July 8th Speaker Bio: Basma Alawee

Basma Alawee came to the US from Iraq in 2010 with a BS in Material Engineering. Her experience of arriving in the US made her keenly aware of the issues refugees face, and she began to volunteer at several local organizations to help. She was selected as a delegate for Florida at the UNHCR Refugee Congress in 2013 and to be on the board of the Refugee Center online. Basma’s love of children and math led her to teach for five years at the Foundation Academy and to encourage the students to volunteer with newly arriving refugees. Basma is attending FSCJ pursuing a degree in accounting technology management. She is also a Florida Refugee Organizer with the Florida Immigrant Coalition and We Are America to advocate for and lift Florida’s refugees’ voices.