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Blog → January 2, 2025

RPA Founders Present at the 2024 National Afghan Medical Professionals Association of America Scientific Conference

By Brandi Kilmer

Brandi Kilmer, TSOS and Dr. Sarah Kureshi, Georgetown University School of Medicine

Dr. Sarah Kureshi and Brandi Kilmer, co-founders of the Refugee Physicians Advocacy (RPA) Coalition, presented at the 2024 National Afghan Medical Professionals Association of America (AMPPA) Scientific Conference in October. Their topic “Strengthening the Medical Workforce with Skilled International Physicians” resonated strongly with an audience of over 50 Afghan professionals who share an interest in advancing the medical careers of displaced Afghans.

Afghan physicians are eager to be seen as a resource to help solve U.S. healthcare shortage. One participant explained, “I will volunteer my time for free to demonstrate my skills to any employer.” For Dr. Kureshi, who has conducted and published research on refugee physicians and leads a yearly cohort of first year medical students in refugee health-related projects the topic is personal. Kureshi’s own parents were International Medical Graduates who relocated to the United States from Pakistan before she was born. It took years for her father to re-establish his career and her mother gave up her career altogether.

RPA Coalition’s efforts to assist International Physicians is a beautiful example of institution-community partnership working together."

- Dr. Sarah Kureshi

If you are a medical executive wanting to learn how you can tap into the talent pool of International Physicians, contact us.

If you are an International Physician, please add your information to our registry to join RPA’s mailing list and learn more about our support.

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What would you do if you had to leave everything behind?

By the end of 2024, more than 123.2 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced from their homes due to war, persecution, or human rights abuses.

An increase of 7.2 million over 2023, that’s more than 19,619 people every day — roughly one person every 4.4 seconds.

They arrive in refugee camps and other countries, like the US, seeking the one thing they’ve lost: safety.

Fleeing political imprisonment, ethnic violence, religious persecution, gang threats, or war crimes, they come with what little they managed to carry:

Legal papers – if they’re lucky.

A single backpack.

Sometimes a child’s hand in theirs.

They also carry the weight of what they left behind: fractured families, homes they’ll never return to, professions they loved, friends and relatives they may never see again.

They carry loss most of us can’t imagine – but also the truth of what they’ve endured.

At TSOS, we believe stories are a form of justice. When someone shares their experience of forced displacement, they reclaim their voice. And when we amplify that voice – through film, photography, writing, and advocacy – the world listens. Hearts soften. Communities open. Policy begins to shift.

That shift matters. Because when neighbors understand instead of fear…

when lawmakers see people, not politics…

when a teacher knows what her student has survived…

Rebuilding life from the ashes becomes possible.

We’re fighting an uphill battle. In today’s political climate, refugee stories are often twisted or ignored. They’re reduced to statistics, portrayed as national threats, or used to score political points.

The truth – the human, nuanced truth – gets lost, and when it does, we lose compassion.

We are here to share their truth anyway.

At TSOS, we don’t answer to headlines or algorithms. We are guided by a simple conviction: every person deserves to be seen, heard, and welcomed.

Our work is powered by the people we meet — refugees and asylum seekers rebuilding after loss, allies offering sanctuary, and communities daring to extend belonging.

Your support helps us share their stories — and ensure they’re heard where they matter most.

“What ultimately persuaded the judge wasn’t a legal argument. It was her story.”

— Kristen Smith Dayley, Executive Director, TSOS

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