Ronnie Millar is the Executive Director of the Rian Immigrant Center. Rian, formerly known as the Irish International Immigrant Center, was founded in 1989 and has become Boston’s Welcome Center for immigrant and refugee families from around the globe, providing immigration legal, resource & support services, education, and welcoming services. Ronnie emigrated to the United States in 1993 from Belfast, Northern Ireland. After working in technology for 20 years, he changed careers into human services in the year 2000. Ronnie is a graduate of UMass Boston’s College of Public and Community Services. In addition to his work at the Rian Immigrant Center, Ronnie is also the Vice President of the National Coalition of Irish Immigration Centers, serves on the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Advancement, and on the Attorney General’s Advisory Council on New Americans.

Ilona has a background in human resources, partnership cultivation, finance, and organizational strategy, as well as passions for community organizing, advocacy, and social justice. Ilona holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration with a focus in Management, and a Master’s in Public Policy with a dual focus on Analysis and Strategy & Communication, both obtained at the University of New Hampshire.

Raphaela Barros Campbell is the Director of Foundation Relations at Rian. She is responsible for Rian’s grant writing and for maintaining relationships with foundation, corporate, and government funding partners. Originally from Brazil, Raphaela is passionate about diversity and immigration, sparked by her experiences as an international student and teacher, as well as her journey to becoming a U.S. citizen. Motivated by her English teaching experience, Raphaela previously worked in administrative roles supporting international students in Montana and then Irish J-1 interns at Rian. She is a graduate of the Federal University of Alagoas in Brazil, and she has a master’s degree in Communication Studies from the University of Montana. When not working, you can find Raphaela doing some craft or hanging out at a North Shore beach.

Caitlin brings 5 years of both domestic and international teaching experience to the evening ESOL classes at the Rian Immigrant Center. She holds two Bachelor’s Degrees; one in English and the other in World Languages and Cultures. Currently, she is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Education at Roberts Wesleyan College. Caitlin hopes to create an inclusive, safe, and supportive learning environment for any student that enters the classroom.

Sue has been practicing as an immigration attorney primarily in the areas of family-based immigration law, asylum, and removal defense since 2007.She is admitted to the MA bar as well as the Federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts and the First Circuit Court of appeals. She came to Rian after working as a solo practitioner in Lynn, where she represented primarily Spanish-speaking clients from Central America and the Dominican Republic. She regularly worked with clients who have experienced significant psychological and physical trauma, particularly victims of domestic violence, gender-based violence and gang-based violence from Central America.

Ellie Carver (she/her) is a passionate relationship builder and manager of people and processes. Ellie has spent most of her career in the nonprofit space focused on educational equity, in particular thinking about transformative educational experiences that allow for holistic learning. Ellie is passionate about social change and justice, is trained as a restorative justice practitioner and a passionate community organizer. Outside of work, Ellie loves to spend time in community with others, reading good books, and eating a good meal with those she loves!

Jude Clarke joined Rian Immigrant Center in February 2009. He is now Director of Learning Exchange Programs where he is responsible for the center’s J-1 Intern and J-1 Irish Work and Travel programs. After living in Boston for some years, Jude is now based in Ireland where he also manages Rian engagement with universities, partners, and many other business, governmental, and civic contacts on the island. Jude is a Business and Management graduate of Queen’s University Belfast and he has a passion for helping young people make their way in life. Besides being kept busy with work, Jude’s main interests lay in either playing or watching sports, especially Hurling, Soccer, Golf, Cycling, & Tennis.

Luiza Souza graduated from Bridgewater State University with a degree in International Relations and a minor in Spanish. Luiza has experience in legal, health and educational community outreach and project management. Driven by her passion for social justice including the rights of immigrants and refugees and health equity and her personal ties to the immigrant process as a child from Brazil she takes pride in working towards improving the lives of the immigrants and refugees in the United States.

Lina Adjout is a Program Associate in the Immigration Legal Services Program. She joined Rian in 2021 after graduating from the University of New Hampshire where she studied Political Science and International Affairs. She supports our Immigration Attorneys with their cases, and assists clients with completing immigration forms. Her role also includes training and directly engaging with volunteers and interns. She previously interned at Project Citizenship where she assisted legal residents with applying for citizenship. As an immigrant from Algeria with a deep rooted passion for immigration advocacy, she is committed to helping immigrants on their path to succeed.

Eliana graduated from Bates College in May 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Anthropology. Eliana was heavily involved in the Lewiston/Auburn community throughout her four years at Bates, particularly tutoring high school students at local youth centers. She is highly interested in issues of linguistic justice, culturally-aware support systems, community organizing, and institutional accessibility. She has previously been involved in organizing mutual aid and social justice efforts at Bates College. Eliana is interested in developing a career supporting immigration advocacy. She is originally from Madaba, Jordan.

After graduating from Wellesley College with a bachelor of arts in History and Spanish, Jacqueline worked as an immigration paralegal at a small, private law firm. She went on to study at Northeastern University School of Law where she completed four internships in various settings focused on immigration law. Jacqueline speaks Spanish fluently.

Libbing Barrera-Perez is a Legal Intake Specialist in the Immigration Legal Services Program. She is a recent graduate from Tufts University where she studied Sociology with a concentration in Globalization, Transnationalism, and Immigration as well as a concentration in Social Inequalities and Social Change. She aids our Immigration Attorneys with cases and works directly with clients to help complete immigration forms. As an immigrant from Mexico, Libbing is committed to advocating for underrepresented communities and hopes to provide support for these communities throughout her professional career. In her free time, she enjoys reading in coffee shops, journaling, and going for long walks.

Ann-Marie Byrne has been involved with the Rian Immigrant Center since February 2001. She is an Irish Immigrant who was first introduced to the center when she reached out to them for assistance upon arriving in the U.S. in 2001. For close to 15 years, she was involved with the center’s Learning Exchange Programs, facilitating peace building exchange programs between Boston and Ireland, with a focus on Protestant and Catholic youth from Northern Ireland. Her current role of Manager of Volunteer/Intern Recruitment and Irish Outreach is a dual role. She recruits all interns and volunteers needed for program operations year round. She is also heavily involved with the Irish Community, assessing needs, informing people of Rian’s services and programs, and providing support and education to the community. Ann-Marie is a graduate of Athlone Institute of Technology in Westmeath, Ireland, having received her Degree in Business Studies and Marketing.

Erin Chubb began her career with the Rian Immigrant Center 5 years ago as an ESOL instructor and in 2019, she took on the additional role of Associate Director of Education Services. She continues to teach 2 ESOL courses as that is where her passion lies. In her free time she enjoys all things outdoors especially with her favorite hiking buddy, her 3 year old daughter.

Cristina has been a legal services attorney in Boston since 2007. She joined the Rian team in 2016 to develop a partnership with local public schools to represent undocumented youth in a variety of immigration matters and to train school staff on best practices in supporting immigrant students  Since then, Cristina has helped develop and expand several of Rian’s community partnerships, including Rian’s legal clinic at Rosie’s Place, a shelter for women. As a staff attorney at Rian, Cristina represents clients in a wide variety of immigration matters, but chooses to focus the majority of her practice on serving undocumented youth, homeless women, and survivors of domestic violence and child abuse. Cristina is a 2007 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law. After law school, she was awarded the prestigious Equal Justice Works fellowship, allowing her to represent low-income children and families on immigration and public benefits matters at the Medical-Legal Partnership | Boston. After her fellowship, Cristina continued her work at MLP | Boston as a supervising attorney, leading a team of lawyers, paralegals, and law students.  Cristina received her BA from Loyola University in Maryland, and is an alumna of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.

Beverly immigrated from the Philippines with her family when she was six months old. Her family’s immigrant experience instilled in her a desire to advocate for immigrants and help them achieve their “American Dream.” Prior to joining Rian in 2022, she was in solo practice in the Boston area. At Rian, she specializes in family-based petitions, waivers, asylum, Special Immigrant Juvenile petitions, and naturalization. A native of Southern California, she received her JD from Northeastern and her BA in History and Spanish from NYU. She is admitted to practice in Massachusetts, New York, and the First Circuit Court of Appeals.

Nora Grow joins us after working on the COVID Eviction Legal Help grant as a paralegal for South Coastal Counties Legal Services. Nora interned at the Rian Immigrant Center during the summer of 2019 as an Education Services Intern. She is passionate about immigrant rights and community organizing. She graduated from American University with her Bachelor’s degree. Nora studied international relations with a focus on identity, race, gender, and culture.

Jonah works as one of the Program Associates for Immigrant Legal Services. Prior to joining Rian, he worked at the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center. He graduated from Harvard University in 2018 with a BA in Social Studies. After graduation, he spent a year in Spain as a Michael C. Rockefeller fellow. He is fluent in Spanish.

Adelina (she/her) has a background in community engagement, partnership development, program design and coordination, and student advising in the nonprofit and higher education sectors. She is passionate about advancing antiracism and promoting social justice through education and advocacy. Adelina holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in Sociology from Loyola University Maryland, a Masters of Social Work with a concentration in Children, Youth, and Families, and a certificate in Community Organizing and Policy from Boston College School of Social Work. Outside of work, Adelina enjoys crafting, exploring the city, and spending time with friends and family.

Victoria is a licensed social worker from Massachusetts who brings 10 years of experience working with nonprofits nationally and internationally in both direct service and programmatic roles. Driven to address inequities in access to health, safety, and well-being, Victoria’s work has focused on providing anti-oppressive, supportive accompaniment, counseling, and advocacy to immigrants and refugees, people experiencing homelessness and distress, and indigenous Maya communities in Guatemala. Most recently, she worked with the International Rescue Committee in Colorado supporting survivors of torture through direct advocacy and psychosocial support. In her role with Rian, Victoria works alongside clients, offering counseling, group facilitation, therapy, and wrap around case management.

Jackie Kelley is Senior Immigration Attorney in the Immigration Legal Services program of Rian Immigrant Center, where she represents immigrants and refugees from around the world in a variety of humanitarian and family immigration matters. From 2016-2018, Jackie held a prestigious Equal Justice Works fellowship to expand Rian’s capacity to provide comprehensive representation to immigrant domestic violence survivors. Currently she facilitates Rian’s medical-legal partnership with Boston Medical Center, providing critical immigration legal services to hospital patients. She is a graduate of Georgetown University’s Faculty of Language and Linguistics and of Northeastern University School of Law, where she was a Public Interest Law Scholar and was named a Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy Fellow to assist asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors at the U.S.-Mexico border. Prior to law school, Jackie worked for six years at Ayuda, a nationally-recognized leader in legal aid for immigrants, asylum-seekers and domestic violence survivors, where she helped hundreds of low-income immigrants navigate complex immigration laws. In her close work with immigrant communities, Jackie has developed a passion for trauma-informed and culturally-competent legal aid, and for using the law as a tool for personal empowerment.

Hi all! My name is Jose Maza, and I recently accepted a position as an Immigration Legal Intake Coordinator from the Rian Immigrant Center and the Massachusetts Immigrant Collaborative. I graduated from Providence College in May of 2021, with degrees in Global Studies and Political Science. I was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico into a family of Mexican migrants, and I had the privilege of growing up in four different countries. Because of my background and multinational upbringing, I have developed a passion for immigration and immigration services. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my friends and family, being outdoors, and watching sports.

Priya is our Development Associate and previously she was a part of a culturally-specific nonprofit organization serving immigrant survivors of domestic violence. Along with being a trained Domestic Violence Advocate, she helped the organization with comunications, donor relations and fundraising. She was drawn to the work because she identified with the struggles that immigrant women go through as they work towards building successful lives for them and their families. She is thrilled to continue this work at Rian, and contribute to its mission. She holds a Master’s Degree in Communications, Media and Cultural Studies from Northeastern University.

Siobhan Kelly is the Manager of Resource & Support Services at Rian and has been with the center since 2016. In this role, she provides emotional support to the center’s clients, as well as helping them access resources, solve problems, and navigate the many systems related to healthcare, as well as available resources in Ireland. She recently graduated Boston University School of Social Work with her Master’s degree. As the daughter, and granddaughter of Irish immigrants, she is passionate about helping immigrants and their families from all over the world.

Amanda Petrakis joined Rian as an Immigration Attorney in June 2019. As an Immigration Attorney she represents her clients in family-based and humanitarian immigration cases. She also assists with Rian’s medical-legal partnership with Boston Medical Center, providing critical immigration legal services to hospital patients. Since beginning her legal education at McGill University’s Faculty of Law, Amanda has been dedicated to pursuing opportunities in public interest law and to serving immigrant communities in particular. Before joining Rian, Amanda represented victims of domestic violence and children with immigration and family law matters. Amanda is an immigrant herself and was raised in the vibrant city of Montréal, Canada. She serves her clients in English, French, and Spanish, and is also fluent in Greek. In her free time, Amanda loves to explore new places and the outdoors either on foot, by bike, on SUP or by air!

Elena Ruiz is Rian’s new IAP Program Manager. Before Rian, she served as a New American Integration Program AmeriCorps member at Saint Mark Community Education Program, where she taught adult ESOL and citizenship classes. As a first-generation American with a background in TESOL, volunteer coordination, and curriculum development, in addition to a deeply rooted passion for immigrant advocacy, she is ready to apply her versatile skills to her new role. Elena holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Anthropology and Psychology from Union College. Elena lives in Jamaica Plain, MA. She likes to listen to music, cook, and hike in her freetime.

Mia Smith joined Rian in May 2020 and is currently serving as the Salesforce Administrator and as the program coordinator for Rian’s emergency relief efforts. In this role, Mia corresponds with clients seeking financial assistance, makes monetary determinations, and disburses funds. Mia is also involved heavily in the accounting side of Rian’s operations. In May 2020, she graduated from Bates College with a degree in Psychology and concentrations in social and race-related Psychology. Prior to Rian, Mia interned at JVS Boston, where she taught English and served as a career coach for clients of JVS. She is excited to be continuing on her path of immigrant services and is honored to be a part of Rian’s efforts to support the immigrant communities of Boston.

Francesca Sotoudeh-Paranzino is a Program Associate in the Immigration Legal Services program. She joined the Rian Immigrant Center in 2017 and previously held the position of Inclusion Coordinator. She assists clients directly as an immigration paralegal, and supports our Immigration Attorneys with their own cases. Francesca’s current role also includes inter-program liaising with the Resource and Support Services program, as well as facilitating case management between legal partner organizations. Francesca is herself an immigrant from Venezuela and Italy, and has a personal commitment to ensuring Rian’s constituents receive the best possible legal services.

Lara Wagner joined Rian as an Immigration Attorney in February 2020. As an immigration attorney, Lara helps foreign nationals and US Citizens reunite with family members, secure permanent status in the United States, and become US Citizens. Before joining Rian, Lara managed her own immigration law firm in Chicago, IL. Lara received her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and her BA in International Relations and German from Rhodes College.

Leah studied Education at Boston University and was initially a middle school teacher with a focus on student centered learning. She joined Rian in 2019 as a Program Associate in the Learning Exchange Department working with Irish students & graduates to obtain the J-1 visa. As she has grown at Rian Immigrant Center, her interests have grown in Communications & Development, and she has since moved on to manage Rian’s Communications.

Mari is a public interest lawyer from California who has practiced immigration law since 2003. She has worked at legal aid offices in Minneapolis, the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Boston, joining Rian in 2021. She has extensive experience supporting asylees/ refugees and survivors of trauma and is bilingual in English and Spanish. Mari is also passionate about supporting our next generation of lawyers serving as a public interest career counselor at Stanford Law School from 2009-2011. Since 2012 she has mentored undocu*pre-law students with immigration law training and professional development opportunities through Immigrants Rising (formerly E4FC), a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization. Mari has a BA from Pomona College and a JD from Harvard.