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Meet our Leadership Team
Beth Strano
Co-Founder & Executive Director
Beth Strano is deeply committed to advocating for the rights and welfare of migrants and asylum seekers. Beth's expertise in human rights advocacy is backed by over two decades of community organizing, and a decade spent working directly with asylum seekers. Before her current role, Beth worked for four years at the International Rescue Committee, where she developed the Asylum Seekers & Families Program and founded the first asylum seeker emergency shelter in Phoenix, Arizona, known as the Welcome Center. Her initiatives have since provided critical support and a safe haven for more than 100,000 individuals and families navigating the challenges of forced displacement and migration.
Beth's impact on the sector was highlighted in April 2021, when she testified before the U.S. Senate U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs’ Subcommittee on Government Operations and Border Management. Her testimony underscored the vital importance of informed, compassionate policies that uphold the dignity and rights of migrants arriving at the southwest border.
Residing in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and their four teenagers, Beth’s vision is to continue fostering partnerships across state and national borders, and work alongside other advocates to make a lasting impact on the lives of asylum seekers.
Tyler Southwell, MD
Co-Founder & Board Member
Dr. Tyler Southwell is a personal physician and family medicine specialist based in Paradise Valley, Arizona, with over 22 years of experience in the medical field.
Dr. Southwell practices at Southwellness Medical, a facility renowned for offering a broad range of medical services including pain management and aesthetic medicine. His approach combines medical expertise with a strong focus on community health needs, ensuring that his patients receive the most effective and compassionate care possible.
Dr. Tyler Southwell played a foundational role in establishing ProtectAZ Health, a medical organization dedicated to providing free medical evaluations, medications, and, during the pandemic, COVID-19 testing, vaccinations, and treatments. This organization established a full service medical clinic offering a vital first point of care for medically vulnerable asylum seekers in Arizona. This clinic is instrumental in providing urgent medical services to a diverse group of patients from around the world, including those with critical conditions such as HIV/AIDS and diabetes, and pregnant women in need of immediate care.
Chelsea Sachau
Board President
Chelsea has been the Managing Attorney of the Border Action Team at the Florence Project since October 2021. The Border Action Team is a unique partnership between the Florence Project and the Kino Border Initiative in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. As the Managing Attorney, Chelsea has focused on guiding a team of attorneys and legal assistants providing critical legal orientation and education, direct representation, and strategic advocacy to asylum-seekers displaced at the Arizona/Sonora border.
Chelsea graduated from UC Law San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings), where she was the first recipient of the Leo Martinez Award for Distinguished Community Service for her work in establishing an annual detention center advocacy trip.
Chelsea draws inspiration from the countless immigration advocates and human rights activists that have come before her. Chelsea was first inspired to be an immigration attorney based on the experiences of her grandmother (a Holocaust survivor) and her mother-in-law (a Maya former asylee) as she sought to provide similar opportunities for others fleeing persecution. Most of all, Chelsea is inspired every day by her clients and their resiliency in the face of what feels like insurmountable obstacles to seeking protection.
Chris Rickerd, Esq.
Board Member
Chris is a border and immigration-policy consultant based in Brownsville, Texas. He was senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Political Advocacy Department, responsible for administrative and legislative advocacy on border and immigration issues from 2012 to 2019.
Prior to joining the ACLU, he spent seven years at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco as a law clerk and staff attorney and then worked for the Miami law firm of Kurzban Kurzban Tetzeli and Pratt.
Emily Snyder, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC
Board Member
Emily Snyder is a highly dedicated healthcare professional with a commitment to improving healthcare access for underserved communities. She has played a pivotal role as the Medical Director of ProtectAZ Health, overseeing the medical clinic serving newly arrived asylum seekers within the Phoenix Welcome Center. In February 2024, Emily contributed to an ACLU report detailing how inhumane and ineffective policies are allowing widespread confiscation and trashing of migrants’ personal belongings and medications by the U.S. Border Patrol.
Outside of the clinic, Emily enjoys spending time with her husband, Matthew, and their four children. Emily enjoys the art of cooking and continuously seeks to expand her culinary horizons by learning new recipes from various cultures.
Lauren Preble, RN
Board Member
Lauren is a Registered Nurse in Phoenix, AZ who has been involved with community outreach and nonprofit initiatives since 2013. She joined Dr. Southwell’s team to help build ProtectAZ Health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lauren began supporting migrant health through establishing the medical clinic in the Welcome Center.
Lauren looks forward to using her experience to help build quality health clinics and services in shelters along the southern border with Borderlands Resource Initiative. Outside of work, Lauren enjoys creative endeavors such as guitar and piano. She also loves bike rides, sunny days at the park, trying new foods, and dancing!
Eddie Chavez Calderon
Board Member
Eddie Chavez Calderon has wholeheartedly dedicated himself to social justice work since his teenage years. His personal journey has involved overcoming obstacles, fighting for the rights of migrants, and shaped his unwavering dedication to justice. As a DACA recipient, he intimately understands the challenges faced by immigrants. Eddie’s journey led him to develop a profound connection with Judaism, and his Jewish identity provides unique perspective on the struggles and systemic oppression faced by marginalized communities. Through advocacy and faith, he actively works to build bridges, challenge societal norms, and create a world that upholds the inherent dignity and rights of every individual, regardless of their background or circumstances.
Sergio Serrano
Board Member
Sergio Serrano is originally from Zacatecas, Mexico, and moved to Phoenix, Arizona at a young age. In college, he studied music and criminal justice, and then worked in the hospitality industry where he fostered a genuine passion for serving others. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led him to Southwellness, where he has dedicated himself to community health initiatives. In June 2021, Sergio accepted the role of Operations Manager for ProtectAZ Health, overseeing the medical clinic at the Welcome Center. He feels very privileged and grateful to serve on the board of BRI, helping contribute to improving the reception for asylum seekers in the United States.