Board of Directors
Mentalla Ismail, MPH
Executive Director
Mentalla Ismail is a Doctor of Public Health candidate at NYU School of Global Public Health. She earned her BS in Biology and Neuroscience at the University of Cincinnati. As an undergraduate student she founded Refuge-UC, a student organization focused on mitigating educational barriers refugee students face after resettlement. Mentalla later continued her studies at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine earning her MPH in Public Health with a Global Health concentration. She completed her master’s thesis on refugee health literacy, developing a study to evaluate the functional and comprehensive health literacy rates of adult Syrian refugees. While completing her MPH she worked as a Research Coordinator at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in the department of Emergency Medicine where she led and facilitated multiple studies in the emergency department. After receiving her MPH, she worked with her team to expand Refuge-UC into Refuge Collaborative, a non-profit organization that focuses on creating education accessibility for refugee students through mentorship. As Executive Director, Mentalla aims to continue creating welcoming communities for refugee youth through engaging community members and young people to become change agents. Her research interests include education accessibility and refugee health literacy. She is passionate about creating and implementing public health programming that centers accessibility for refugees and displaced persons.
Adam Elzarka
Health Promotion Co-Director
Adam Elzarka is a fourth-year student double majoring in Medical Sciences and Liberal Arts with concentrations in Arabic, Philosophy, and Psychology. He joined the University of Cincinnati as a Cincinnatus Scholar and member of the University Honors Program. Adam is committed to mitigating barriers to education and health equity, especially those faced by refugees and immigrants. He has served as the President of Refuge-UC, an organization that promotes higher education among refugee and immigrant students through mentorship. Inspired by his time volunteering as a Refuge mentor, he has also conducted public health research on improving the students’ health literacy rates. Additionally, Adam can be found in the emergency department working as part of the Early Intervention Program. He provides education and support to address the mental health, sexual health, and substance use stigmas that underserved patients encounter. Adam has interned with USAID and has studied in Oman and Morocco as a Boren and CLS Scholar respectively. Upon graduation, he intends to complete a year of service before pursuing a joint MD/MPH. He is particularly interested in leveraging policy to form community-led solutions that promote refugee health. In his free time, he enjoys binge watching shows with friends and playing board games with his family.
Sonali Doshi
Health Promotion Co-Director
Sonali Doshi is a fourth-year undergraduate student at the University of Cincinnati, studying Medical Sciences. She has been involved with Refuge-UC for the past three years as a mentor and currently serves as the President of Refuge-UC. Sonali is also directly involved with the development and implementation of the health literacy program at Aiken High School. As a Refuge Collaborative Co-Health Director and Peer Educator at the University of Cincinnati Student Wellness Center, she is passionate about providing comprehensive health education to students. She is specifically interested in furthering conversations around mental and sexual health within the refugee community!
Director of Community Engagement
Bryan Wright, PhD
Bryan Wright currently serves as the Executive Director for Cincinnati Compass. Bryan is a dedicated connector and collaborator committed to inclusion, equity, and community building. His work focuses on creating a more welcoming and inclusive region for immigrants and refugees. In his role as Executive Director, he advocates for social and economic inclusion; connects individuals and organizations to resources and to each other to build capacities and opportunities; and celebrates the cultural and economic contributions of immigrants and refugees in the Cincinnati region. Most of his professional career has been dedicated to working with immigrant and refugee communities to build social, civic, and economic power. Additionally, he works with communities and organizations to improve access to education, employment, small business support, legal services, and health care, while advocating for more inclusive and welcoming policies and practices. He is the former Manager of International Student Affairs at Cincinnati State Technical & Community College, working with current and potential students, regardless of immigration status, and worked for several years in refugee resettlement in Nashville, Tennessee as a Case Manager and an Employment Manager. He holds a Master’s degree in International Studies from Florida International University and a PhD in Geography from the University of Cincinnati. His doctoral research focused on immigration, immigrant representation, and urban regeneration in the Cincinnati region.
Areeba Khan
PR/Communications Director
Areeba Khan is a first year medical student at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. She graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2023 with a Bachelors of Science in Medical Sciences and minors in Public Health, Psychology, and Integrative Health and Wellness. She served as the public relations chair and co-director of programming for Refuge-UC, and has been involved with Refuge-UC for the past three years as a mentor. She is passionate about breaking educational barriers and providing accessibility to resources in the refugee and immigrant population.
ESL Curriculum Director
Adam Cooper, Ed.D
Adam Cooper is a high school ESL teacher in Cincinnati Public Schools. He works in several leadership positions for the district, including ESL Curriculum Council Chair and High School SLIFE Transition Coordinator. Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE) remain a primary focus for Dr. Cooper’s goal to improve academic and career opportunities for immigrant and refugee families. Additionally, he works to strengthen school-community partnerships in order to engage families with the resources that are available to them. RefugeCollaborative mentors can contact Dr. Cooper for curriculum related to achieving academic success and maintaining relationships with community resource organizations.
Emeka Iloegbu, MSc, MPH, CLS(ASCP)
Emeka Iloegbu, MSc, MPH, CLS(ASCP), is a public health scientist specializing in Clinical Microbiology and Hematology. With over 15 years of expertise, he has actively contributed to health emergency responses, including H1N1 flu virus, MERS-CoV, Zika, Ebola, COVID-19 and Monkey Pox (MPX). His current practice and research areas encompass implementation science, humanitarian aid, human rights law, community based surveillance, and quality interventions in response to emerging disease threats.
During his previous role as a Quality Management Officer at the Public Health Laboratory within the NYCDOHMH, Emeka played a pivotal role in ensuring the quality of laboratory operations for the Department of Homeland Security's BioWatch Program for Select Agents. Notably, from 2017 to 2020, he served as a Public Health first responder at the US/Mexico border. In this capacity, he conducted needs assessments, implemented program planning, and managed a community health worker initiative in immigrant and migrant worker communities. Emeka's current role as the United Nations ECOSOC and WHO NY representative for the World Federation of Public Health Associations, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, involves active participation in the global discourse on pandemic preparedness, prevention, and response. He engages in interagency dialogues and cooperates with United Nations agencies and civil society organizations to ensure the integration of quality frameworks, refugee/migrant groups, and community participatory models. Furthermore, he serves as a Research Translation Fellow at Market Access Africa, contributing to designing and implementing client projects focused on laboratory diagnostics and strengthening health systems. As the Team Leader of the NYU GPH ISEE Lab Section on Advancing Evidence-Based Interventions to Improve Outcomes for People Living with HIV/AIDS, Emeka is dedicated to developing quality research to enhance global health practices, alleviate suffering, and empower vulnerable populations.