Board of Directors

The WRAP board is comprised of WRAP community members, medical school students, nurse practitioners, educators, and many other talented people.

Lesa McWalters, Executive Director

Lesa McWalters is one of the founding members of Worcester Refugee Assistance Project (WRAP), beginning as a volunteer and then board member in 2009. Lesa recently became Executive Director following the resignation of long-time director, Meredith Walsh. Lesa is a graduate of Worcester State University, with a BS in Urban Studies, and a MS in Non-Profit Management.

Jillian Lindblad

Jillian Lindblad is an aspiring doctor working as a research scientist at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She is no stranger to Worcester as she earned a B.A. in Biology with a pre-medical concentration and a French minor from the College of the Holy Cross. Jillian first came to WRAP as a volunteer and youth mentor hoping to learn more about refugee populations living in Worcester. Overtime, Jillian was fortunate enough to form meaningful connections and to gain new friendships with Worcester’s Burmese population. Given her passion for children, Jillian later took on the challenge of coordinating WRAP’s Children’s Program and has enjoyed every minute since!

Meme Tran

Meme Tran began volunteering with WRAP in 2013 and became a board member in 2015. Meme graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2013 with a BS in Biological Sciences, and is currently pursuing her Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. As a child of Vietnamese refugees, she finds that working with WRAP is a great learning experience and brings her much fulfillment. She is very interested in continuing to work with underserved and underrepresented populations in the Worcester area as a future physician.

Oo Reh

Oo Reh came to Worcester in 2009 from a Karenni refugee camp on the Thailand-Burma border. He came with his wife, Jae Meh, and his son, Htwa Peh. Since arriving in the US he has been helping his extended family and other Karenni community members as they struggle to start a new life in Worcester. He uses his English language skills to provide translation and to help them understand how things work in this country. Oo Reh is studying part-time at Quinsigamond Community College to earn his Associate's Degree in Art and Psychology so he can transfer to a four-year university. Currently he works as a telephonic interpreter with Language Line Solutions and BayState Interpreters. He is also available on-call as a live interpreter at UMass Memorial.

Phoebe Ricker

Phoebe Ricker serves as a co-leader for WRAP’s youth group. She also regularly volunteers for WRAP’s after-school program and helps facilitate the Making Worcester Home Project, a course in self-advocacy for refugee youth. Phoebe is a junior at Clark University studying International Development with a specialization in Gender and Refugee Studies. She has loved the meaningful connections that she has developed while at WRAP.

Eliana Stanislawski

Eliana began volunteering with WRAP after transferring to Clark University in 2014. She took over the position of Education Coordinator and became a Board Member in 2017. Eliana graduated from Clark University with a BA in International Development and Social Change in 2017. When she’s not at WRAP, she teaching English as a Second Language at the Worcester Adult Learning Center or writing. Eliana has found WRAP not only to be incredibly meaningful but also a home away from home. She is very grateful for all the relationships she's built here!

Anushay Mistry

Anushay Mistry is a rising second-year student at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Biology and Community Health at Tufts University and began working as a Clinical Research Coordinator at Boston Children’ Hospital while completing her premedical coursework. After completing her medical degree, she plans to complete her residency in pediatrics before pursuing a fellowship in infectious disease. Anushay began volunteering at WRAP in the spring of 2018 through the Family Medicine Community Health Summer Assistantship program at UMMS and became a board member in the fall. She loves working with the youth group and looks forward to becoming a pediatrician to continue working with underserved youth populations.

Pooja Gupta

Pooja Gupta a third year medical student at UMass Medical School Worcester. She grew up in Westford, MA. For college, she went to Brandeis University and majored in neuroscience and biology and graduated in 2016. Before starting medical school, she worked as a medical assistant. My hobbies include gardening/plant collecting, art, and dance. She loves being able to spend time with the amazing kids and youth at WRAP. The WRAP youth are such a fun group so she is grateful for having this opportunity to be with them! She especially loves the outdoor trips!

Noraishah Yusuf

Aisha is a sophomore at Burncoat High School. She and her family arrived in United States in August, 2015 and she has been an active participant in the Worcester Refugee Assistance Project(WRAP) ever since. She volunteers her time as an assistant with the Children’s Group and she recently became a Board Member. She is enthusiastic about pursuing career in the STEAM fields.

San Ni

I was born in Matupi Village in Chin State in Burma and moved to Malaysia to a refugee camp. In August, 2009, I arrived in United States and resettled in New Jersey with my family. After graduating high school in 2013, I got married and moved to Worcester, Massachusetts to start a family. Now I have two beautiful daughters. After receiving a certificate in medical administration assistance at Quinsigamond Community College, I became a part-time onsite/virtual Baystate interpreter. I love helping my community and also enjoy teaching Sunday School at the Worcester Myanmar Christian Fellowship Church in Worcester. I became a Board member in December 2020.

Emery Addams

Emerson Addams (they/them) is a senior at Clark University (‘21). They will be graduating with a B.A. in International Development and Social Change and a minor in Geography. They are interested in studying human geography, queerness, and displacement. Last semester, they were conducting research abroad in Rabat, Morocco. Emery first interned with WRAP during the summer of 2019, and then became Education Coordinator in September of 2020. With over 8 years of community organizing under their belt, they are passionate about challenging structural inequalities and combating marginalization. In their free time, they enjoy gardening, cooking new recipes, and snuggling with their cat (Anakin).

Vanessa Avalone

Vanessa is a first-year medical student at UMass Medical School in the PURCH track, a program that focuses on underserved population health. She graduated from The University of Vermont in 2017 and received a Fulbright grant to teach English in Malaysia in 2018. After serving as an English Teacher in rural Malaysia for 10 months, she moved to Worcester where she sought to continue ESL work with Southeast Asian populations. Vanessa started out volunteering at WRAP’s afterschool program and became involved in ESL tutoring. She now serves as co-leader of the newly founded Adult Group. Vanessa is incredibly grateful for the friendships she has made through WRAP. She is honored to continue to be a part of WRAP as a Board Member.

Honorary Board Members

Meredith Walsh, Co-Founder

Meredith Walsh, MPH, NP-C worked on the Thailand-Burma border for five years as technical advisor for reproductive health at Mae Tao Clinic, Burma Medical Association, and the Adolescent Reproductive Health Network. She conducted translational research to apply evidence-based outcomes to improve the quality of facilities-based and community-based health care for displaced people from Burma on the Thailand-Burma border. She received a master of public health with a focus on international health and development from Tulane University and an advance practice nursing degree from the University of Massachusetts. She is one of WRAP's founders and she currently works as a family nurse practitioner in Memphis, TN.

Courtney Temple

Courtney Temple began volunteering with WRAP in 2010, and founded Youth Programming as well as the Teen Mentoring Program in 2013. She served as Youth Coordinator from 2013-2017, and has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2014. Courtney received her B.S. in Behavioral Neuroscience from Northeastern University, and her M.D. from UMass Medical School. She is currently a resident physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine at UMass with continued interest in working with underserved refugee populations in the Worcester community.

Paw Wah

Paw Wah was born in Burma in 1967 in a Karen village. She attended school through ninth grade in the town of Kyaukkyi. Paw Wah and her family moved to a refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border in 2000. In the refugee camp she worked for AMI as a home visitor; she also helped new arrivals and residents with malnutrition. She taught women about breastfeeding. Paw Wah and her family arrived in Worcester, MA in 2008, where she has continued to do community service (such as helping feed victims of the 2011 tornado in Springfield, MA). In 2016 Paw Wah was selected as one of six Worcester Hometown Heroes by Worcester Magazine.

Michael Forhan

A founding board member of WRAP, Michael Forhan has spent much of his life working in the international arena. After a decades long career in the international educational travel industry, he successfully established two companies in Rangoon, Burma from 1994 to 1997. In the summer of 1998, Michael traveled to the Thai-Burma border, where he met Dr. Cynthia Maung for the first time and received her permission to feature her in a documentary film. Meeting Dr. Cynthia, coupled with his growing awareness of the enormous needs of the Burmese refugees and migrant workers living along the Thai-Burma border, inspired Michael to enlist the support of several Boston-area trauma therapists to establish Burma Border Projects, Inc. as a tax-exempt, charitable organization in 1999.