Hayley Smith
Founder and CEO
Hayley Smith founded Lifting Hands International in 2016 after an eye-opening stint as an Arabic translator at Moria refugee camp in Lesvos, Greece. Hayley received her BA in English from BYU in 2007 with minors in Arabic and Media Arts. Two years later, she earned her MA in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies.
Hayley has spent extensive time in Morocco, Egypt, and Jordan. She taught Arabic in Boston Public Schools and is so proud of her former students. She is an #ISpeakArabic campaign ambassador and encourages young people to pursue Arabic. In recognition of her impact on the global refugee crisis, she was awarded BYU's Young Alumni Distinguished Service Award in 2018.
Hayley is interested in literature, film, 20th century history, playing drums, and Seinfeld.
hayley@lhi.org
Patrick Petro
Chief Development Officer
Patrick has over a decade of experience working as a fundraiser for environmental, higher education, arts and culture, and humanitarian nonprofits. Before becoming a development professional, he spent fourteen years working in the areas of marketing and communications, art direction, graphic design, photography, and videography. He enjoys traveling and camping with his family, cooking (and eating), creating and collecting art, playing drums, and listening to jazz and unusual electronic music.
patrick@lhi.org
Jaron Malyon
Chief Operations Officer
Jaron has over a decade of experience working on behalf of vulnerable populations in Eastern Europe and East Africa. With a focus on improving the impact of aid and development, he has worked on a range of issues, including labor rights, human trafficking, and women’s empowerment. Before earning an MBA at Central European University in Hungary, he lived in Northern Uganda for two years building a social enterprise to benefit a community of internally displaced people. At home, if he’s not practicing a new musical instrument, you can find Jaron in the mountains with his family, or gunkholing around the Puget Sound.
jaron@lhi.org
Steve Meyer
Finance Director
A graduate of the accounting program at BYU, Steve brings wide-ranging experience in bookkeeping, tax filing, payroll processing, and employee benefit administration to the LHI team. Before LHI even existed, Steve worked with Jaron (LHI's director of monitoring and evaluation) in Uganda doing bookkeeping and inventory tracking for a small NGO there—a pivotal moment that led him to pursue work in humanitarian aid.
A true jack of all trades, Steve worked in healthcare for 3 years, including at a pediatric neuro trauma unit, a teenage psych facility, and with a program for people experiencing addiction and homelessness. He also taught business writing and computer technology at Granger High School in Salt Lake City (part of the Granite School District where 70% of the resettled refugee children in Utah live). Steve spends his free time reading, going on walks with his young son, and doing work on his family's new old home.
steve@lhi.org
Brigid Rowlings
Communications Director
Brigid comes to LHI after over two decades of work as a middle and high school teacher. Two grueling years of pandemic teaching and a desire to be more present for her children, the youngest of whom she and her husband recently adopted from Thailand, drove Brigid to pursue her other passion—writing. When Russia invaded Ukraine, Brigid reached out to her former teaching colleague, LHI Founder/Director Hayley Smith, and offered to help by writing for LHI. While she didn’t expect that this offer would lead to a job, Brigid is so excited to join LHI as Communications Director. When not working, Brigid loves spending time with her son Luke, an aspiring cryptozoologist, her daughter Dada, who loves to swim and paint, and her husband Andrew, who relies on her to win online Jeopardy games. She also enjoys being outside, reading, and traveling.
brigid@lhi.org
Jessica Arch
Development Director
Jessica helps organizations grow through compelling storytelling and building meaningful relationships. She has over 15 years of marketing and development experience and thrives on bringing people together to make the world a better place. She has worked in healthcare and for environmental, advocacy, and arts and culture nonprofits. She started as a supporter and donor to LHI herself before joining the team.
Jessica loves the ocean but lives in the mountains. She’s an avid reader and is even writing her own novel based on the stories of her grandmother’s life. Her other interests include volunteering as Board Chair of an early education nonprofit and fundraising for a scholarship for single moms in her community. Her happiest place is exploring somewhere new.
jessica@lhi.org
Kirk Zamieroski
Digital Media Specialist
Kirk is an award-winning animator, writer, and video producer who specializes in educational content, creative strategy, and public outreach for non-profit organizations. Above all else, he’s a storyteller with a knack for boiling down complex subjects into easy-to-digest, entertaining content. With over a decade of experience in the non-profit sector, he has helped organizations reach audiences in the millions with animated explainers, video series, and fascinating short documentaries. Before joining LHI, Kirk's work was largely science and technology focused, having collaborated with high-profile organizations including the ACS and Ted Ed. He is also creator and director of an upcoming documentary series called A Higher Art, which explores the art of religious ritual in Asia. Using a mix of eye-popping animation, powerful prose, and the clarity of his camera lens, Kirk helps LHI give our supporters something to talk, think, laugh, and get excited about.
kirk@lhi.org
Thomas Sorensen
Grant Writer
Thomas decided he wanted to be involved in nonprofit work at age 13, beginning by fighting human trafficking in pre-split Sudan. He has studied writing, learned Portuguese, Spanish, and Arabic, and lived in Jordan, Portugal, and Italy—all in the interest of learning how people experience life and communicate about it. Sometimes he is still happily stunned that you can help people all day and call it a career.
Thom's favorite things mostly involve learning, thinking, and discussing. He will happily talk theology, philosophy, literature, dinosaurs, anthropology, mythology, progressive rock, or tabletop RPGs. He would not survive without poetry, time among plants, and meaningful friendships.
thomas@lhi.org
Traci Parson
Utah Operations Director
Traci has a degree in Speech-Language Pathology. She taught at a school for children with special needs and later at an early intervention program before becoming a full-time mom. Before taking on this role at LHI in 2017, Traci did a great amount of service at local food banks and Meals on Wheels. Her coordination role requires a tremendous amount of organizational skills, and she has excelled in helping LHI to quickly and effectively grow its collection network throughout the state of Utah. She likes to say, “We are sending more than just humanitarian aid. We are sending a message of love, hope, and peace.” She is married with 5 children and is a grandmother.
traci@lhi.org
Carlissa Larsen
Utah Program Founder
Carlissa attended the College of Eastern Utah (CEU) immediately after high school. While there, she was a SUN (Serving Utah Network) Center leader over hunger issues where she organized monthly events to bring awareness and aid to those struggling with hunger in the community. At graduation, through her extensive service and many different leadership roles, she was honored to be the only one in her college graduating class to receive the Val J. Halamandaris Caring Award for the most service to the college and community. After graduating from CEU with an Associates degree, she taught English in China as a volunteer. She served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints in the Philippines. To further her education, Carlissa attended BYU and received a Bachelor’s degree in Geography. She is married and has four young children. She loves spending time with her family on new adventures like digging for fossils or visiting new places. Her desire to provide humanitarian aid has continued throughout her life. Carlissa saw the potential that Utah has to help refugees around the world and founded our Utah program.
carlissa@lhi.org
Anne Perkins
Refugee Resettlement Manager
Anne coordinates our Welcome program, which provides furnishings and necessities to newly arrived refugees to Utah. Anne has been involved with the refugee community in Salt Lake City since 2015. She began volunteering for the International Rescue Committee of Salt Lake, where she noticed that many families were resettled in the same apartment complexes around the valley. She and a friend decided to watch over one apartment complex, specifically focusing on mothers with small children. Through monthly and weekly visits, she got to know the cultures and needs of newly arriving families. Anne is a graduate of BYU and currently lives in Cedar Hills, Utah with her husband and three children.
anne@lhi.org
Tara Clavel
Greece Director
Tara has spent the last 5 years working for different projects in refugee camps throughout Greece where she has coordinated psychosocial support activities inside of camps and community centers. She enjoys working together with a big international team and likes to involve the camp community as much as possible in the design and implementation of the programs. Seeing people from all over the world using their different skills, experiences, and ideas working towards a common goal is one of Tara's favorite aspects of her job.
Tara has a master degree in International Public Health with a focus on human rights and international development. She is currently studying social work and Dari language. In her free time, Tara enjoys reading, going for walks with her dogs, listening to podcasts on politics, and drinking good cappuccinos. She also loves traveling and exploring new cultures.
tara@lhi.org
Oxana Alistratova
Moldova Director
Oxana is a civic activist with more than two decades of experience working in the field of social, legal, and psychological protection of vulnerable populations including those in extreme poverty, orphans, and refugees. In Moldova, she has established long-term cooperation with international agencies to help victims of human trafficking and domestic violence and manages a hotline for victims and concerned family members. With her extensive experience in post-war conflict territories, Oxana is coordinating LHI’s Ukraine relief efforts in Moldova and the surrounding region. As often as possible, she likes to spend time with her family cooking traditional dishes or playing with her grandson.
oxana@lhi.org
Roman Schauer
Operations Director Moldova
Roman joined LHI in 2022 as the Director of Human Resources in Greece. Since 2021, he has been actively engaged in humanitarian work in Greece, volunteering with various organizations to provide essential aid to asylum seekers and refugees. His focus within MHPSS programs reflects his dedication to fostering community engagement and enhancing structural development for both staff and volunteers, ensuring healthy and sustainable working conditions.
Roman has a background in the international development sector. He co-founded an education non-profit in Kenya and went on to support various social enterprise start-ups in Germany in their project development and implementation.
In his free time, you can find Roman riding his motorcycle over the hills and far away or in a hammock underneath the mango tree.
roman@lhi.org
“Refugees are going to continue to come, and the only question is what we are going to do to help them.”