Shining a Light on Refugee Experiences in the Berkshires
Date: Monday, May 2, 2022
Time: 5:30 – 7:30 PM
Location: Zoom (zoom details will be provided to all who RSVP)
RSVP by: 12pm, May 2, 2022
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Join us in May to learn from two women at the center of welcoming and supporting refugees in the Berkshires. With the arrival of the first families from Afghanistan, the Berkshires are hosting refugees for the first time since the 1980s. Gabriela Sheehan from Jewish Family Services will provide insight into the complex web of volunteers and services agencies deployed in the region. Michelle Lopez of the Berkshire Immigrant Center will share how they support individuals after resettlement and beyond. Spend and evening to learn about the lives and needs of refugees, the challenges they face and how our community can support them. From basic needs to finding housing and employment, arriving in the Berkshires can come with lots of opportunities. Speaker Bios below
Speaker Bios
Gabriela Sheehan is the Berkshire Resettlement Coordinator for Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts where she coordinates more than 150 area volunteers in support of newly arriving refugee families from Afghanistan. Previously she taught ESL in Pittsfield Public Schools until 2019. She served on United Educators of Pittsfield Executive Board for 2 years.
She notes that the opportunity with JFS to work more directly with families and join the community groups that have been doing this work for years, while building a unified system of advocacy for New Americans in Berkshire County, is so exciting and a way for her to continue contributing to the educational system that has so many needs outside of school buildings. Her late father, Ramiro Guerrero, was a powerhouse and champion for justice for the Latino Community in the Berkshires.
Michelle Lopez is the Executive Director of the Berkshire Immigrant Center since May 2019. She is originally from upstate NY and has lived in Cuba, Spain, and Mexico. She has a B.A. in Anthropology from SUNY New Paltz and an M.A. in Caribbean Studies from the University at Buffalo. Before arriving in the Berkshires, Michelle worked for six years in international education, coordinating programs for students ages 13 to 95 traveling to Cuba, Costa Rica, Mexico, Italy, The Netherlands, and Denmark. She enjoys welcoming and learning about people from all over the world who come to the Berkshires as a way of honoring the wonderful people she’s met abroad who so warmly engaged her in their cultures.
Michelle was awarded a certificate of “Superior Spanish” by the University of Havana in 2010, wrote a chapter in Spanish and English for an internationally published book, “El Patrimonio de las Comunidades Rurales ‘Cultura y Comunidad en La Picadora’” in 2016, and presented twice on US/Cuban educational relations at the XXI Congreso Internacional “El Caribe: fragmentos de historias sincopadas,” in 2018 in Mérida, Mexico. Michelle is an Advisory Board Member of the Dulye Leadership Experience, a member of 1Berkshire’s Alliance Board of Directors, recipient of the 2021 “Rising Star” award by the Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires, and graduate of both the Berkshire Leadership Program and Pittsfield Citizens Academy.
Michelle was awarded a certificate of “Superior Spanish” by the University of Havana in 2010, wrote a chapter in Spanish and English for an internationally published book, “El Patrimonio de las Comunidades Rurales ‘Cultura y Comunidad en La Picadora’” in 2016, and presented twice on US/Cuban educational relations at the XXI Congreso Internacional “El Caribe: fragmentos de historias sincopadas,” in 2018 in Mérida, Mexico. Michelle is an Advisory Board Member of the Dulye Leadership Experience, a member of 1Berkshire’s Alliance Board of Directors, recipient of the 2021 “Rising Star” award by the Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires, and graduate of both the Berkshire Leadership Program and Pittsfield Citizens Academy.