Serving immigrant and refugee families in the DMV

since 2019

Children of refugee families in the DC Metropolitan area stand and pose for a picture. There are 11 children, all facing the camera, outside of an apartment building, ready for an IROC event

About IROC

IROC was established in August 2019 by local high school junior, Ariana Lotfi. Through her involvement with local nonprofits assisting Syrian refugees, Ariana saw a need in the DC region for resettlement assistance for families moving to this area from all over the world.

Generally, refugee families only receive 90-days of assistance from the government-appointed resettlement agencies and very limited financial assistance. IROC was created to help address the gaps in the resettlement process and to try and ease the burden on families as they begin to build a new life in America.

IROC receives requests for help directly from immigrants and refugees, including those with no support from resettlement agencies. We prioritize assistance for recent arrivals and strive to meet their immediate and medium-term needs, by providing urgent support, delivering essential household necessities, and by connecting newcomers to other available community resources.

IROC is a 501c3 nonprofit & donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

In June 2019, Ariana came back from a service trip in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon working with refugees through the non-profit organization Project Turquoise, with a curiosity to learn about the resettled refugees in the United States. She received a fellowship from her high school, National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C. to learn and study about the DMV area refugees and their journey’s to the U.S. and to understand their needs now and what they are lacking. Through dozens of in-person interviews with the newest immigrants, she learned that their needs were not met. Thus, in the summer of August 2019, she formed the non-profit organization, IROC. The highlight of her work through IROC is the free summer camps held in Riverdale, Maryland . Ariana is a freshman at Stanford University and plans to major in Public Policy and Management Science & Engineering.

Our Leadership Team

Board of Directors

Bita is the daughter of first-generation immigrants from Iran and saw firsthand the obstacles faced in resettling in the United States. After her daughter, Ariana, founded IROC in 2019, Bita began working to address the needs of refugees and immigrants in the DC metropolitan area. She is a graduate of Wittenberg University with a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Dayton, a member of the Bar Association in the states of Illinois and District of Columbia and of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). She worked for over a decade with the immigration law firm Fragomen in Chicago, Tysons Corner and Washington, D.C., and is currently a business immigration consultant.
Lydia is a graduate of Williams College and has extensive experience in advocacy in the service of the national environmental community. As an IROC volunteer since 2022 and as a Board member, she has leveraged her professional knowledge and networks to address the needs of refugees and new immigrants. Her work in assisting newcomers, and particularly new mothers, has been featured in several publications, including in the Washington Post article “A New Country, A New Baby, and the Universal Bonds of Parenthood” (October 7, 2022). She lives in Chevy Chase, DC with her husband and two kids, where she organizes a group of more than 300 neighbors in service of the refugee community.
Sadiq Amini is a Fulbright Alumni and holder of a MA Degree in Diplomacy & International Security from the Patterson School of Diplomacy, University of Kentucky. His key role coordinating the evacuation of more than 3,000 staff members as part of Operation Allies Refuge was recognized by the U.S. Department of State with a Heroism Award. He guides and advises IROC in the assistance of newcomers by applying his extensive professional experience, which include the Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the United Nations. He also brings empathy and compassion born from his personal experience of being uprooted from his life after the Taliban takeover of Kabul.

Staff

As the granddaughter of immigrants, Megan has always appreciated and admired the strength and tenacity required to immigrate and start a new life in the United States. She has served as the Executive Director for IROC since 2021, and shaped IROC by leveraging her project management skills and passion for helping newcomers thrive in their new communities. Megan earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2006 and is currently a Project Manager at Freddie Mac.
Elena came to the US from Italy to complete her education in biomedical research and is now an investigator at Johns Hopkins University. Elena became involved with IROC in January 2022, when she first “matched” with a family via the New Neighbor Program. Since then, she has met and connected with many more families, and become involved as a volunteer coordinator for the program. When she is not in the laboratory or with her family, you will find her picking up donations and delivering items to the families that IROC assists, having tea with them and getting a hug or smile from one of the children.
Sajia arrived in the US as a refugee from Afghanistan in 2023, and immediately became a leader in her community. She brings her experience in coordinating several USAID-funded projects and her ability to speak multiple languages to her work as IROC intake coordinator. She contacts every household who submits a help request and welcomes them with kindness and advice about starting a new life in a new country. She also assesses their most pressing needs and helps IROC coordinate delivery of necessary assistance.
Yazan, an immigrant from Syria, moved to the US for higher education. He feels deeply for refugee and newcomers given his origins. Yazan joined IROC as a volunteer in 2022 supporting multiple families and has since expanded his responsibilities to include internal consulting, job search support, economic empowerment and events organization. Yazan earned his Bachelor of Science in Information Technology from the University of Jordan in Amman, Jordan and his MBA from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Yazan is currently a Research Consultant at the Boston Consulting Group
Aidin Lotfi is a junior at St. Albans School in Washington D.C. He’s an active member of the community and serves as the head of the Immigrant and Refugee Committee for St. Albans School's Service Board, co-chairs the Middle Easter Affinity Group, and is the Director of Youth Programs at the Iranian-American Community Center (a local area nonprofit). Aidin enjoys skiing, scuba diving and spending time with our newest youth neighbors from all around the world! He’s passionate about making the world a better place by helping others and giving back to the community.