National Staff

Lyn Morland, MSW, MA

Senior Program Officer & Director

Lyn Morland's career in cross-cultural social work spans 25 years. After developing health and social service programs in the Philippines, she worked in refugee resettlement and child welfare, including the Unaccompanied Refugee Minor program, for Associated Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of Washington. She soon became Director of Health Services for the Archdiocese, overseeing the primary care community clinics and a network of specialized physicians providing pro bono care to recent immigrants from Central America. Most recently, she directed a national technical assistance initiative in multicultural mental health and provided senior management, fundraising, and evaluation expertise to the Center for Multicultural Human Services in Falls Church, VA, an agency providing mental health and social services to immigrant and refugee children and their families. In addition to a BA in Psychology and a Master of Social Work, she earned a Masters degree and Doctoral candidacy in Anthropology. Doctoral awards include the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Margaret Lantis Award for her research in Honduras, a Graduate School Fellowship, and a National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) research traineeship from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. Her research has included long-term assistance to an international NSF-funded longitudinal study of ethnic identity in children, an annotated bibliography/literature review on the adjustment of refugee and immigrant youth, and the development and implementation of a participatory action research project on access to health care for immigrant families from Central America. She currently oversees and develops all aspects of the BRYCS’ Web site and technical assistance, and provides consultation nationally on services to refugee and immigrant children.

Laura Gardner, MSW, LGSW

BRYCS Education Technical Assistance Specialist

Laura Gardner holds a Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University where she specialized in services for refugees and immigrants. Prior to earning her degree, she worked and volunteered at five refugee serving agencies, both inside and outside the U.S., including a school-based National Child Traumatic Stress Network program for foreign-born youth at the International Institute of New Jersey. She has facilitated psychosocial and educational services for foreign-born children and families in both direct practice and program management capacities, and has advocated for systemic change related to the needs of refugees and immigrants in social service departments, community agencies, and particularly, in the public schools. Her passion for understanding the complexities of refugee resettlement took her to Ghana where she worked in the Cultural Orientation Department of the Overseas Processing Entity. In addition to an MSW, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Education where she focused on child development and children with special needs. Laura coordinates BRYCS' technical assistance with Refugee School Impact grantees and is the main point of contact for all school-related issues. In addition, she coordinates work on the BRYCS Web site and Clearinghouse and contributes research and writing to BRYCS publications.

Katrina Hobbs-Hawkins, LSWA, BA


BRYCS Child Welfare Specialist

Katrina has 10 years of experience in the human services field.  She recently received her LSWA in the state of Massachusetts, where she worked as a Social Worker for the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, providing child protective and case management services. Katrina holds a bachelor's degree in Human Services with a Youth Work concentration from the University of Massachusetts Boston's College of Public and Community Service.  Katrina attended graduate school at UMass Boston, where she assisted the Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters by conducting research and helping organize an international conference focused on rebuilding sustainable communities for children and their families after disasters. Katrina holds an Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counseling Certificate and provided direct services in this area for several years. She has spent 11 years assisting community-based non-profits throughout the Dorchester, greater Boston, and the Merrimack valley area in the fight against HIV/AIDS. She is the founder and CEO of "What's Up Now, Inc?", a non-profit youth empowerment organization, focused on motivating youth to be more active in their communities and promoting peer-leadership. Katrina coordinates BRYCS technical assistance services to ORR/DUCS-funded programs and is BRYCS main point of contact on child welfare issues for refugees.

Jacquelin Zubko, BA

BRYCS Information & Technical Support Specialist

Jacquelin Zubko holds a BA in International Studies and Sociology with a concentration in Human Rights from the University of Dayton. There she served as an active member of the first cohort of Dayton Civic Scholars and interned with the Office of International Programs. Upon graduation, she interned with the D.C. Mayor’s Office on African Affairs. Jacquelin’s internships and extensive study abroad experience have allowed her to work closely with immigrant and refugee communities. In addition, she has researched and reported on a number of issues related to immigration including: Catholic Social Teachings on the Right to Migration, Forced Relocation and Internally Displaced Persons in Myanmar, and The Failures of Integration: A Study of Dayton, Ohio. As a second-generation immigrant herself, Jacquelin Zubko brings an important perspective to BRYCS’ work and a passion for working with refugees and immigrants. She is currently working towards a Masters in Public Policy and Administration.

Claudia Gilmore, BA

BRYCS Program Assistant

Claudia Gilmore recently completed her bachelor’s degree in American Studies and History from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. For her undergraduate thesis, she wrote an explorative ethnographic study of the bullying that takes place between African American and Somali Bantu youth in the U.S. public schools. During a 2007 summer internship in Nashville, Tennessee, Claudia first witnessed and learned about the struggles of Somali Bantu refugees living in public housing. At Georgetown, Claudia also volunteered for a student-run program called DC Schools, where she provided in-home tutoring twice a week to an immigrant child from Honduras. Claudia works part-time for BRYCS and assists with maintaining the Web site and Clearinghouse as well as technical assistance requests.

Information on BRYCS’ National Technical Assistance Network and Consultant Biographies.