MEET THE STAFF
The iACT staff is a lean, nimble team ready to adapt to the situation at hand.
MEET THE STAFF
Souleyman Adam Burma
Refugees United Soccer Academy Manager
Coach Souleyman was the captain of the original 2012 Darfur United Men’s Team (DU) that traveled to Iraq. He returned to his camp with pride, energy, and the determination to share the skills he had learned through DU with the children of his camp. After working as one of the first coaches of the Refugees United Soccer Academy in camp Goz Amer, Souleyman has since taken on the role of managing the Academy across the eastern Chad refugee camps.
Why Souleyman Acts:
“Football, to me, is everything. Football is support. Football is health. It means relationships and it means peace.”
Sara-Christine Dallain
Interim Executive Director
Sara-Christine has 11 years of experience with global non-profits: from program design and evaluation and grant management to fundraising and grantmaking. Sara-Christine Dallain holds a Bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Hawaii, Manoa, and a Master of Public Health from UCLA. She originally joined iACT in 2012 as a project intern, and went on to work with iACT from 2013 to 2019, ending her time as co-executive director with Katie-Jay Scott. She is passionate about creating a humanitarian system that is led by the very people it was set up to serve. Before joining iACT as interim executive director in 2022, Sara-Christine was the director of development for Los Padres ForestWatch and executive director of the Fund for Refugee Initiatives.
Why Sara-Christine Acts:
“iACT because of our shared humanity. iACT because the 84 + million of displaced people are complex individuals with names, families, daily lives, ups and downs, aspirations, ideas, talents and so much more. And I imagine how their experience might feel if I were in each of their shoes. And that imagining moves me to action.”
Felicia Lee
Global Programs Manager
Previously on staff 2015-2019, Felicia returned in 2022 to support iACT’s international programs and employees. Felicia has made over ten trips to eastern Chad refugee camps and, alongside founders Gabriel and Katie-Jay, has conducted numerous trainings for iACT’s early childhood development, sports, and leadership programs. Prior to her return to iACT, she worked with adults on the autism spectrum as a skills and behavioral coach. Felicia has a B.A. in English from the University of California, Irvine, as well as a certificate in mindfulness fundamentals from Mindful Schools; and is currently working on a master’s in sustainable peace in the contemporary world.
Why Felicia Acts:
“Even Jesus ‘did not come to be served, but to serve’ (Matthew 20:28), and he tells us, in the Bible, to love one another just as he loves us (John 15:12). We’re all human, we all inhabit the same planet, and we all have equal worth. How can I not act?”
Julia Schacht
Program Associate
“iACT because an individual is more than just their circumstances or experiences. I believe everyone deserves to feel hopeful, respected, and valued. iACT because it could be my family fleeing from violence and I would want them to be met with kindness and compassion. ”
Oumda Alfateh Younous Haroun
Program Coordinator/Board Member
Known in his community as Al-fateh Tarbosh, Oumda is an iACT board member and has served as the iACT program coordinator in eastern Chad since 2010. He oversees iACT’s sports, education, leadership, nutrition, and livelihood programs across eleven refugee camps in eastern Chad, providing leadership and mentorship to 165 refugee team members. Oumda is also in charge of scaling iACT’s Refugees United Soccer Academy (RUSA) and Little Ripples programs to refugee camps within the country and serves as an advisor to humanitarian organizations on iACT’s refugee-led model. Before becoming a refugee in camp Goz Amer, he was an accounts manager and traditional leader, or oumda, in his village in Darfur, Sudan. Since becoming a refugee in 2003, he has served as a primary school teacher and an English teacher, and has maintained his traditional leadership role as oumda for his community in camp Goz Amer.
REFUGEE STAFF
