“This country is ours. We will continue to make it better for those who are yet to come as we honor those who came before us.”
Guerline Jozef – Haitian Bridge Alliance
Last week MIRA hosted our first Immigrants’ Rights Conference, Preparing for Action, aimed at preparing our community and coalition members to advocate for our legislative priorities at Immigrants’ Day at the State House (IDSH) the following day. ( You can find the speaker lineup and agenda here ) There were so many amazing facilitators and speakers, we couldn’t possibly highlight them all in one blog post – so today, in honor of Women’s History Month, we would like to highlight 3 of the powerful, inspiring women who contributed to this wonderful event. The Christine Ntgagenwa Award was presented, for the first time, at the event, so let’s begin with Christine.
Christine Ntagengwa
Christine arrived in the United States in 2000 on a spouse visa, accompanying her husband who was studying at Harvard Divinity School. Their family later transitioned to permanent residency and eventually U.S. citizenship through a Special Religious Immigrant Visa sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts.
Her academic journey spanned three countries. After earning a Bachelor of Divinity from St. Paul’s University in Kenya in 1999, she later completed a Master of Social Work at Boston University in 2012 through BU’s BRIDGE Program for immigrants and refugees.
As a woman of profound faith, Christine dedicated her life to serving others regardless of their background or circumstances. Having experienced [Read more]
immigration firsthand, Christine committed herself to supporting other newcomers to America. She began as a case manager at Refugee Immigration Ministry (RIM), where she helped countless families resettle and build new lives. Her exceptional service earned her the Unsung Hero Award from the Massachusetts Office for Refugees and Immigrants in 2008.
Christine later joined MIRA as Director of the New Americans Integration Program (NAIP), where she trained and guided AmeriCorps members working with immigrant and refugee service organizations. Her leadership style was both creative and inclusive, serving as a model for colleagues and program leaders. She later advanced to Senior Program Director and spearheaded MIRA’s anti-racist task force, working to align various programs for immigrants and refugees.
Christine was also a founding member and board director of Umunara, Inc., through which she extended her helping hand to many in need.
A true global citizen, Christine’s warmth, openness, and kind heart inspired everyone she worked with. She treated everyone’s concerns with equal importance and her presence could light up a room. She continues to inspire others and MIRA is grateful to have had the opportunity to know her and to share her legacy in the form of the Christine Ntagengwa Award. More about Christine
Huiling Chen
MIRA is proud to honor Huiling Chen with the first Christine Ntagengwa award, presented to her by Christine’s family at the event. Huiling’s story is one of optimism, hard work, and success, in the spirit of Christine Ntagengwa, former Senior Director of Programs at MIRA, for whom the award is named.
When Huiling Chen arrived in the United States from China in 2009, she faced the challenges most immigrants encounter: limited English skills and separation from family and support networks. Starting with an entry-level restaurant position in Boston’s Chinatown, she was determined to create a better future for herself.
Huiling’s turning point came when she enrolled in BEST Hospitality Training‘s job seeker program to become a union housekeeper. Her exceptional [Read more]
performance as a student caught the organization’s attention, and in 2011, before any hotel could hire her, BEST brought her onto their team to assist in the front office.
Since that initial role, Huiling’s career at BEST has flourished tremendously. Today, as Director of Incumbent Worker Services, she oversees the organization’s largest operational division. Her comprehensive responsibilities include managing classes, workshops, outreach initiatives, data collection, staffing, and all programming for UNITE HERE Local 26 workers. Through her dedicated leadership, hundreds of immigrants have secured and thrived in quality union hotel positions, elevating families into middle-class stability. She has overseen numerous New American Integration Program (NAIP) members over the years and one year received the Supervisor of the Year award.
Huiling’s influence extends beyond BEST, serving on the Community Advisory Council at First Literacy. Her trilingual abilities in Mandarin, Cantonese, and English create vital connections with diverse student populations, allowing her to support those facing the challenges she once faced herself. Her personal journey mirrors the very pathway she now helps others navigate, making her uniquely positioned to guide immigrant workers toward economic stability and professional growth in the hospitality sector.
“In these critical times, we need more leaders like Christine. Who stand up, raise their voices, and support newcomers in their journey. Together we can carry forward her legacy, and help others shine.”
Huiling Chen – BEST Hospitality
Guerline Jozef
Guerline Jozef of the Haitian Bridge Alliance inspired us as our keynote speaker at the conference. She spoke about the struggles immigrants are facing today, and how important it is that we not let up in our efforts to resist the xenophobic policies and rhetoric coming from the current administration.
Guerline M. Jozef stands at the forefront of immigrant rights advocacy, dedicating her life to bringing awareness to issues affecting vulnerable communities globally. As Founder and Executive Director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, she leads the only Black-led, woman-led, Haitian-American-led organization serving newly arrived immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border with offices across multiple locations. Her journey to advocacy began unexpectedly: while working in audio-visual entertainment in 2015, Guerline learned about a group of Haitians seeking asylum at the United States border. This encounter prompted her to shift careers and begin working directly with vulnerable immigrant populations.
Drawing inspiration from the Haitian proverb “With Many Hands, the Work is Light,” Jozef has expanded her impact through co-founding several vital [Read more]
initiatives, including the Black Immigrants Bail Fund (BIBF) and the Cameroon Advocacy Network. She is also the creator of “Tales from the Borderlands and beyond,“sharing stories of migration on the Story Corps platform. Her hands-on approach to crisis intervention through the Haitian Bridge Alliance has provided Haitian and other Black immigrant communities with humanitarian, legal, and social services.
Jozef’s advocacy extends beyond organizational leadership to national policy influence, and her commitment has led her to testify before the United Nations, the United States Congress, and the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights. She regularly emphasizes “the need for a comprehensive and compassionate approach to immigration policies that upholds the principles of fairness, justice, and human rights.”
Colleagues describe her as “a true hero” who has “dedicated her life to defending the rights and dignity of Haitian and Black immigrants and saved countless lives.” Her advocacy has illuminated how immigration systems disproportionately cause harm to Black, brown, and indigenous people seeking protection.
Jozef’s exceptional leadership has earned her significant recognition, including being named one of POLITICO’s 2021 40 Most Influential People on Race, Politics, and Policy in the United States. Her numerous accolades include the Las Americas’ 2021 Border Heroes Award, the 2021 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, the 2022 National Haitian-American Elected Officials Network Community Champion Award, and the 2022 American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Arthur C. Helton Human Rights Award. She was also named one of the Haitian Times’ Newsmakers of 2022 and received the prestigious Dutty Boukman award.
Through her frequent appearances in major media outlets and her powerful advocacy across international platforms, Guerline Jozef continues to champion the rights of migrants and refugees, particularly those from marginalized communities. Her unwavering dedication to creating pathways for dignity, safety, and justice has established her as one of today’s most influential human rights advocates.
“My question for us here is: What are we willing to do? What are we willing to do when they come to take your neighbor? What are we willing to do when we clearly understand that in this country black lives continue to not matter? . . . If we truly believe these ideologies, how are we choosing to move forward to defend those who are less fortunate than we are?”
Guerline Jozef, Haitian Bridge Alliance