USA for UNHCR Announces New Board Leadership and Names Four New Members

WASHINGTON, DC (January 6, 2025) – USA for UNHCR announces new board leadership today, appointing Rachael Jarosh, an executive leader and philanthropist with a distinctive professional portfolio in law, finance, communications and philanthropic strategy, as its new chair. Jarosh, who has served as a USA for UNHCR director since 2022 and is co-chair of the USA for UNHCR Women in Philanthropy initiative, succeeds Mark Wallace.

The board leadership team also includes new Vice Chair Mark Lopes, Treasurer Yasmin Causer and Secretary William Ball.

“Rachael brings tremendous energy to this role at a time when USA for UNHCR’s mission is more important than ever,” says Executive Director and CEO Suzanne Ehlers. “As the leader of our dynamic and active Board, Rachael’s expertise, perspective and commitment to collaboration will help ensure that people who are forced to flee are protected and supported.” 

“UNHCR's primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees and other people in need of international protection,” says Jarosh. “This work extends to innovative new approaches to supporting refugee education and social enterprises founded by refugee entrepreneurs, delivering lifesaving assistance in emergencies, safeguarding fundamental human rights and more. I am honored to support the mission of USA for UNHCR in this time of extreme need in many parts of the world.”

Of Wallace’s service, Ehlers says: “It has been an honor to work with Mark as chair of the USA for UNHCR Board of Directors. I am incredibly proud of our accomplishments, which would not have been possible without the leadership and integrity he has brought to the role.”

USA for UNHCR also welcomes four new board members—Colin Browne, Helga Flores Trejo, Esther Olavarria, and Michael Schwimer.

Colin Browne is an international executive with over 40 years of industry experience across footwear, apparel and accessories. Browne is the CEO of Cascale, a global non-profit alliance in the consumer industry which focuses on carbon reduction and social justice. Browne previously served as Chief Operating Officer of Under Armour. He was an integral part of Under Armour’s successful transformation and is credited with modernizing the company’s digital go-to market strategy and implementing supply chain capabilities.

Throughout his career, he has held a variety of leadership roles at V.F. Corporation, Pentland Brands, Reebok and Bally Shoes. Browne currently serves as a board member of Hanes Brands (HBI), Shoes for Crews and is Chairman of Clippd, a golf technology business. He is also Co-Chair of the Digital Supply Chain Institute.

Helga Flores Trejo is a seasoned foreign policy and development expert with over 20 years of experience navigating government, international financial organizations, foundations, think tanks and the private sector. As Vice President and Special Envoy of Multilateral & Sustainability Affairs at Bayer, she drives the company’s multilateral and geopolitical affairs, and partnerships with international organizations to enable new sustainable business models. 

Before joining Bayer, she led open innovation at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), where she established and expanded strategic partnerships to foster innovation and solve development challenges. Flores Trejo is also a Member of the Board of the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU), Member of the Advisory Council of the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center and Member of the World Economic Forum’s Geopolitical Advisory Group.

Esther Olavarria has worked in the immigration and refugee field for decades at numerous non-profit organizations and at the highest levels in the federal government.  She began as an immigration attorney in Miami, working at various non-profit legal organizations representing asylum seekers and immigrants.

After nearly 10 years as Senator Edward Kennedy’s immigration counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee, she joined the Obama Administration, serving in senior positions at the Department of Homeland Security and the White House Domestic Policy Council. As part of the Biden Administration, she served as Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council for Immigration. 

While in Washington, she also held positions at the Immigration Hub, the Center for American Progress, UNHCR, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. 

Michael Schwimer is the Founder and CEO of Big League Advantage (BLA) and Sports Analytics Advantage (SAA). BLA is an innovative investment firm that develops predictive algorithms to forecast athlete earnings and makes investments based on those predictions. SAA is a data analytics company that partners with prominent college sports programs to help build rosters and provide in-game analytical support. Before founding BLA, Michael was a professional baseball player in the Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays organizations, making his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2011. He holds a BA from the University of Virginia.

The full list of USA for UNHCR’s Board of Directors and individual bios can be found at https://www.unrefugees.org/about-us/our-team/.

About USA for UNHCR

USA for UNHCR protects and supports refugees by mobilizing resources, elevating awareness, and driving action through a network of engaged supporters. Established by concerned American citizens, USA for UNHCR is a non-profit organization that strives to meet the unmet needs of the more than 120 million children, women and men who have been forced to flee their homes due to war, violence or persecution. As the only organization dedicated to raising awareness and funds in the U.S. for the UN Refugee Agency, USA for UNHCR has raised more than $668 million in cash and gift in kind revenue to help refugees in the past five years. For more information, visit UNrefugees.org.