Our Team

 

Carrie Berman

Carrie Berman grew up in West Hartford and has worked as a teacher in NYC and has supervised student teachers at UCONN. She currently serves as a special educational advocate for children in DCF custody. She has always been a passionate advocate for children in our community. Her interest in the the area’s refugee community started with an IRIS- sponsored Syrian family through Beth El Temple and Westminster Presbyterian Church. Since then she has met many wonderful refugee families and volunteers, and she cherishes her new friendships. Carrie is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, whose family were also refugees at one time. She is following in her grandfather Marcus’s footsteps, who worked tirelessly with the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) in helping refugees in Europe. Carrie lives in Hartford with her husband and they have three adult children.

Sarah Kieffer

Sarah Kieffer, a retired elementary school teacher, has lived most of her life in West Hartford. Early in childhood, she learned about the value of volunteering from her parents. In 2016, she started volunteering to support a local Syrian refugee family in an IRIS co-sponsorship with West Hartford St. John’s and St. James’s Episcopal Churches.Since then, she has worked with refugee families resettled by Catholic Charities and IRIS as well as with immigrant families, providing direct service as families settle in and as they become independent. In addition, she has worked with many amazing volunteers and donors who generously give to the vibrant local refugee community. She is particularly interested in ESOL and believes that developing language competency is a vital tool for success. Sarah is humbly inspired by everything she has learned from the friendly and resilient refugees of Greater Hartford.

Anna Shusterman

Anna Shusterman was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. She immigrated with her family to the US as a young child in the late 1970's with a large wave of Soviet Jewish refugees and grew up in the Boston area. Her experience navigating the migrant experience with her family, and her belief that every person and family deserves a safe home, is what motivates her work with refugees and immigrants. She started volunteering in 2016 with a community group to help Syrian refugee families, who inspired her with their positive outlook, their search for a good life, and their friendship. As a founding member of SAWA, she helps families with the transition to independence and writes grants to provide financial assistance. She is a professor of psychology and education studies at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT where she studies child development. Anna lives in West Hartford with two teenage kids and two cats. She is a proud ally to the LGBTQ+ community and grateful for the community of people working to improve migration and resettlement in Greater Hartford.

Janet Stone

Janet Stone is Treasurer and the newest member of the SAWA Executive Board. Janet became involved with refugees many years ago as a Case Manager for Polish, Ethiopian, Somalian, and Eritrean refugees in New Mexico. Janet grew up in Hartford, Connecticut, and over the years, she has volunteered here with Cuban and then Syrian refugees. She has tutored children and adults, and helped with resume writing and searching for jobs which match the skills and interests of refugees. In 2016, she started volunteering to support a local Syrian refugee family in an IRIS co-sponsorship with two West Hartford churches, St. John’s and St. James’s Episcopal Churches.  The experience of being part of that dedicated community group helping to resettle a refugee family from their first few days in Greater Hartford to self-sufficiency was very rewarding. This led to another co-sponsorship experience with a community group in Manchester, CT. She has continued to offer support and friendship to many other refugee families since then. She finds this work rewarding and inspiring and has met many amazing and dedicated volunteers committed to the cause. She lives in Manchester with her husband and cat and is proud of her adult daughter, son-in-law, and little grandson.

Advisory Boards

Last week a conversation took place with the resettlement community about the Afghan immigrant experience.

  • Sawa convenes a leadership board with representation from the refugee and immigrant community, longtime activists, and experienced volunteers. The board brings a diverse array of knowledge. We include people with firsthand experience of navigating resettlement and political scientists conducting research on immigration. We also bring together individuals with expertise in the law, education, and employment. The leadership board helps to set the short- and long-term priorities and goals for Sawa.

  • We meet and speak with regularly with a number of on-the-ground refugee advocates who are in touch with many families. The advocates let us know what the needs are, connect families with Sawa resources, and provide an essential link between individuals and community support. They are our communication lifeline to many members of the refugee community.