Our Team

Brandon is the Vice President of the Americas, overseeing Tent’s efforts to mobilize major companies to connect refugees to jobs across the United States, Canada, and Latin America. Prior to Tent, Brandon served in the Biden Administration as a Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of State, where he managed initiatives to strengthen the rule of law in Europe and Asia. Before that, for over a decade, Brandon served on the Democratic staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as Senior Professional Staff Member for the Americas and global economic policy.

In 2026, Brandon was awarded the title of Official of the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic from King Felipe VI of Spain for his work to strengthen the political, economic, and security cooperation between the United States and Spain. In 2022, Brandon was decorated by the presidents of Colombia and Ecuador for his efforts to strengthen U.S. diplomatic relations with both countries. In 2023, he was recognized by The Hill as one of the “The 25 Staffers Who Make Capitol Hill Run.” A proud native of Pennsylvania, Brandon holds a M.A. from Georgetown University and a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University.

Alexandra is the Vice President of Europe, overseeing Tent’s efforts to mobilize major companies to connect refugees to jobs across France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the UK.

Prior to this role Alexandra was the Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at SAP globally for 7 years. In that function she was responsible for setting the strategic direction of CSR focused on bringing to life SAP’s higher purpose of “helping the world run better and improving people’s lives” through strategic partnerships and programs. She also oversaw corporate giving, volunteerism and the development of multi-stakeholder partnerships for which Alexandra has a particular passion.

Alexandra joined SAP in 1999. She started with SAP Switzerland in charge of management development and over the course of the next ten years held various managerial positions in Human Resources. Moving into the CSR organization in 2010, Alexandra developed and managed various global CSR programs, such as building an infrastructure for social business in Haiti and the development of a range of pro-bono volunteering program. Alexandra also co-hosted the Corporate Leadership Council at the Global Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship and represented SAP at Generation Unlimited’s Global Leadership Council.

She holds an MBA from Henley Business School in Great Britain. 

Haiwen is the Vice President of Global Communications & Marketing at Tent, where she oversees Tent’s communications, marketing, and thought leadership efforts across the Americas and Europe. 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 international 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, where some of her key clients included Gillette, Mercedes-Benz, Oakley, LensCrafters, and Chloé.

Haiwen received her Bachelor of Science degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, where she also minored in Chinese Language & Culture. In 2026, she was named the Global Communications Leader winner at the PRSA Women of Impact Awards and a Social Impact Leader honoree at Ragan’s Top Women in Communications Awards.

Yasmine is the Vice President of Innovation, Learning and Strategy at Tent, where she oversees Tent’s efforts to develop and scale innovation, foster cross-regional learning, and shape the organization’s long-term strategy to drive impact.

Prior to Tent, Yasmine was Managing Principal for Payer Partnerships at Headway, a technology company building a new mental healthcare system that everyone can access, where she owned C-level partnerships with leading U.S. health plans, driving growth and expanding access to affordable mental healthcare at scale. Before that, she was an Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company, where she advised organizations across the private, public, and social sectors in the United States, Europe, and Africa on strategy, large-scale transformation, and inclusive economic recovery.

Yasmine holds a Master in Corporate Law and Tax from the Université Panthéon-Sorbonne, a Master of Science in Management from HEC Paris, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Kimahli Powell is the Country Director for Tent Canada, where he leads Tent’s efforts to mobilize employers across Canada to connect refugees to jobs and advance inclusive hiring practices.

From 2016 to 2024, Kimahli served as Chief Executive Officer of Rainbow Railroad, where he led the organization through a period of significant growth, expanding its global operations and supporting thousands of LGBTQI+ individuals to find safety. Under his leadership, Rainbow Railroad established a historic partnership with the Government of Canada in 2023, becoming a trusted referral partner and helping to create new pathways to protection for LGBTQI+ refugees.

From 2024 to 2026, Kimahli was a Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights, where his research focused on displacement, policy, and protection systems. He has also advised organizations on strategy, governance, and systems change across the human rights and social impact sectors.

Kimahli serves on the boards of the Foundation for Black Communities and Refugee Council USA, and is a member of Concordia Leadership Council. He holds a Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) and is based in Toronto.

Lucas is the Country Director for Colombia. He is a high-impact leader whose tenure as Border Manager under former Colombian President Iván Duque set a global benchmark for refugee regularization. He successfully spearheaded the development and implementation of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program for Venezuelans, one of the largest and most ambitious regularization efforts globally. Furthermore, Lucas drove strategic operational integration by establishing the “Centros Intégrate” network, which directly facilitated the connection of hundreds of thousands of job-seeking refugees with crucial employment opportunities and social services across Colombia.

Amaia is the Director of Tent España. In this role, she leads a coalition of over 45 member companies and counting dedicated to connecting refugees to jobs in Spain through hiring, training, and mentorship. Prior to 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.

Yasmine is the Director of Tent France. In this role, she leads a coalition of over 50 member companies and counting dedicated to connecting refugees to jobs in France through hiring, training, and mentorship. Prior to 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).

Sandra Velasco is the Country Director of Tent México, where she leads Tent’s Mexico strategy and execution to advance refugee inclusion through employment.

Previously, Sandra held leadership roles at Uber and Mercado Libre. At Uber, she helped launch new markets from the ground up and later led key driver operations and onboarding initiatives across Latin America. She then built and led Mercado Libre’s Sustainability function in Mexico, and later led its Mexico Corporate Development & Strategy team, spanning investments, strategy, and business development.

She has also been a nonprofit founder in Chile, focused on literacy and learning programs in public hospitals. Sandra is based in Mexico City.

Arturo Rocha is Deputy Director of Tent Mexico in Mexico City. Prior to this, he served as Mexico’s first Director General of Human Mobility and Development at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he designed and led the implementation of Mexico’s Humanitarian Model of Human Mobility, adopted by 25 federal agencies. His previous experience includes Chief of Staff for North America, where he helped organize the X North American Leaders’ Summit with former Presidents López Obrador, Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau. Arturo has research experience at the OECD Development Centre in Paris and Oxfam America, in Washington D.C. He completed his Master of Public Policy at the University of Chicago Harris School in 2018.

Hélène is the Director of Tent Nederland, where she oversees Tent’s work to mobilize major companies to hire, train, and mentor refugees across the country. Prior to 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 path to employment for refugees by connecting companies to refugee talent. Hélène has a Master’s in Business Economics.

Paulina is the Country Director for Poland, where she oversees Tent’s work to mobilize major companies to hire, train, and mentor refugees across the country. Prior to Tent, 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 holds a post-graduate diploma in Marketing Strategy from the Warsaw School of Economics.

Karin is the Director of Tent Sverige, where she oversees Tent’s work to mobilize major companies to hire, train, and mentor refugees across the country. Prior to Tent, she was Head of Sustainability and Social Responsibility at Swedish football club Malmö FF. She led initiatives that addressed unemployment, racism, and segregation, and initiated 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. In 2025, she was the recipient of the prestigious Diversity Index Award, which recognizes individuals and organizations that demonstrate impact and innovation in the pursuit of diversity.

Jen is the Director of Tent UK. In this role, she leads a coalition of over 80 member companies and counting dedicated to connecting refugees to jobs across the UK through hiring, training, and mentorship. Prior to Tent, she worked within the international development sector for 15 years, focusing on partnership management and leading the implementation of strategic transformation initiatives. Jen has also 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 (UK), and an M.Sc. in Occupational Psychology from Nottingham University.

Matt is the Director of Business Research & Best Practices, overseeing the development of Tent’s deep library of guidebooks, business research, best practices, and other exclusive resources that help companies hire, train, and mentor refugees. Prior to 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 (UK).

Gabriela is the Director of Communications for the Americas at Tent, where she leads media strategy, thought leadership, and events across the region. Before joining Tent, Gabriela led public relations at Choice Hotels International, where she guided corporate communications across its extended stay portfolio, marketing, sustainability, and technology. Previously, she spent nearly seven years in a leadership role at the national office of the American Civil Liberties Union, overseeing high-impact communications campaigns to advance civil rights litigation and advocacy. Earlier in her career, Gabriela worked at the public affairs firm SKDKnickerbocker and began her professional journey at The Washington Post’s Style section. She holds a Master’s degree in Public Communication and a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from American University.

Julien is Director of Communications for Europe at Tent, where he leads on positioning Tent as the leading voice on refugee hiring, inspiring business action and delivering communications that drive member engagement, activation, and growth. He drives the organization’s media strategy, thought leadership and events in Europe to engage major companies in creating employment opportunities for refugees.

Before joining Tent, Julien served as Senior Manager, Strategic Communications at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. There, he helped strengthen WBCSD’s position as the leading global business voice on sustainability, working with 250+ companies across industries to demonstrate how sustainability can drive business performance and competitive advantage.

Earlier in his career, Julien spent 15+ years in non-profits – including at WWF, Wetlands International and ChildFund – in Europe and Asia, leading communications campaigns to raise visibility, influence policy and support fundraising. Across roles, he has been responsible for media relations & PR, executive communications, digital storytelling, and crisis communications.

Julien holds an MSc in Corporate Communication from Erasmus University’s Rotterdam School of Management, as well as both a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree from the London School of Economics.

Crissy is the Director of Global Brand Marketing at Tent, where she oversees Tent’s global marketing efforts across the Americas and Europe. Prior to Tent, Crissy worked at global humanitarian organization Action Against Hunger as their Senior Development Officer. In this role she was responsible for fundraising, event planning, and organizing field visits to mission offices. Crissy has a BA in Journalism from Pennsylvania State University.

Sofía is the Director of Operations, overseeing multiple functions at Tent including People Operations and Finance. In her role, her focus is on building and fostering a most engaged, effective, and efficient team across the Americas and Europe. Prior to Tent, Sofía served as HR Deputy Director at Aeromexico, where she led the People agenda across 20 countries and seven commercial functions, as well as talent exchange programs with Delta Airlines. She also held various HR Business Partner and Talent Management roles at PepsiCo, where she earned multiple awards, including “Behaviors Role Model,” “PMF Awards,” and “HR Talent Summit,” among others. Sofía has also contributed to social impact projects focused on inclusion and education in Mexico, South Africa, and Vietnam. In 2021, she participated in the LSE-Santander “Women Emerging Leaders” program, which recognized and developed female leaders from diverse countries.

She holds an MSc in Development Studies from The London School of Economics, where she focused her studies on forced migration, refugees, gender, and labor markets. Additionally, she graduated with honors with a B.A. in Financial Management from ITESM, receiving an academic excellence scholarship. Sofía is also a trained development coach, by the Co-Active Training Institute.

Ileana Cruz-Marden is the Director of Partnerships, overseeing Tent’s private and public sector partnerships strategy across the Americas and Europe. 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. Previously, she also 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.

Allison is the Chief of Staff at Tent where she drives strategic initiatives and operational efforts to ensure the team is fit-for-purpose to deliver against its critical and urgent mission. Prior to joining Tent, Allison served in the Biden-Harris Administration, first in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel and subsequently as a senior advisor to the Secretary of State. Before her tour in government, Allison held multiple roles operations and strategic planning roles at the UN Foundation and The ONE Campaign. Allison holds a BA in Political Science from Grinnell College.

Maite is Tent’s Director of Global Development, leading Tent’s global development strategy, partnering closely with Tent’s CEO, trustees, and broader leadership to mobilize philanthropic capital from individuals, corporations, and institutional funders. As the organization’s first Director of Global Development, she plays a pivotal role in expanding Tent’s reach and impact across the Americas and Europe, working closely with our champions and strategic partners.

Originally from the Basque Country in northern Spain – a historic corridor for refugees during and after World War II – Maite brings a personal connection to Tent’s mission of refugee inclusion, which began with her volunteer work for Ashoka’s “Hola Americas” migration program. Her multicultural background and multilingual fluency reflect the global nature of Tent’s work. Maite has held leadership roles at international organizations, including The Nature Conservancy, UNDP, and CAF – Development Bank of Latin America – and honed her fundraising skills as a senior director at the international consultancy firm CCS Fundraising. She has advised Fortune 500 companies, multilateral institutions, and global nonprofits on multimillion-dollar campaigns, as well as on integrating ESG initiatives with financial performance and strategic growth.

She holds a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University, where she was Student Government President and a La Caixa Fellow, as well as a CEMS Master in International Management and a Bachelor in Business Administration from ESADE, LSE, and The Wharton School. Maite is also a published fiction author and serves as a pro bono advisor to several nonprofits, both in the USA and Spain.

Tomás Damerau is Tent’s Director of Data & Insights, based in Mexico City, where he leads efforts to embed data-driven strategy and decision-making across global operations. Previously, he worked as a data scientist and strategist with the World Bank, ILO, IADB, governments, and NGOs, designing evidence-based social protection and labor inclusion programs across Latin America, Eastern Europe, and the Caucasus. He holds degrees in Economics (Universidad de Buenos Aires), an M.Sc. in Public Policy and Human Development (Maastricht University & UNU-MERIT), and a Ph.D. in Public Policy (CIDE), and has been a fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and DAAD’s Carlo Schmid Program.