White House Author

Zeljka Krvavica came to the United States in 1993 as a refugee from Bosnia and Herzegovina after fleeing her home in war-ravaged Sarajevo. Since then she has devoted her life to helping other refugees make Iowa home. She works as a Refugee Case Manager with the Iowa’s Bureau of Refugee Services in Des Moines and as Iowa State Delegate with the UNHCR Refugee Congress. She has also served as a volunteer in several capacities, including establishing and conducting clinics for the refugees seeking lawful permanent resident status; serving as the founding member of the Iowa Interpreters and Translators Association; and acting as a Cultural Ambassador for CultureAll, a non-profit organization, which provides cultural and diversity workshops and trainings for school children in Iowa. She is also an advocate for refugee women’s rights.