Meet Hsa, Our Office Manager and Bookkeeper!

Welcome to our Meet Your Staff Monday Series, where we’ll be highlighting the different members of our team and letting you get an inside look at some of the wonderful people who help further the mission of the Institute!

Today we’re speaking to Hsa, Our Office Manager and Bookkeeper!

Please state your name and the position you hold at the Institute.

My name is Hsa. I’m the Office Manager and Bookkeeper.

What is your favorite activity to do outside of work?

It really depends. I’m a homebody so most of the time you’ll find me at home doing something or nothing at all. When I’m not at home I usually like to go for activities such as tennis, hiking, or out eating with friends, which I haven’t done much this year.

What is your favorite local immigrant/ refugee/ survivor run restaurant or business?

These days I haven’t really been out and about to see what’s out here in Buffalo so I’m not sure. In the past I used to order out or go to Teton Kitchen or Lin Restaurant often.

How long have you been working at IIB?

I started back in March so it’ll be 5 months in August.

Can you tell us a bit about your position and/ or department? (What are some of your tasks and programs?, What are some services it offers, What is the role of it in the community, ect.)

My duties are both on the admin side and finance side. On the admin side I help with the onboarding process, ordering office supply, small tasks here and there depending on what people need help with. Our department takes care of the finance side of things to help support other departments and IIB as a whole.

What is one way you/ your department has worked through the pandemic to continue your services?

Going remote was hard for everyone no doubt. I wasn’t here in the beginning so I don’t really know how they worked through the pandemic to stay on top of things. But I know that being in the office is a lot better for our department.

What is one thing you’d like our community to know about refugee/survivor populations?

For anybody, being in a new environment and culture that you don’t understand or speak the language of is difficult. So I hope that as a community, we welcome our new neighbors and get to know them a bit more. There’s a lot to learn from one another.

What is one thing (if anything) the community can do to help further your work or our mission?

I know that we’ve been receiving a lot of donations so I hope that our Buffalo community keeps going. It’s a great way to show support and care toward our refugees/survivor population.