmental organizations on advancing socio-economic and political development in the global South. He began his career at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) where he served in the Kenya and Ethiopia Missions working on economic growth, governance, conflict mitigation and peacebuilding.

He brings expertise on fragile contexts through his professional and lived experiences. Muhsin received both his MPA in International Development and A.B. in Public Policy from Princeton University.

Andrew Lee

Andrew is a cross-disciplinary leader who is passionate about advancing mission and improving lives. Andrew has built his career motivated by the idea that solving complex challenges requires leaders with broad experiences and intellectual agility. Toward this end, he has held executive and board positions in the business and nonprofit sectors, spanning the fields of health care, philanthropy, American Indian affairs, arts and culture, sports, manufacturing, and academia.

His experience includes leadership positions at Aetna, Harvard, and the Ford Foundation, and he has served on boards for the Smithsonian, Harvard, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, USA Lacrosse, among others. Andrew is co-author of a book titled, The State of the Native Nations and is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum.

Andrew holds a BA from Hamilton College and a Master in Public Policy Degree from Harvard, where he was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow and a Christian A. Johnson Native American Fellow.

Tom McGuire

Tom is a senior global executive with 30 years experience transforming Fortune 500 Companies, leveraging next generation digital and analytic solutions to improve top and bottom line business performance.

This journey has allowed him to call many cities around the world home and includes residency in Bangalore, Nuremberg, Sofia, Bucharest, Milan, and Sydney.

In his personal time Tom can be found actively advocating for the professional development and mentorship of underserved, under represented and refugee students around the world as an advisory board member of Global Mentorship Initiative.

Additionally, he is pursuing a personal passion for the advancement of data and analytic scholarship as an instructor at a Master's degree program at McDaniel College.

Sepideh Moafi

Multi-hyphenate artist and activist, Sepideh is thrilled to join the TBB team in working to help refugees and displaced people access migration pathways towards a better future.

Sepideh stars in Apple TV’s upcoming limited series Blackbird and FX/Hulu’s limited series Class of ‘09. She starred in NEON’s critically-acclaimed The Killing of Two Lovers, as well as David Simon and George Pelecanos’ The Deuce on HBO, and The L Word: Generation Q on Showtime.

Sepideh’s stage work spans from original off-Broadway musicals to plays and operas in leading theaters worldwide. Some highlights include The David Geffen Hall with the NY Philharmonic, Davis Symphony Hall & The John F. Kennedy Center.

Born in a refugee camp, Sepideh is committed to advocating for refugees worldwide. She’s an ambassador for The International Rescue Committee (IRC), and serves on the advisory board of Eat OffBeat, a refugee-owned and operated catering company featuring refugee chefs from all over the globe.

Larry Tobin

Larry Tobin is the Director of The Shapiro Foundation, a Boston-based foundation particularly focused on expanding refugee sponsorship and complementary pathways for refugees across The Globe. www.theshapirofoundation.org