Canopy Atlanta spoke with Embrace’s Muzhda Oriakhil about the impact immigration enforcement has had on legally resettled refugees and asylum seekers in Clarkston.
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“What will happen to us?”
Get to know our new Executive Director
We interview our new Executive Director, Kevin Kipfer.
Introducing our New Executive Director
Kevin Kipfer will assume the role of Executive Director, effective June 1, 2026.
An Important Update from our Executive Director
After nearly five years as Executive Director, Kendra Jeffreys will be stepping out of the role.
Friends of Refugees works to help U.S. newcomers thrive, not just survive
Atlanta News First shines the spotlight on Friends of Refugees’ work and how we pick up where the Office of Refugee Resettlement leaves off.
Clarkston’s Half-Century As The Refugee Capital of Georgia
The Salvation South podcast discusses how tiny Clarkston, Ga., became the capital city of Southern hospitality by welcoming refugees from over 150 nations for five decades.
The South’s Ellis Island
The Bitter Southern wrote a profile on Clarkston’s role in refugee resettlement, featuring many of our employees and friends in the community.
A Closer Look with Rose Scott
Muzhda Oriakhil and Virginia Tester from our Embrace Refugee Birth program had the honor and privilege to share about maternal health access issues with Atlanta’s treasured journalist, Rose Scott!
Female refugees’ experiences with sexual and reproductive healthcare in the Southeastern U.S.-G. Besera et al., 2023
Member of our Embrace Refugee Birth team contributed to this peer-reviewed article.
What Happens When Funding Centers Mental Health and Emotional Well-Being?
Our executive director, Kendra Jeffreys, wrote about the power of social and emotional connection within the refugee community for the Center for Effective Philanthropy.
Meet Virginia Tester- CanvasRebel Magazine
Canvas Rebel sat down with our own Virginia Tester to hear about her experience as a nurse, midwife, parent and executive director of Embrace Refugee Birth.
”The Connector,” Atlanta Magazine
Atlanta Magazine author Ashley Edwards Walker features the incredible Muzhda Oriakhil. Muzhda currently serves as Embrace Refugee Birth’s Community Engagement Manager, but her story tells so much more!
Refugee women’s pregnancy and childbirth experiences in the US: Examining context through a reproductive justice framework
Member of our Embrace Refugee Birth team contributed to this peer-reviewed article.
Friends of Refugees awarded grant
Friends of Refugees was award a grant from Direct Relief’s Fund for Health Equity to support the work of our Embrace Refugee Birth program.
Evaluating Birth Outcomes From a Community-Based Pregnancy Support Program for Refugee Women in Georgia- E. Mosley et al., 2021
Member of our Embrace Refugee Birth team contributed to this peer-reviewed article.
Interview with Baby Magic, Granny Sense
Four of our Embrace Refugee Birth volunteers sat down with the Baby Magic, Granny Sense podcast to recount their stories as mothers, as volunteers, as women.