Spring Donor Briefing: Supporting LGBTQ Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Times of Crisis

Maria Sjödin (she/they) serves as the Acting Executive Director for OutRight Action International.

Previously, Maria served as OutRight’s Deputy Executive Director leading the work of the Development and Communications teams, where they oversaw a period of extraordinary growth in visibility, diversification and increase in funding, in addition to launching groundbreaking initiatives, such as OutRight’s COVID-19 Global LGBTIQ Emergency Fund and pioneering engagement with international businesses. Prior to OutRight Maria served as Executive Director of RFSL, Sweden’s largest LGBTIQ organization. Maria has led leadership trainings for hundreds of LGBTIQ activists on topics including strength-based coaching and appreciative inquiry. They regularly provide expert opinions to governments, UN agencies, and corporations and are frequently quoted by the media, including by outlets like Time magazine and Thomson Reuters.

Okan Sengun, Esq., (he/him) is the Executive Director and co-founder of the LGBT Asylum Project.

As a former asylum seeker, he recognized the need for asylum services tailored specifically to the LGBTQ+ community and co-founded The LGBT Asylum Project in 2015. Okan Sengun’s passion for helping the LGBTQ+ community is rooted in the core belief that no one should ever be persecuted for who they are or who they love. The LGBT Asylum Project is the only San Francisco nonprofit organization exclusively dedicated to providing accessible legal representation for LGBT asylum seekers who are fleeing persecution due to their sexual orientation, gender identity and/or HIV status.

Rachel Kafele (she/her) is the co-founder and Legal Program Director of Oasis Legal Services.

A Bay Area native, Rachel graduated from Wesleyan University with a BA in Latin American Studies and cum laude from NYU School of Law in 2010. After working as a Public Defender at the Miami Public Defenders Office after graduation, she transitioned to immigration law and began working with LGBTQ+ asylum seekers in 2013, helping queer and trans clients from all over the world find safety in the U.S. At Oasis, she heads the Legal Program in addition to representing clients in complex asylum cases.