Volunteers & Interns
A heartfelt thank you to our volunteers
To our 451 remarkable volunteers: Your commitment to welcoming New Americans shines in every home you prepared, every class you supported, every coat drive and farmer’s market you organized, and in the many hours you dedicated to our mission in countless ways.
We are grateful that you believe, as we do, that Minnesota grows stronger when we embrace newcomers so they can build secure, meaningful lives here. Your generosity makes our mission possible – thank you.
A-D
Aaron Abelleira
Hegner Aguirre
Stacy Alcorn-Smith
Branka Alexanian
Faduma Ali
Maryam Alikhani
Emma Althaus
Christa Anders
Daniel Anderson
Michelle Anderson
Kathyrn Anderson
Akos Arany
Libby Arnosti
Krew Arockiasamy
Linda Atuhaire
Augusto (Gus) Avenido
Debra (Deb) Avenido
Deborah Baird
Jolene Baker
Emily Baker-Orr
Aleli Balagtas
Kelsey Barale
Kate Bard
Kevin Barton
Jeanne Baumann
Josh Becerra
Jon Beck
Maxwell Behler
Courtney Bennett
Janice Bennett
Kristin Berns
Milind Bhagat
Victoria Bizzotto
Louisa Botten
Chris Boulton
Julia Bradley
Beth Brombach
Brooke Brown
Richard Buckland
Julie Bui
Natalia Bulaieva
Paul Cady
Pamela (Pam) Cantley
Lisa Cariveau
Claire Carlson
Lacey Carlson
Leif Carlson
Lydia Carlson
Rob Carlson
Daniel Casement
Ainsley Casper
Ella Castro
Vladyslav (V) Chabaniuk
Navid Chakari
Brenda Chanto Brawn
Wendy Charles
Zhu (June) Cheng
Alexandra (Sacha) Chiniara
Kathy Chinn
Maria Chiu
Andrew Blair
Claire Blanchette
Tyler Boesch
Pete Bolstad
Lily Booth
Jenny Borut
Ketevan Chomakhidze
Ben Christensen
Eric Christensen
Ian Cleary
Jane Clements
David Clower
Cole Conklin
Scott Conlin
Karen Cooley-Kistler
Laura Cooper
Donley Cormode
Christopher (Chris) Cowen
Peter Cozine
Nancy Crotti
Valerie (Val) Cunningham
Kate Dahlman
Ruth Dalman
Mary Daly
Gregory (Gregg) Dana
Tiana Danforth
Mia David
Rebecca (Becky) Davies
Eileen Deitcher
Selma Demirovic-Portesan
Teresa Devick
Michael Dietrich
Daniel Dlugose
Cindy Docteur-Whi
Evan Doran
Leandro Duarte Idiarte
Megan Duevel Anderson
Susan Dukich Wolf
Kim Dunn
Tala Dunn
Laura Dwyer
E-H
Roberta Ebbers
Thomas (Tom) Eckstein
Khalil Edais
Beth Edgar
George Edwards
Judy-Ann Ehrlich
Katherine Eklund
Naila El Hilali
Sally Elfishawy
Tom Elliott-Drenth
Julia Eubanks
Susan (Sue) Everson
Qian (Joanna) Fang
Sherry Faubion
Savino Ferrales
William (Bill) Fisch
Abigail Fisher
Anne Fisher
Cory Fleck
Kyle Fluker
Jacqueline (Jackie) Foster
Anna Freeman
Jessica Friedman
Trinity Friesz
Liliana Garrido
Pilar Garrido
Robert (Bob) Gaskill
Patrick Giguere
Allison (Allie) Glerum
Tom Goettl
Kitty Gogins
Mark Goldberg
Lilly Goodall
Eric Gorecki
Claire Graupmann
Edi Grawunder
Allison Greene
Merle Greene
Gina Gresham
Nora Griffin-Wiesner
Charles (Chuck) Griggs
Cameron (Cam) Grund
Gretchen Guenter
Shalley Gupta
Irosh Gurung
Terry Hammink
Emily Hang
Shannon Hannigan
Dorothea Hansmeyer
Cynthia Hanson
Kevin Harding
Lindsey Harman
McKenzie Hayes
Fatemeh (Mary) Hedayatirad
Anna Heetland
Leonore Heino
Bobbie Heller
Vicki Henderson
Chris Henjum
Alicia Herman
Maria (Mary Lou) Hidalgo
Nadia Higgins
Allen Hinderaker
Kristen Hindt
Frida Hinojosa
Heather Hoecker
Charles Horwitz
Steven (Steve) Housh
Kathy Chinn, Refugee Housing Set-Up Volunteer
“This work is important to me because I want refugees to feel very welcomed to Minnesota when they arrive. It is a very stressful and scary experience needing to resettle into a new country, often not speaking English. I want clients to know right from the moment they open the door to their new home that we are glad they’re here.”
I-L
Maryam Ibrahem
Catherine Idema
Lynn Ihlenfeldt
Susan (Sue) Illg
Patrick Irwin
Deborah Jahn
Lolia Jarouj
Cindy Jiban
Andra Mae Johnson
Stephanie Johnson
Thressa Johnson
Timothy (Tim) Jones
Donna Jorgenson
Zarmeen Jumani
Jon Justin
Daisy Kabaka
Svitlana Kacharska
Macey Kaufenberg
Mary Ellen Kavanaugh
Desiree Kempcke
Anne Ketz
Majed Khalaf
Millie Kim
Meghan Kimmel
Stephan Kistler
Amanda Klecker
Kathleen Kleinberg
Yolande Klutse
Timothy (Tim) Knapp
Marily Knieriemen
Ben Knoll
Jaydeep Kokate
Mehmet Konar-Steenberg
Marie Kopetzki
Autumn Kovach
Barb Kuntz
Michael (Mike) Kuntz
Sarah Kuntz
Nathalie Lambelet
Sadie Lambrecht
Jennifer Larsen
Madelyn (Maddy) Larsen
Gregg Larson
Susan Larson
Latre (Ella) Lawsonbody
Joshua Lee
Sooyeun Lee
Diana Leidahl
Laura Leu
Laura Levy
Nelson Liangem
Eleanor Lightfield
Karen Lilley
Lydia Lindel
Christin Lindenfelser
Juan Llerena
Elmedina Loga
George Logajan
Karen Lohn
Diana López
Bill Lorimer
Nancy Lorimer
Simon Luong
Brad Lynch
M-P
Elise MacKenzie
Jennifer Malarski
Nettie Mann
Lorie Marsh
Megan Marvin
Megan Mason
Paul Mason
Theon Masters
Rachel Matthes
Jeri Lu Mattson
Madeline Maurer
Shae McBrayer
Karin McCabe
Maribet McCarty
Paul McEnaney-Rodriguez
Kathryn (Kate) McGlinch
Francis (Franky) McGowan
Kate McGowan
Megan McKinney
Susan McMahon
William McNulty
Marion McNurlen
Naveen Meagher
Toshie Metzger
Mary Miklethun
Lauren Milne
JaShaylee Minor
Jenna Mitchler
Chuck Moberg
Sarah Moberg
Sheila Moe
Deqa Mohamed
Vincent Momoh
Shawne Monahan
Sungyun Moon
Nicole Morgan
John Moroney
Eliot Morrow
Joshua (Logan) Morrow
Sana Morsi
Katie Mortenson
Cliff Mountjoy
Yves Muhire
Sydnie Muir
Faustina Mullen
Sam Myers
Kaitlyn Myra
Madison Myrold
Eric Nakamura
Peggah Navab
Beth Nelson
Paul Nelson
Maggie Neuman
Nazeefa Nezami
Joy Nguyen
Jan Nicodemus
John Nipp
Mohammad Hadi Noori
Mark Norlander
Mark Nygard
Catarina Oliva Teles
Barbara Ologban
Gabriella Olson
Julie Olson
Mara O’Neill
Grace Onsrud
Gary Orris
Blessing Osibodu
Claire (Mali) Ottemoeller
Elizabeth Otto
Christine Ozyigit
Alyssa Padmanabhan
Abigail Palmer
Daniel Panikkar
Goamaar Paul
Chuck Paulson
Douglas Pearson
Rebecca (Becky) Pearson
Iva Petrova
James Pikala
Nicolas Poenitz
Alissa Pollard
Mark Prpich
Q-S
Cayla Qualls
Irene Qualters
Julie Railsback
Teresa Rakoczy
Nicole Rameriz
Nisha K Rana
Melissa Rands
Laura Rapp
Michael Rataczak
Maggie Reil
Dennis Reimer
Rebecca Reitan
Julie Reiter
Myah Rhodes
Jeanine (Jeanie) Rickson
Teresa Rivera-Rios
Isaac Roang
Dante Rocio
Susan Roeder
Lisa Rogers
Jessica (Jess) Rometti
Nassim Rossi
Mary Jo Roth
Andrea Rubenstein
James Rubenstein
Nicole Rud
Julie Ruegemer
Allie Rykken
Andy Sackreiter
Lisa Sackreiter
Ellen Safran
Aaron Sagedahl
Pine Salica
Jonathan Sampers
Ryan Sanderson
Lynn Sargeant
Paramita Sarkar
Emerald Sawyer
Mary Sayler
Mary Jo Schifsky
Danita Schmidt
Margie Schmidt
Mark Schumacher
Laura Scott
Christopher Searles
Evon Sekpeh
Kannan Seshadri
Rhea Sharma
Ann Shaw
Meg Sheely
Gabriel Silveira Chein
Yane Sima
Brad Sleeper
Lynn Slobodien
Maureen Smith
Rachel Snitzer
Brian Sorensen
Axel Soriano
Katherine Sotelo
Vlada Spasic
Nathan Spindler-Krage
Mary Jo Spotts
Diana Spurgeon
Jeanne Steele
Laurie Stern
Caroline Steury
Loly Stoffel
Michael Sullivan
Lis Sundberg
Joshua Sutherland
Hendrik (Rik) Svien
Abigail Swanson
Kristen Swanson
Susan Marie Swanson
Janice Swier
Saleem Syed
T-Z
Haimanot Tadesse
David Talarico
Anita Terry
Bemnet Tessema
Shealia (Karesa) Thao
Mandy Theissen
Troy Thielen
Kate Tilney
Sang Tran
Gregg Tranowski
Sanorah Tweh
Dawn Uremovich
Marc Valencia
Kirsten Van Hulzen
Denny Vang
Gao Vang
Tiffany Vang
Ann Vermeer
Barry Vermeer
Anthony Wallace
Jenny Walsh
Nancy Walsh
John Ward
Madeline Warren
Patrick Watts
Emma Watzka
Jan Weber
Shelley Weiss
Konni Welk
Kendra Whinnery
Kevin Whinnery
Ben Whitney
Sheridan Wicker
Kathleen Widmer
Anja Wiesner
Joseph (Joe) Wild Crea
Gelane Wiley
Julia Williams
Lauryn Williams
Christina Wilson
Alex Wojnicki
Maurice (Morris) Wolf
Linda Wong
Nadia Woolner
Zhuolin Wu
Maidor Xiong
Renu Yadav
Yuhang (Andrew) Yang
Francis Yengistic
Edwin Zhanay
Ari Ziegler
Mary Zimmermann
Alexander Zoltai
Rachel Zubrzycki
Featured Client Stories
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I am made by the Institute. If I can do it as a single mom, a single woman, any immigrant can do it.
Mimi
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FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
We continue providing the critical core services we have developed over the years that lead to stability and a place for New Americans to call home.
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OUR 2025 IMPACT
With Institute growth came an increased capacity to offer quality services and classes to more New Americans. As a result, we impacted the lives of 6,017 clients.
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OUR DONORS
We’re inspired by our community of donors. In 2025, this network showed its commitment to standing by New Americans as they journey toward stability and success.
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Download Report (PDF)
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2025 Annual Report
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About Us
Founded in 1919, the International Institute of Minnesota (IIMN) offers New Americans quality services that support their journey to stability and success. Our comprehensive offerings include refugee resettlement, English education, workforce and leadership development, college preparation and immigration and citizenship assistance. We are a diverse team of knowledgeable and encouraging advocates, ready to welcome refugees and immigrants. IIMN helps New Americans rebuild their lives while pursuing their personal and professional goals.
