USA for UNHCR Welcomes Three New Board Members

WASHINGTON, DC (January 19, 2021) – The staff and current board of directors of USA for UNHCR welcome new board members Biar Atem, Matthew Marolda and Beth Turner.

Biar Atem is a former refugee from South Sudan and the founder of the South Sudan Center of America, a nonprofit that assists refugees. He started out as a janitor, earned a bachelor's degree in Accounting and an MBA and now owns and operates a real estate business while working at a Fortune 500 company as a contract audit manager. In 2014, he was named to Fortune Magazine's ‘Heroes of the 500’ for helping others suffering from persecution and poverty. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Refugee Congress and also the Delegate from Nevada. 

Matthew Marolda is an entrepreneur and investor with a specialty in data and data science. Most recently he was the President of Applied Analytics at WarnerMedia. Prior to WarnerMedia, he was Chief Analytics Officer at Legendary Entertainment. Previously, he founded StratBridge, which built a “moneyball” statistical analysis platform used by professional sports franchises around the world to identify players and to inform game preparation.

Beth Turner is a General Partner at SV Angel, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm that has invested in early-stage companies such as Square, Pinterest, Doordash and Airbnb. She is the Chair of USA for UNHCR’s Humanitarian Coalition, an advisory group of young leaders and future philanthropists. Along with working at two early startups, prior to SV Angel Beth invested with a family office focused on seed stage opportunities and worked for an international NGO after graduating from MIT.

“The global refugee crisis is not only a challenge of securing safety and protection for refugees, but it is a challenge to address growing inequalities around access to healthcare, connectivity and education – all issues that impact refugees and forcibly displaced communities more acutely,” says Anne-Marie Grey, USA for UNHCR Executive Director and CEO. “With the addition of these new board members, USA for UNHCR is better positioned to meet these global challenges with innovation and empathy, while continuing to empower refugees as they rebuild and prepare for the future.”  

USA for UNHCR is governed by a 13-member board of directors who share a commitment to the goals and objectives of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Working alongside Executive Director and CEO Anne-Marie Grey, the Board provides advice on policy, advocacy, fundraising and programming. All Board members are independent.

About USA for UNHCR

USA for UNHCR protects refugees and empowers them with hope and opportunity. Supporting UNHCR – the UN Refugee Agency – and its partners, we provide lifesaving essentials including shelter, water, food, safety and protection. Around the world, we help refugees survive, recover and build a better future. 

Established by concerned American citizens, USA for UNHCR is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. For more information, visit www.UNrefugees.org.

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CONTACT: For more information or interviews, contact Junia Geisler, Senior Director of Communications, at jgeisler@usaforunhcr.org.