As a Program Manager at NEO, Monica manages a portfolio of projects that focuses on international work, with missions spanning from donor collaboratives supporting grassroots migration advocacy, to human rights and environmental policy think tanks. With a background in project management for international development and humanitarian aid, Monica worked in the field for Mercy Corps in its MENA and Mediterranean migration response where she was most passionate about capacity-building grantmaking with community-based and civil society organizations, programming for youth-led advocacy and leadership, and well-being and psychosocial support for vulnerable groups in migration. She has also worked with numerous arts for social change organizations, both domestically and in Denmark and Ireland.
Monica received her M.Phil. in Public History from Trinity College Dublin and also holds B.A.s in Middle Eastern History and Music from Portland State University. She can be found playing her violin or Persian hammered dulcimer (a santoor) in orchestras, chamber music groups, and other jam sessions around town.