In my 2nd year at USA for UNHCR, I'm using my LinkedIn presence to spotlight women leaders who are focused on the crisis of forced #displacement; on the growing number of #refugees and #stateless people; and/or on the #humanitarian sector more broadly.
Wendy Young and I met early in my tenure at U4U, and I marveled then (as I marvel now) at her depth of experience, her incredible networks and her unwavering support for children through the work of Kids in Need of Defense (KIND).
Read on for her beautiful reflections and sound advice. Next up... Charlie Grosso!
🟢 Name: Wendy Young
🟢 Role and organization: President, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)
🟢 Where do you call home? Falls Church, #VA
🟢 How did the experiences of people who have been forcibly displaced first become important to you? When I was in college, I served as an intern with UNRWA. While there, I shared an office with a Palestinian staff member. One day, she received news that she had lost several members of her family during a bomb strike on the #refugee camp where they lived. Seeing her grief at the loss of her family gave me my first insight into how precarious the lives of refugees are—and how fortunate I was having never experienced displacement myself.
🟢 My professional journey: When young people ask me how I reached the place that I am now in my career, my response is simple: don’t plan. Listen to your heart and your gut. I pursued opportunities that were meaningful to me, and I listened and learned from leaders in the field, often my bosses, who inspired me. If you do this, everything else will surely follow.
🟢 What's your superpower, either real or desired? To be able to fly, both because I would always have a bird’s eye perspective both literally and metaphorically, and because I could avoid airports!
🟢 Tell us your fantasy dinner party guests! Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, Jr. In this era of anger, violence and divisiveness, I would love to learn from their power to bring people together to make change for the better.