National & Local Panel: Idaho Conference on Refugees
Ken Tota - Deputy Director, Office of Refugee Resettlement
Ken Tota since 2008 has directed Refugee Programs for the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), under the Department of Health and Human Services. His recent work has included initiating a COVID-19 response plan to support refugees and providing oversight to the implementation of resettlement services to more than 75,000 Afghans as part of Operation Allies Welcome. He previously served as Senior Program Specialist at the Immigration and Naturalization Service and as the Cuban Haitian Program Coordinator for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Washington, D.C. and Miami.
Ken Tota since 2008 has directed Refugee Programs for the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), under the Department of Health and Human Services. His recent work has included initiating a COVID-19 response plan to support refugees and providing oversight to the implementation of resettlement services to more than 75,000 Afghans as part of Operation Allies Welcome. He previously served as Senior Program Specialist at the Immigration and Naturalization Service and as the Cuban Haitian Program Coordinator for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Washington, D.C. and Miami.
Lawrence Bartlett - Director, Office of Refugee Admissions
Lawrence has served as the nation's refugee admissions director since 2010 at the U.S. Department of State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM). He is a career member of the Senior Executive Service and previously served as Deputy for the PRM Office of Asia and the Near East. Prior to joining the State Department in 1991, Lawrence served as U.S. Peace Corps Country Director in Jordan and Bulgaria and as Deputy Country Director in Thailand and Hungary.
Lawrence has served as the nation's refugee admissions director since 2010 at the U.S. Department of State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM). He is a career member of the Senior Executive Service and previously served as Deputy for the PRM Office of Asia and the Near East. Prior to joining the State Department in 1991, Lawrence served as U.S. Peace Corps Country Director in Jordan and Bulgaria and as Deputy Country Director in Thailand and Hungary.
Tara Wolfson - State Refugee Coordinator
Tara Wolfson has worked in refugee resettlement for almost 14 years, currently as Director of the Idaho Office for Refugees. Prior to IOR, Tara ran political campaigns and worked to bring together people with often-divergent views. Tara is a graduate of the University of Vermont and a recipient of the Coro Fellowship for Civic Leadership in San Francisco. Tara has studied and worked in Zimbabwe, Israel, and Palestine and has traveled extensively throughout Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. She lives in Boise with her husband and two daughters.
Tara Wolfson has worked in refugee resettlement for almost 14 years, currently as Director of the Idaho Office for Refugees. Prior to IOR, Tara ran political campaigns and worked to bring together people with often-divergent views. Tara is a graduate of the University of Vermont and a recipient of the Coro Fellowship for Civic Leadership in San Francisco. Tara has studied and worked in Zimbabwe, Israel, and Palestine and has traveled extensively throughout Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. She lives in Boise with her husband and two daughters.
Julianne Donnelly Tzul - Executive Director, International Rescue Committee in Boise
Julianne Donnelly Tzul has a JD from Georgetown University Law Center and a BA in English Literature from Oberlin College. Born in Pocatello to parents who were interlopers to Idaho from New Jersey and Montana, who were also academics with hippie leanings, Julianne has tried to apply the lessons of being perceived as an outsider as a child to helping newcomers find home, welcome and genuine safety in Idaho. She has been working toward understanding racial injustice through studying colonial literature in college, studying U.S. interventions and indigenous organizing in Guatemala, helping people jailed in U.S. immigration detention facilities win lawful status, and helping displaced people grow towards stability in Idaho.
Julianne Donnelly Tzul has a JD from Georgetown University Law Center and a BA in English Literature from Oberlin College. Born in Pocatello to parents who were interlopers to Idaho from New Jersey and Montana, who were also academics with hippie leanings, Julianne has tried to apply the lessons of being perceived as an outsider as a child to helping newcomers find home, welcome and genuine safety in Idaho. She has been working toward understanding racial injustice through studying colonial literature in college, studying U.S. interventions and indigenous organizing in Guatemala, helping people jailed in U.S. immigration detention facilities win lawful status, and helping displaced people grow towards stability in Idaho.
Zeze Rwasama - Director, College of Southern Idaho Refugee Programs
Zeze Rwasama has directed CSI Refugee Programs since 2014. He is married and has four children ages 15, 12, 9 and 6. Zeze's childhood dream of becoming an engineer in electronics shifted to helping refugees after he became a refugee in 1995. Zeze has years of professional experience of working with refugees in and out of the United States. He holds a master's degree in public administration and has played multiple key roles in refugee integration and self-sufficiency as a direct service provider, trainer, and administer of programs. He has held numerous leadership positions including on the boards of the Unity Alliance of Southern Idaho, Culture for Change, and the Valley House Homeless Shelter.
Zeze Rwasama has directed CSI Refugee Programs since 2014. He is married and has four children ages 15, 12, 9 and 6. Zeze's childhood dream of becoming an engineer in electronics shifted to helping refugees after he became a refugee in 1995. Zeze has years of professional experience of working with refugees in and out of the United States. He holds a master's degree in public administration and has played multiple key roles in refugee integration and self-sufficiency as a direct service provider, trainer, and administer of programs. He has held numerous leadership positions including on the boards of the Unity Alliance of Southern Idaho, Culture for Change, and the Valley House Homeless Shelter.
