Who We Are

Refugee Housing Minnesota (RHMN) was founded in 2025 in response to the federal funding disruptions in refugee resettlement.

The people involved in the project have spent years in the non-profit sector helping refugees with housing, employment and other elements necessary to feel at home in the US.

RHMN is entirely volunteer-run.

  • Evgenia Kaufman

    Evgenia Kaufman leads Refugee Housing MN. Prior to starting the project Evgenia spent almost 4 years coordinating housing work at the Minnesota Council of Churches Refugee Services. In that role she secured homes for hundreds of newcomer families in Minnesota and led multiple landlord outreach initiatives. Evgenia can be reached at ekaufman@refugeehousingmn.org

  • Ahmad Shah

    Ahmad Shah is an Afghan community leader in the Twin Cities and the founder of Afghan Community of Minnesota. Prior to joining Refugee Housing MN Shah worked as the Coordinator of Community Connections, overseeing the Afghan Supplemental Assistance (ASA) program at the Minnesota Council of Churches Refugee Services.

  • Noah Wilkerson

    Previously a member of the Outreach team at Minnesota Council of Churches Refugee Services and the Foodshare Coordinator for North Country Food Alliance, Noah has a passion for getting people the resources they need to thrive.

  • Dmytro Kysel

    Dmytro Kysel is a Ukrainian community leader and MNSure Navigator who previously worked in the Minnesota Council of Churches Refugee Services Ukrainian Navigation Services (UNS) before joining RHMN.

  • Veronica Greer

    Veronica Greer runs communications for Refugee Housing MN. She previously worked in Intensive Case Management and Immigration Legal Services at Minnesota Council of Churches Refugee Services, working to secure green cards and citizenship for refugees and other arrivals.

  • Spike Carlsen

    Spike Carlsen is on the Board of RHMN and on the Missions team at Trinity Lutheran Church of Stillwater. He’s worked as a teacher, carpenter and editor, and spent the last 15 years penning seven books. His passion for helping others arose while helping build a secondary school in Tanzania and co-leading a resettlement coalition with his wife Kat.

  • Kat Carlsen

    Kat Carlsen is on the fundraising team at RHMN. Her passion for refugee resettlement evolved while leading a coalition of churches, mosques and organizations in helping resettle refugee families from Afghanistan. She cofounded Primestaff, a technical recruiting company where she served as CEO for 20 years. She has a heart for connecting people and helping those in need.