2702 Arbor Dr
Please register by February 3. We invite you to arrive by 10:00 am to hear Bojana’s remarks. Register at the Temple Beth El website: https://www.tbemadison.org/event/blockstein2024
Bojana Zorić Martinez, director of the Bureau of Refugee Programs and Wisconsin state refugee coordinator, will deliver this year’s Blockstein Memorial Lecture during brunch. Bojana will be describing her personal refugee experience and commitment to helping refugees and immigrants build their new lives in the United States and how that impacts her current role as the head of refugee and related programs in Wisconsin.
9:30 am brunch begins
10:00 am remarks from Bojana Zorić Martinez
Bojana Zorić Martinez currently serves in two critical roles, one as the director of the Bureau of Refugee Programs with the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, and the other as the Wisconsin state refugee coordinator (SRC) representing the interests of the state’s refugee resettlement before local and federal partners with whom she regularly communicates and coordinates service provision. She also serves on the Executive Board of the State Coordinators of Refugee Resettlement (SCORR), the national association of state refugee coordinators, administrators, and managers.
Bojana has been serving in the SRC role for seven years. She started her career in refugee work at Jewish Family Services in Milwaukee in 2000, where she worked on helping refugees who came to Wisconsin from the former Soviet Union, former Yugoslavia, and other places from around the world. Bojana then continued to build her educational and professional career in leadership, organizational development, and management. She holds a BA in Professional Communication and an MS in Management. Bojana has extensive knowledge and experience working in refugee resettlement, and as a former refugee herself, she is grateful for the opportunity to lead and help shape the programs she once advanced from. She believes that her success lies in effective collaboration with federal and local partners across different programs for benefit of refugees and other vulnerable populations.
Remembering the social activism and public service record of Liesl M. Blockstein, Temple Beth El and Jewish Social Services annually co-sponsor this lecture honoring the accomplishments of a Wisconsin woman who has made a significant impact on our community and our state.