David Htoo graduated from Houghton College with a bachelor's degree in Political Science and International Development. David has been working with non-profit organizations as volunteer, interpreter, and refugee’s right advocate for many years. David has been working at the International Institute of Buffalo as a Certified Interpreter. David joined Karen society of Buffalo in 2011 as a volunteer in documenting KSB events. He then elected as KSB Board Vice-Chairperson in 2021, where he helps the Board Chairperson and Program Executive Director with various things such as making event flyers, tutoring for KSB afterschool program, taking clients to DMV, interpreting for community members, and other tasks as needed.

Dr. Kim Griswold is a University at Buffalo Professor Emeritus of Family Medicine, Psychiatry and Public Health. She provided primary care on the West Side of Buffalo for over 25 years and was the Medical Director of an integrated mental health/primary care clinic at BestSelf Behavioral Health. Her career has been focused on diverse populations in Buffalo and helping to educate medical students about the importance of cultural humility. She worked with Karen and Burmese community leaders on a project to teach health science students how to use interpreters appropriately in a medical encounter. Currently, she is the faculty liaison to the Human Rights Initiative (HRI) at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. The HRI is a Physicians for Human Rights affiliated asylum clinic, which works closely with the local Survivors of Torture Program at Jewish Family Services of WNY.

Wooksoo Kim is an Associate Professor and Director of Immigrant and Refugee Research Institute at the School of Social Work, University at Buffalo. Her research focuses on the relations between the well-being and acculturation of Asian immigrant populations in the United States. Recently, she worked with Karen community members on a project on health literacy in the hope to develop an intervention approach that can help Karen people navigate the health care system and thus improve their health and maintain health conditions. She is a founding member of the Buffalo Region Immigrant and Refugee Roundtable and invited to serve the Erie County New Americans Advisory Committee.

Virginia Barron is a professional classical-music performer, educator and administrator. She was inspired to join the board of the Karen Society of Buffalo after co-founding Buffalo String Works—whose mission is to ignite personal and community leadership through accessible youth-centered music education on Buffalo’s West Side. As many of the Buffalo String Works students are refugees from Burma, working with BSW brought her into close contact with Karen children and parents. Serving on the board of the Karen Society of Buffalo provided an ideal opportunity to further serve the community.