MEET THE TEAM
FERESHTEH GANJAVI
FOUNDER
Fereshteh is a former Afghan refugee, community advocate, public speaker, Founder, and Executive Director of Elena’s Light, a nonprofit based in Connecticut. Additionally, she works for the Refugee Council USA. Her passion lies in empowering Refugee families through health education, personalized ESL tutoring, and cultural community exchange programs. Her ultimate goal is to advocate for education, insurance, and employment rights for everyone regardless of their immigration status.
Health and Wellness Team
Adina Safi
HEALTH & WELLNESS COORDINATOR
Zaharaa Altwaij
HEALTH & WELLNESS COORDINATOR
Social Media Team
Rebekah Sookdeo
PR Coordinator
Rebekah has studied business and works with local non-profits in the Greater New Haven area
Niyati Patel
PR Intern
ESL Team
Elham Alkasimi
ESL DIRECTOR
Mina Sediqi
ESL COORDINATOR
Isbaah Khan
ESL COORDINATOR
Legal Advocacy Team
Chelsea Cleary
PROJECT MANAGER | LEGAL ADVOCACY COORDINATOR
Chelsea Cleary is a Psychology student at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is a prospective law student, interested in specializing in immigration and asylum law. She is passionate about helping refugees in her community and uses her interdisciplinary skills at Elena’s Light as a Legal Advocacy Coordinator and Grant Team Manager. She is the Project Manager for the research project Building Capacity for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research and Comparative Effectiveness Research in Refugee Communities.
Fereshteh is a leader who relentlessly believes in her work, her interns and staff, and the ability to make a lasting difference for all refugees in New Haven. Working alongside herself and the many bright minds at Elena's Light is an invaluable learning opportunity as a student and prospective immigration lawyer."
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Sadikshya Ghimire
LEGAL ADVOCACY COORDINATOR
Sadi is a junior at Yale University majoring in Political Science and Ethnicity, Race, and Migration. She is an immigrant from Nepal, and her experiences have shaped her passion to advocate for migrant and refugee rights. She is especially interested in the question of citizenship and belonging and how that relates to race and ethnicity. She is involved in other organizations that serve migrants, including IRIS and Migration Alliance at Yale. As an intern at Elena’s Light, she hopes to advocate for refugees and consolidate various resources to ease their transition and experiences in the U.S.
Rishika Khanna
LEGAL ADVOCACY Intern
Regine Villarmea
LEGAL ADVOCACY Intern
Regine Villarmea, currently a senior at UCLA, is pursuing a double major in Public Affairs and Human Biology & Society. During this past summer, she undertook an internship in legal operations with Equinix, a global leader in digital infrastructure. Her prior experience includes working as a legal assistant at Kamel Law Firm and serving as a research assistant for the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and Center for Community Schooling. Regine is deeply committed to advancing resource access for marginalized communities and ensuring equitable opportunities for all individuals in need. In the future, she hopes to become a lawyer. As the new legal advocacy intern, she is enthusiastic about contributing to an organization that engages in such commendable work!
Grant Team
Isabella Mandell
GRANT WRITER
Isabella is a rising sophomore at Brown University planning to concentrate in International and Public Affairs and in Education. She loves tutoring and assisting in classrooms in New Haven. While working with an attorney to draft an application for asylum, she saw the unjust roadblocks present in immigration/refugee law, and she values the work that Elena's Light is doing in providing resources to ease transitions and build refugee autonomy.
Lily Hugh
GRANT WRITER
Madison is a rising sophomore at Yale University, pursuing a degree in Cognitive Science. She is someone who values local engagement, and was heavily involved in her hometown's school system as a Board of Education representative. As someone who has lived in Connecticut her entire life, she is excited about making an impact on the New Haven community through Elena's Light.
Morgan Reilly
GRANT WRITER | PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT INTERN
Madison is a rising sophomore at Yale University, pursuing a degree in Cognitive Science. She is someone who values local engagement, and was heavily involved in her hometown's school system as a Board of Education representative. As someone who has lived in Connecticut her entire life, she is excited about making an impact on the New Haven community through Elena's Light.
DEVELOPMENT TEAM
Rishika Khanna
PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR
Sarvenaz Keshavarz
PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR