Our Team

Scarlet is Vice-President for the Americas and Global Strategy at the Tent Partnership for Refugees where she oversees Tent’s work in North America and Latin America to mobilize major companies to hire, train, and mentor refugees, as well as oversees several global initiatives for Tent.

Prior to Tent, Scarlet worked at the Clinton Foundation for eight years. She was the Associate Director of the Commitments Department and head of the Response & Resilience track at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). In this role, she advised corporate, philanthropic, government and non-profit leaders responding to natural disasters and humanitarian crises. Before that, Scarlet worked at the Elie Wiesel Foundation, founded by Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, where she organized international conferences with world leaders.

She has a BA from Trinity College Dublin.

Veronica (Noni) is the Vice-President for Europe at Tent.

Noni was formerly the Global Director of Communications and Marketing at Tent. Prior to joining Tent, Noni was the Director of Communications at Girl Effect, a UK-based nonprofit founded by the Nike Foundation. In this role, she managed all global communications activities for the Girl Effect parent brand through high-profile integrated campaigns spanning press, digital, and reputation management. She spent the majority of her career at communications consultancies in the UK – Teneo and Havas PR – advising corporate clients such as McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Instagram and the Guardian News & Media.

Noni has a BA in English Literature from University of Warwick, and an MPhil in International Relations from the University of Cambridge.

Haiwen is the Director of Global Communications & Marketing at Tent, overseeing the organization’s communications, marketing, research, and thought leadership efforts around the world.

Prior to joining Tent, Haiwen was the Vice President of Global Communications and Social Impact at leading international sports media company DAZN Group. There, she guided DAZN from its U.S. launch to worldwide expansion to 200+ markets, throughout which she supported the company’s nonprofit partnerships and led integrated global brand building efforts that included solidifying the company as a recognized global home of sport and game-changer in the advancement of women’s sport. Prior to that, she spent nearly a decade across offices in Asia and North America for international PR agencies Ketchum and Hill & Knowlton, with key clients including Gillette, Mercedes-Benz, Oakley, LensCrafters, Chloé, and Breguet.

Haiwen received her Bachelor of Science degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, where she also minored in Chinese Language & Culture.

Hélène is the Deputy Director for Europe, at the Tent Partnership for Refugees, and lives in the Netherlands.

Prior to joining Tent, she worked for over twenty years at Accenture in Consulting and Global HR roles and was part of the Accenture team that set up the Refugee Talent Hub in the Netherlands, accelerating the way to work for refugees by connecting companies to refugee talent. Hélène has a Masters in Business Economics.

Laura Vélez Villa is the Deputy Director for Strategic Initiatives at Tent.

Laura joined Tent from Indeed, where she led global product partnerships to help 30 million people facing bias & barriers get hired by 2030. Prior to Indeed she worked at B Lab Global, the non-profit behind Certified B Corps, where she held roles in global innovation and strategic growth. Before that, she led B Lab’s launch in Colombia as Executive Director of Sistema B. Earlier in her career, she led entrepreneur search & selection at Endeavor Chile, and was a researcher at Harvard Business School.

Laura has an M.A. in International Business and Policy from Georgetown University, and a B.A. in Economics and International Global Studies from Brandeis University, where she was awarded the Wien International Scholarship.

Ileana Cruz-Marden is the Deputy Director for the Americas & Global Strategy at Tent.

Prior to Tent, Ileana worked with the City Resilience Delivery Team at 100 Resilient Cities to develop and implement a disaster reliance strategy for Puerto Rico following the devastation left by Hurricane Maria in 2017. Ileana previously worked at USA for UNHCR as Project Coordinator for the Partnership for Refugees initiative, and at the U.S. Supreme Court as Special Aide to Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor. 

Ileana has a Master in Public Affairs from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and a BA in Political Science from the University of Puerto Rico, where she was a Gates and Truman Scholar.

Yaron Schwartz is the Director for the United States at Tent.

Prior to joining Tent, Yaron worked at Deloitte in a consulting and public policy role focused on projects related to corruption, youth unemployment and immigration. He also previously worked for a member of the UK Parliament and a public affairs consultancy and served as a blogger at the Huffington Post.

Yaron has a BA in International Studies and History from Yale University and a MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics, where he was a Fulbright Scholar.

Sophie Jama Malindi is Country Director at Tent, responsible for its operations in Canada.

Prior to joining the organization, Sophie served as a long-time Program Manager as well as Acting Chief of Programme Services at UNICEF,  and was a Program Officer at UNAIDS. She is also the founder of TruVoice Solutions, a tech platform which aims to empower and amplify voices of marginalized groups by fostering meaningful and inclusive engagement between employees and employers.

Sophie is a two times TEDx speaker, and is the Chair of a global Research Advisory Council on Violence Against Children and is a board member of a tech start up on financial inclusion of marginalized women and girls. As an Ethiopian refugee granted asylum as a child, Sophie is passionate about improving the lives of refugees in Canada and all over the world.

Yasmine is Country Director at Tent, responsible for its operations in France. 

Prior to joining Tent, she was Alliance Partner Manager at French tech start-up Aircall. Before that, she spent almost 10 years at International SOS, an organization focusing on health and security risk management. Yasmine held various business development and marketing management roles there, providing support to businesses and NGOs. Prior to that, she worked for seven years in the automotive industry.

Yasmine has an M.A. in Management from the EDHEC Business School (France).

Christian is Country Director at Tent, responsible for its operations in Germany.

Prior to joining the organization, he worked in international Business Development as Director for a Swiss-German Consultancy and as an external Partner & Advisor in the field of Talent Management and Organizational development. In addition, he is a bilingual and has 20 years of experience in digital language training (incl. German online integration trainings for migrants).

Christian has a MA in Cross Cultural Communications (Germany).

Gerardo Ancira is Country Director at Tent, responsible for its operations in Mexico.

Prior to joining the organization he worked in the National Chamber for Wine & Spirits where he oversaw nationwide campaigns, industry research, lobbying efforts, and CSR strategy as the organization’s General Manager. Prior to that, he served in a variety of leadership roles in corporate communications, government relations, and public affairs at major multinational companies including Mars, Santander Bank, Diageo, Goodyear, and Alcatel.

Gerardo graduated with a bachelor degree in communication from the Iberoamericana University, and also completed postgraduate studies in business administration from the Technological Institute of Higher Studies of Monterrey (ITESM). Gerardo also attended the Senior Management Program at IPADE, and, more recently, completed a master degree in humanities from Anahuac University in Mexico.

Paulina is Country Director at Tent, responsible for its operations in Poland.

Prior to joining the organization, she worked in the private sector, including for 16 years at BMW Group Poland – most recently as Experience and B2B Marketing Manager.

Paulina has an M.A. in English Philology from the University of Gdańsk (Poland), and is currently studying for an M.A. in Marketing and Marketing Strategies at the Warsaw School of Economics.

Amaia is Country Director at Tent, responsible for its operations in Spain.

Prior to joining Tent, Amaia worked at international organizations and in the nonprofit sector for 13 years. She was Fundraising Director at the EADA Private University Foundation, where she developed educational and social initiatives. 

Amaia has also held management positions in regional committees at the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Spain, where she implemented philanthropic partnerships with major companies, and at ​​the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland, as part of the Partnerships and Fundraising Office.

Amaia holds a B.Sc. in Biochemistry from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (Spain), and a P.G. in International Relations from the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs.

Karin is Country Director at Tent, responsible for its operations in Sweden. 

Prior to joining the organization, she was Head of Sustainability and Social Responsibility at Swedish football club Malmö FF. She led initiatives battling unemployment, racism, and segregation, as well as initiating the first partnership in Sweden between a sports club and the United Nations’ Refugee Agency (UNHCR). 

She has also worked as National Coordinator for Employability and Public Affairs at the Swedish Professional Football League, and as Project Manager for a national capacity building project to drive social entrepreneurship.

Karin began her career in Switzerland, where she studied International Hotel Management. She has also studied at EFL Lund University (Sweden), the Probana Business School, and the Stockholm School of Economics. 

She is a board member of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Honorary Counsul for Switzerland in South Sweden.

Jen is Country Director at Tent, responsible for its operations in the U.K.

Prior to joining the organization, she worked within the international development sector for 15 years, focusing on partnership management, and leading the implementation of strategic transformation initiatives.

Jen has worked at several global organizations, including Save the Children, Amref Health Africa, and Accenture. She has also volunteered for nonprofits that provide direct services and support to refugees.

In addition to being a qualified transformational coach, Jen has a B.Sc. in Social Psychology from Loughborough University (U.K.), and an M.Sc. in Occupational Psychology from Nottingham University.

Philip is the Associate Director of Communications at Tent, responsible for Europe.

Prior to joining the organization, he worked as Head of Public and Media Relations at Euronews, an international news channel based in France that is broadcast in 160 countries.

He previously worked at the European Parliament in Brussels for six years. He moved from there to London for three years, working first at The Prince’s Trust – a charity founded by Prince Charles that supports disadvantaged young people – then at the BBC.

Philip has an L.L.B. in English and French Law from the University of Exeter (U.K.), and an L.L.M. in Law of the European Union and WTO from the University of Rennes (France). 

Crissy is the Associate Director for Communications & Marketing at Tent.

Prior to joining Tent, Crissy worked at Action Against Hunger, a global humanitarian organization, as their Senior Development Officer. In this role she was responsible for fundraising, planning events, and organizing field visits to mission offices.

Crissy has a BA in Journalism from Pennsylvania State University.

Matt is the Associate Director of Research & Best Practicees at Tent, responsible for commissioning, overseeing, and editing the organization’s best practice materials and research.

Prior to joining Tent, Matt worked at The Daily Telegraph newspaper in the U.K. His responsibilities ranged from editorial, as Small Business Editor, to audience strategy, as Digital and Communities Editor for the Business & Money section. Matt has spent the majority of his career working in journalism, including at The Guardian.

Matt has a B.A. in Medieval and Modern History from the University of Birmingham (U.K.).

Jenni Gargano is the Chief of Staff at Tent.

Prior to Tent, Jenni worked at the International Rescue Committee in a fundraising project management role. She also previously worked in undergraduate university admissions, where she led on diversity pipeline and recruitment initiatives, and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Costa Rica.

Jenni has a BA in History and Government from Dartmouth College and a MA from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, where she focused on refugee and migration services, human security, and non-profit leadership.