Los Angeles, CA (June 1, 2021): ORAM – the Organization for Refuge, Asylum & Migration, is thrilled to announce the appointment of two new members to its Board of Directors: Elodie Sampere and Arjun Nagarkatti.
The two new board members bring immense talent in communications, advocacy, and financial management to ORAM at a time when the organization is rapidly expanding and evolving. The ORAM Board of Directors has doubled in size in two years, and over the last few months, the staff and number of countries in which ORAM serves have also grown substantially. Sampere and Nagarkatti will undoubtedly contribute to ORAM’s growth, as their unique skills will enable them to lend fresh perspectives to the organization’s pursuit of sustainable change for the queer refugee community.
“We could not be more excited to welcome Elodie and Arjun to the ORAM Board of Directors,” said Steve Roth, ORAM’s Executive Director. “We are looking forward to channeling their years of experience and leadership in both the private and nonprofit sectors into advancing ORAM’s mission and building on ORAM’s long-term sustainability.”
Elodie Sampere is originally from Marseille, France and is a single mother to an eight-year-old daughter. She has close to 20 years of progressive experience in fundraising, PR/media, communications, advocacy, and campaigning with expertise increasing support bases for expanding global and national non-profit organizations. In 2008, Sampere founded Wild Communications – a Communications and Fundraising consulting firm – which served organizations across the African continent and facilitated systematized communication, planning, analysis, and strategy to achieve powerful solutions in reaching out to their key audiences and raising critical funds for growth. Sampere has a master’s degree in International Affairs from George Washington University.
“I am truly honored to have been asked to join the Board of ORAM,” said Sampere. “Being their first Board Member based in Kenya, where a lot of their impactful programs take place, I look forward to working with ORAM to help rebuild lives and elevate the voices of minorities in this country and all over the world.”
Arjun Nagarkatti is a Managing Director and Head of Deutsche Bank Wealth Management, Americas, where he is responsible for the offices located throughout the U.S. and Latin America. He is a member of the Deutsche Bank Wealth Management Executive Committee and the Deutsche Bank Americas Executive Committee.
Previously, Nagarkatti was the Global Head of Lending for Deutsche Bank Wealth Management, globally known as the International Private Bank (IPB) and a member of the IPB Executive Committee. Nagarkatti joined Deutsche Bank in 2003 as a Credit Risk Management analyst in the UK. He then worked in a variety of business-critical roles in London and Singapore, including as Global Chief Risk Officer for Wealth Management from 2017 to 2019. Nagarkatti holds a Master’s in the Management and Regulation of Risk from The London School of Economics.
“Joining ORAM’s Board of Directors is a great opportunity to commit wholeheartedly to supporting LGBTIQ refugees, a community that I care deeply about,” said Nagarkatti.
Sampere and Nagarkatti join existing members: Board Chair Rajiv Desai, Board Vice Chair Selisse Berry, Board Secretary Jody Cole, Board Treasurer Perry Witkin, and Krishna Omkar and Ari Bilici.
Interviews are available on request. Please email KatieM@OramRefugee.org.
About ORAM
ORAM protects and empowers LGBTIQ asylum seekers and refugees globally, creating sustainability and systematic change. Founded in 2008, ORAM is one of the first international nongovernmental organizations to advocate for and assist people fleeing persecution based on their sexual orientation and/or gender identity and expression (SOGIE) and has since become a thought-leader in LGBTIQ migration. To learn more about ORAM’s other work, visit www.oramrefugee.org and Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.