Sibylle Meril

At the early stages of my career, I was exposed to the reality of the inequality between refugees and migrants who accessed legal paths to life-changing opportunities and those for whom such access did not exist, deeply impacting their daily lives and ability to contribute meaningfully and to their full capabilities to the societies they lived in. This exposure shaped my interest and dedication to supporting those who have been displaced in pursuing and accessing safe and life-changing opportunities for themselves and their loved ones. Throughout my seven years in the INGO and UN world, I’ve become an experienced program manager and leader with strong technical skills and knowledge in refugee protection, fraud prevention and change management. I’ve also become a U.S. overseas refugee resettlement expert, which allows me to experience the greatest joy of all that my job has to offer, which is seeing a refugee family access protection from harm and opportunities through a safe and legal pathway. On a day-to-day basis, I contribute to this by creating and monitoring strategic plans, collaborating with key resettlement stakeholders such as UNHCR, as well as recruiting and building teams of talented professionals. By doing this, I ensure refugees access accurate information and receive high-quality and impartial services in a “fraud-free” and safe space during their resettlement process. I have held various leadership positions at CWS RSC Africa and through these experiences I have learnt that I add value to organizations that are going through changes and are scaling up their refugee programs, both in quantity and quality, to improve access to a resettlement pathway.