The IRC in Atlanta is thrilled to announce that two of our very own—Ms. Sharita Khatiwada and Ms. Samiha Ross—have been named as part of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN) Atlanta ‘30 under 30’ Class of 2020! Each year, YNPN Atlanta recognizes 30 young professionals who are making waves in Georgia’s nonprofit sector with this award. We are so proud that our talented team members are included in this esteemed group of awardees. Please join us in congratulating Sharita and Samiha and the rest of the incredible ‘30 Under 30’ Class of 2020—the next generation of nonprofit leaders in Georgia!

Sharita Khatiwada, Connect 2 Success (C2S) Program Coordinator

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“I am honored and appreciative for being recognized for my position at the IRC in Atlanta. I believe all the IRC staff equally deserve this award, as I know everyone at the IRC is exceptionally hardworking and always going above and beyond to serve our clients. I have been so honored to work with an organization with such a great mission and with co-workers and leadership that continually challenge me and support my growth. I also want to take the time to thank all our partners within the IRC in Atlanta and outside the organization, and our amazing interns and volunteers who make our work possible.

“I joined the IRC back in October 2014 as an AmeriCorps service member for the Youth department. Under amazing leadership, we expanded our unique Youth programs from one to four, and I have been fortunate to work for all of these programs in various capacities. Now, as the C2S Program Coordinator, I work alongside Robyn Lau and Olivia Kemp, who provide excellent case management, career readiness programming and much more! My primary role is providing services to connect young people—both those who are in-school and out of school—with educational opportunities so they can access higher education and pursue the career pathways they are most interested in. I would like to shout out Caitlin Fogerty who runs the IRC’s Youth Futures afterschool program. Through her tireless and creative efforts to provide holistic programming, our students are supported from the 9th grade onward and so, are well-prepared by senior year to take the next steps and pursue college. 

Did you know? Ms. Sharita has supported almost 200 refugee and immigrant students to enroll in college during her time with the IRC in Atlanta!

“The most rewarding part of my job is seeing our clients and students happy and seeing them succeed and feel supported in their journey towards their dreams. It has been an absolute pleasure to work with so many compassionate, hardworking clients who always strive to help others. Many of our clients balance school, work, family responsibilities and leadership roles in the community. I am always inspired by their perseverance, humbleness, ‘never give up’ spirit, and their relentless efforts to help others succeed along with them.”

“The most rewarding part of my job is seeing our clients and students happy and seeing them succeed and feel supported in their journey towards their dreams.”

 

Samiha Ross, Health Educator

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“I was honored and delighted to be nominated by my supervisors, Grace Paulsen and Alison Spitz, who have been my mentors since I first started at the IRC as an intern in the Health and Wellness department in May 2019. As the Reproductive Health Intern, I proudly worked on numerous projects including our most recent success, the Hellooo America YouTube Series. My time at the IRC as an intern showed me the possibility of working in an environment where staff truly valued the health and well-being of the clients they served. I learned how to tailor reproductive health messaging—including designing brochures, social media posts and workshops—to meet the needs of refugee youth and provide culturally relative sexual reproductive health (SRH) education.

Did you know? Ms. Samiha has recruited 59 refugee young women to complete a women's health and pregnancy prevention program during her time with the IRC in Atlanta!

“I currently work as the IRC’s Health Improvement Project for Teens (HIPTeens) Health Educator, implementing an evidence-based virtual pregnancy prevention program with newly arrived 15- and 16-year-old refugee girls to improve communication and decision-making skills and increase SRH knowledge. I am deeply honored to receive the ‘30 under 30’ Young Nonprofit Professionals Network award. This award motivates me to continue to work to equip youth with the confidence and ability to make informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive health.”

“This award motivates me to continue to work to equip youth with the confidence and ability to make informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive health.”

 

Did you know? The IRC in Atlanta has been represented in YNPN Atlanta’s ’30 under 30’ class for the past three years:

Sharita and Samiha’s passion, commitment and dedication to not only the IRC in Atlanta, but most importantly to our clients, is so inspiring, and we could not be more fortunate to have them as part of our team.

 

To learn more about the work of the IRC in Atlanta and for information on how you can get involved with the IRC as a donor or volunteer, please contact Development Director, Heloise Ahoure, at [email protected] or 678-636-8941.  

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