Before you can interview Jennifer Yglesias-Galvin, you have to catch her – and that’s no easy task. Her work as a Refugee Services Coordinator and Intensive Case Manager for the LSC’s Raleigh, North Carolina, New Americans Program keeps her constantly on the go.
“I love the diversity of the work,” she explains. “I get to understand the whole picture of how the United States receives refugees.”
Yglesias-Galvin joined LSC as an Intensive Case Manager for New Americans in 2019 after teaching Spanish in the Wake County Public Schools. Prior to that, she lived abroad with her husband, who is from Spain, and worked in civil service and the private sector.
“Refugees have always interested me, but I hadn’t had the right opportunity to get involved. A colleague from a previous employer went to work for LSC, so I decided to fill out an application. LSC hired me and I just loved the work.”
In 2021, a Refugee Services Coordinator position opened up and she stepped into that role.
“It felt like a natural progression,” she says. Additional leadership opportunities came her way in 2022, when the Raleigh program was between Resettlement Directors.
“We’re so happy to have Rachel [Lee] as Director now,” she adds. “One of the best things about my job is watching my teammates develop and flourish.”
As one of two Refugee Services Coordinators in Raleigh, Yglesias-Galvin supervises the reception and placement (R&P) process for local refugees, most from Afghanistan and Ukraine. She is fluent in the alphabet soup of federal refugee programs and works closely with Global Refuge (formerly LIRS, or Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service), immigration attorneys, and other partners.
The R&P process and the federal program under which refugees enter the country may vary depending on where they are coming from, why they are immigrating, and other factors. Typically, however, clients are eligible for a green card about a year after they arrive. Along the way, they’re referred for additional federal benefits such as vaccinations. And as their immigration status changes, they become eligible to work with an employment specialist – generally the last step on the road to self-sufficiency.
Yglesias-Galvin is well-versed in navigating these systems and she’s ready to pivot whenever the situation demands.
“Many of our Afghan clients had to travel to Virginia for asylum interviews. They needed interpreters and attorneys, and we had to arrange all that.”
In her downtime, Yglesias-Galvin recharges her batteries by cooking with her husband and college-age children, walking her dog, gardening, and brushing up on her Spanish.
At the end of the day, she says, “I love the multifaceted nature of my work. And I love watching our clients complete their journey to self-sufficiency. It’s such a celebration when they find an apartment and get a job.”
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