Welcome Corps Presentation

In the mid-day panel, George Mason University Research Administration highlighted the benefits of George Mason as an educational partner for refugee support. Representatives from the Welcome Corps overviewed the United States' new model for private sponsorship of refugees.

Speaker Bios

Michele Schwietz is Associate Dean for Research in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) at George Mason University.   In her role as Associate Dean, Michele facilitates and provides leadership for research and scholarly activities in the college.  She works closely with faculty, department chairs, research centers, staff and leadership to showcase, support and advance the scholarly work across the many disciplines in CHSS.   Prior to joining Mason in 2014, Michele directed the Office of Sponsored Programs at the University of Northern Colorado, a doctoral granting public university, where she worked closely with faculty and leadership to expand external funding and strengthen the research infrastructure.  From 1982 to 2009 Michele held progressively responsible positions at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, ultimately leading the Research Division of the School of Graduate Studies and Research, overseeing the Office of Grants and Sponsored Research, the Institute for Research and Community Service, and the Applied Research Lab, in addition to responsibilities in graduate (doctoral and masters) education.  

Michele earned her Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh in the Social and Comparative Analysis of Education with a specialization in International and Development Education; and two degrees from Indiana University of Pennsylvania - a Master of Arts in Student Affairs in Higher Education, and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish.

Andre W. Marshall is Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Economic Impact at George Mason University and President of the George Mason Research Foundation. As the university’s senior research officer, Dr. Marshall provides overall leadership for the portfolio of research, innovation, and economic development activities. Marshall joined George Mason University from the National Science Foundation, where he served as Program Director for the Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) and Innovation Corps (I-CorpsTM) programs.

During his tenure at NSF, Dr. Marshall advanced NSF’s university-based tech translation and commercialization programs through national initiatives strengthening industry-university engagement and collaboration, new partnerships broadening participation in innovation and tech entrepreneurship, and program virtualization increasing accessibility to the highly regarded national I-Corps Teams program. 

Dr. Marshall is a faculty member in the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Volgenau School of Engineering. His research and teaching interests are centered around experimental characterization and computational evaluation of complex turbulent reacting flows and sprays. His work in this area was inspired by early propulsion research he performed while at Rolls-Royce Corp., which influenced his approach to fire suppression and most recently agricultural sprays. He is the recipient of the NSF Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering (PECASE) and the Philip Thomas Medal of Excellence. He has served as Associate Editor for the Fire Safety Journal and on the USPTO Working Group for the National Council for Expanding American Innovation (NCEAI). 

Lucretia Keenan is a Strategist for the Community Sponsorship Hub. Prior to this, Lucretia served as a program lead for the International Migration Initiative at the Open Society Foundations from 2016-2021. In that role, she supported a number of global portfolios focused on expanding rights and protections for refugees and other forcibly displaced people and deepening investment in community-centered initiatives that encourage more welcoming societies. She's also held positions with the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Public Agenda, and the International Action Network on Small Arms. She holds a master's degree in international relations from New York University, and bachelor's degrees in political science and international studies from Loyola University Chicago.

Colleen Tighe has over 12 years of U.S. refugee resettlement experience, both in domestic resettlement and in overseas processing. She currently serves as a Program Officer with the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), with a specific focus on private sponsorship. Prior to joining PRM in April 2023, Colleen served as Associate Director for Processing Operations at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) where she oversaw all pre-arrival refugee case processing, family reunification, and refugee remote placements for USCCB’s domestic resettlement program. She also worked for Church World Service at the Resettlement Support Center in Nairobi, Kenya in various capacities supporting refugee case processing for the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. Colleen holds a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from George Mason University and an M.A. in International Development from American University.