Our Team
Grace Benton, Board Member
Grace has worked on refugee issues as a language teacher, legal advisor, researcher, and currently, an immigration attorney focusing on deportation defense in Baltimore, Maryland. She worked first as a part-time legal advisor with the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) and then as the Resettlement Coordinator in the Refugee Legal Aid Program at St. Andrew's Refugee Services (StARS) in Cairo, Egypt, from 2014 - 2016. She holds a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and an M.A. in Arab Studies and a Certificate in Refugee and Humanitarian Emergencies from Georgetown University. Before graduate school, she received a Fulbright Fellowship to teach and study in Amman, Jordan from 2011-12.
Christine Samuel, Board President
Christine, originally from Egypt, has spent over 16 years working alongside refugees and forced migrants—both on the ground in Cairo and from her current home just outside Boston, Massachusetts. She has taught Peace and Conflict Studies at a college in New England, worked with refugees and migrant farmers in Central Massachusetts, and directed an English language program for newly arrived immigrants in the Greater Boston area. Christine continues to support refugee communities in Egypt through executive coaching of refugee-led organizations and general consulting. As president of Refugees Thrive International, Christine also continues her support of refugee-led initiatives by connecting those who stand with the displaced communities of our world with refugee-led solutions overseas. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, a Master of Arts in International Affairs, a Law degree, and a postgraduate diploma in Climate Change and Development. She speaks Arabic. .
Cara Kiggins, Board Secretary
Cara served in the Refugee Legal Aid Program at St. Andrew’s Refugee Services (StARS) in Cairo, Egypt in 2009. She has offered support, compassion, and advocacy to survivors of trauma in the U.S. and internationally for more than ten years. She served as Executive Director of Community Outreach & Advocacy for Refugees in Phoenix, Arizona, and was on the Board of Directors of The Arizona Refugee Advancement Coalition. Cara worked and studied in Cairo, Egypt as a Fulbright Fellow, obtaining a Graduate Certificate in Migration and Refugee Studies from the American University in Cairo. She holds an Executive Masters in Public Administration from the University of Washington Evans School of Public Policy and Governance and a B.A. in Anthropology from Arizona State University. She studied Arabic at the American University in Cairo and currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona.