International Rescue Committee highlights economic programs for refugee and immigrant women in Phoenix

Aaron Rippen Kroeger, executive director of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Arizona, told the Phoenix Women’s Commission SheMatters Equity Forum that the IRC’s local programs are aimed at welcoming refugees and helping primarily female clients pursue economic independence.

“I work for the International Rescue Committee, the IRC here in Arizona, which has been providing services for refugees and people displaced by war and persecution for over 90 years… and over for over 30 years here in Phoenix,” Aaron Rippen Kroeger said. He told attendees the majority of IRC clients in the region are women and girls and described programs the agency runs to support small‑business development, homeownership and job placement.

Rippen Kroeger highlighted the IRC’s economic empowerment programs, which he said focus on asset development, entrepreneurship, financial education and employment services. He said one inspiring small‑business owner, Merci Watunda of Laguzairua Catering, would speak later in the program to share her experience. Rippen Kroeger also quoted a speaker he cited by name, saying, “when a woman has economic power, she lifts up not just herself, but she lifts up her whole community.”

The IRC speaker framed those services as a double benefit: they assist recently resettled women in stabilizing their families while generating wider community economic effects, the agency said at the forum. Rippen Kroeger closed by thanking the Phoenix Women’s Commission, the YWCA and other local partners for supporting the event and the IRC’s work in Phoenix.