A Vancouver organization that helps LGBT people seeking asylum or refugee protection in Canada is undergoing a phase of growth.

On March 4, Rainbow Refugee announced that Aleks Selim Dughman Manzur (who uses the pronouns they/them) has been appointed the organization’s first programming director, who will lead the community nonprofit’s sponsorship, settlement, support, outreach, and advocacy programs.

In addition, Manzur is part of a new two-person leadership team that oversees the organization’s development.

Manzur, who identifies as transmasculine, was born in Palestine and grew up in Chile before immigrating to Canada in 2008, and is a lawyer who specializes in human rights, women’s rights, reproductive and sexual health law, LGBT+ rights, and refugee rights. 

They also are the vice-president of the Canadian Council for Refugees, and previously worked as the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto, LEAF (Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund), the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), and the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Programme at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law. 

The other individual who is part of the leadership team is Stephanie Goodwin.

Some may recognize Goodwin’s name from her previous role as executive director of Out on Screen, which runs Out in Schools and the annual Vancouver Queer Film Festival. She also previously was the B.C. director of Greenpeace.

Goodwin is currently serving as Rainbow Refugee’s interim managing director as the nonprofit continues to accept applications for the position. Anyone interested in applying to become the permanent managing director can do so online.

Rainbow Refugee was founded in 2000 to assist those in B.C.'s Lower Mainland who are seeking protection from persecution because of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or HIV status.