Our Staff
The sustaining force behind any organization are the people affiliated with it. Those who donate to or avail of the services of UURISE should know the people behind UURISE and those who work in various capacities. This is who we are!
Board of Directors:
- Blanca Arias, LCSW
- Judith Faulkner, B.A.
- Utpal Parikh, B.S.
- Rev. Dr. Beth Johnson
- Daniel Stracka, Ph.D., J.D.
Officers:
- President & CEO: Daniel Stracka
- Secretary: Judith Faulkner
- Treasurer: Blanca Arias
Staff:
- Program Manager, Kathryn (Katia) Hansen, J.D.
Advisory Committee:
- Kathi Anderson
- Gary C. Bond
- George Christian
- Charlie Clements
- Alessendra Colfi
- Denny (Denise) Davidoff
- Dick Eiden, Esq.
- R. Neil Emory, Esq.
- Patricia Gamza, Esq.
- Dolores Gascon
- Rev. Olivia Holmes
- Burton Johnson
- Timothy Lavin
- Michele Strickland, Esq.
Biographies:
Daniel Stracka, Ph.D., J.D.
Daniel Stracka is an attorney who specializes in immigration and refugee law. He has worked in not-for-profit legal immigration and refugee programs for 17 years. He is dedicated to assisting migrants in knowing their legal and human rights. He is an advocate for justice for those who would not have access to legal immigration representation if not for nonprofit agencies. He has worked to assist refugees to reclaim their dignity and integrity, and to become self-sufficient. Dr. Stracka has served as faculty for the American Immigration Lawyers Association and taught immigration and refugee law at two law schools. He is called on frequently by national and international, government and non-government organizations, and immigrant and refugee service agencies for his advice and expertise.
Reverend Olivia Holmes
Reverend Olivia Holmes comes to the UURISE Board as a UU parish minister, former Director of International Relations for the UUA, and partner in her own international social marketing firm, through which she learned at first hand many of the cruelties inflicted on refugees and immigrants in many countries. As a Board member of the UU Service Committee, she met women who had been forced into prostitution as pre-teen children by parents who could not afford to feed them. Dan Stracka has been passionate about ensuring immigrants and refugees are served responsibly, respectfully and consistently for all of the 15 years Rev. Holmes has known him. Holmes said yes to the call to the UURISE Board in order to lend her support to this crucially important work here in the country of her birth being done in the name of her faith.
Our Services and Programs
- Legal Immigration Counseling and Representation
- Refugee Resettlement Services
- Asylum Applications
- Family Reunification
- NACARA (Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act)
- VAWA (Violence Against Women Act)
- T-Visa (For victims of human trafficking)
- U-Visa (For immigrant victims of violent crime)
- SIJS (Special Immigrant Juvenile Status)
- Naturalization/Citizenship
- Referral Services for Migrants
- Policy and Advocacy for Refugees and Immigrants
- Outreach and Educational Programs on Human and Legal Rights
Unitarian Universalists (UUs) are a justice seeking people with a rich history of effecting change by taking social action. From Martha and Waitstill Sharp who risked their own lives to take Jews to safety during World War II, to activists who marched with the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for civil rights in the 1960's, including Unitarian Minister James J. Reeb who gave his life in this quest. From UU congregations which provided sanctuary to Central Americans in the 1980's, to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee's current campaign Drumbeat for Darfur to end genocide, UU's have stood with refugees and immigrants. We believe our social justice efforts can change the world.
