GIRA’s Vice President, was born in Piedras Negras, Mexico. Her family immigrated to the US when she was 15 years old. A bilingual & bi-cultural (English/Spanish) clinical psychologist, Dolores has worked with immigrant and refugee populations for many years. Specific venues include private clinical practice, former contracted services through Survivor of Torture International, and funded research. While an adjunct faculty member at San Diego State University’s Graduate School of Public Health, Dolores received grant and contract support through the National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute (NHLBI), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the US Office of Minority Health, the California Endowment, and other sources. Her research on acculturation and related issues has been published in Ethnicity & Disease and the Journal of Immigrant Health. Dolores has also served in multiple organizational leadership positions over her career. In addition, Dolores has experience with immigrant workforce development and has provided cultural competence training in a variety of private and public-sector environments.

GIRA Consultant, was born in Aleppo, Syria. He is fluent in Arabic and French as well as English. Fouad graduated from Aleppo University as a Civil Engineer and then worked for the Syrian Petroleum Company before completing a Ph.D. at the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA) in Toulouse, France. In the US he has been a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, a visiting researcher at San Diego State University, and an Adjunct Professor at National University. Fouad is a well-respected member of San Diego’s Middle Eastern community and has been closely involved with community services at various levels. He has, for example, worked with Dolores and Joachim on community needs assessments and has served as a translator for various projects including those by Romo Books.

GIRA’s President, was born in Berlin, Germany. His family immigrated to the US when he was 10 years old. Joachim is a clinical psychologist and has a long history of working with immigrant communities. This includes being a former Board Chair for Somali Family Services of San Diego. While previously on the adjunct faculty at San Diego State University’s Graduate School of Public Health, Joachim received grant support from sources that include the US Office of Minority Health, the National Center for Minority Health Disparities, and the Hispanic Centers of Excellence. His research has been published in Social Science & Medicine, The American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Ethnicity & Health, the Journal of Clinical Psychology, and other outlets. Joachim’s doctorate also has an emphasis area in Organizational Psychology. Consequently he has been part of various workforce development efforts and has held management positions in local government as well as the private sector over his career. This allows him to better understand immigrant issues around career and employment.