Spotlight August 2025

IIB would not be able to make WNY a better place for, and because of, immigrants and refugees were it not for our team, the community, and those we serve.

Yin Senai Son
Employment Services Intern

Yin joined IIB in January as part of her Master of Social Work (MSW) program at UB and will be graduating this month. We are grateful for her contributions and wish her all the best as she embarks on this next chapter.

She chose to intern at IIB because she wanted to gain experience working with the refugee population. As a refugee from Myanmar, she says she feels especially connected to this work and hopes to build a future career supporting refugees. 

“At IIB, I feel welcomed and supported in a positive environment. I’ve learned a lot about the needs of refugees and the kinds of support they require,” Yin says. “I’m grateful for the help I’ve received and truly appreciate everyone who has supported me along the way.”

Outside of her professional interests, Yin enjoys watching K-dramas, journaling, and scrapbooking.

Learn about being an IIB intern.

Alisha Prabhakar
Interpreting & Translation Intern  

We thank Alisha Prabhakar for all her dedication as an intern with our Interpreting & Translation team.

Alisha received her Master of Science in Finance degree from the University at Buffalo in February. After her first stint interning in our finance department, Alisha felt that all too familiar tug and returned. Her analytical skills and acute attention to detail proved critical as she single handedly surveyed years of data, translating statistics into language even the most right brained team members could easily digest! We wish her the best of luck at her new career in financial analytics in Philadelphia!

Click here to learn more about how we can help augment your organization's workforce with highly motivated employees.  

James Lyons
Spanish and Portuguese Translator/ Interpreter

James was born and raised in Buffalo and his love of Spanish started in high school. He even majored in Spanish in college with the goal to become fluent.

After helping underserved people in Tijuana, Mexico for two summers he looked for any opportunity to live, study, and work in the Spanish speaking world, particularly Latin America. He studied in Spain and has worked in Panama and Argentina. He also has a master's degree in Spanish and was a Spanish teacher for over 30 years, mainly at Lancaster High School.

He experienced the magic of learning a language for a second time when he learned Portuguese, motivated when one of his daughters studied in Rio for a year. He’s been studying the language since 2020 and has done a lot of traveling throughout Brazil, which he says helped immensely with language acquisition.

His language skills improved very quickly while interpreting and translating, which he started to help refugees from Central America during their meetings with lawyers.

He’s an avid reader in both languages. Besides his interest in languages, he is an active fisherman, hiker, and outdoorsman. He also enjoys running, biking, and swimming.

Click here to learn more about our expert language services.   

Jon Rivera
NYS Assemblymember

A special thanks to NYS Assemblymember Jon Rivera, who came to IIB to update community leaders on important issues regarding New Americans and other foreign-born individuals. We appreciate the work he does on behalf of the community of immigrants and refugees.  

Click here to learn more about how we help foreign-born people quickly and successfully become part of the community.

Volunteers from
UB's School of Management

We were happy to welcome staff from UB’s School of Management, who learned more about IIB and our work. As part of their visit, they also volunteered to help staff continue to organize our donation space and painted welcome signs, which we will hang in newly arriving clients’ homes. We appreciate their gift of time!

Click here to learn more about how you or your organization can volunteer and give back to the community.  

Thanks to Community Organizations

Thank you to the Centro Culturale Italiano di Buffalo! They hosted a Saint Joseph Table event and donated over $2,800 to support IIB.

It wasn’t too long ago that Italians were the “new immigrants” to Western New York. It’s wonderful to see how the old guard is now supporting the new guard. Mille Grazie!

Learn how your community organization can help our mission!

Thanks to Community Organizations

Thanks to Wheels for Workers 716, who donated bikes, helmets, and locks so our clients can more easily get to where they need to go! Over the last two years, Wheels for Workers has donated a total of 79 bikes to IIB clients. 

Click here to learn more about this story. 

"The International Institute of Buffalo makes Western New York a better place for, and because of, immigrants and refugees."