Project Hive | About Us

The Hive is a special projects unit of USA for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. We are a team of digital and data strategists who work hand-in-hand with partners around the globe to find creative ways of addressing the global refugee crisis.

The Hive was recently featured as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2017 in not-for-profit.

The Team

Ezra Billinkoff

Interim Director

Ezra has been the lead strategist on more than a dozen high-profile digital campaigns. He most recently led the Digital Campaigns team at Everytown for Gun Safety.

Rita Ko

Director of Data Strategy & Analytics

Rita heads the formulation and execution of the data strategy at USA for UNHCR. She designs the measurement and analytic road maps to achieve organizational objectives.

Franck Mujyanama

Data Scientist & Analyst

Franck is helping USA for UNHCR in the application of advanced analytics, data mining, and data modeling to uncover patterns and make future predictions.

Erin Dunne

Engagement Manager

Erin is a seasoned marketing and digital strategist. She is helping USA for UNHCR expand U.S. engagement around the refugee crisis through strategic partnerships, innovative technology and experiential marketing.

Marena Lai

Graphic Designer

Marena is responsible for bringing the Hive’s campaigns to visual fruition. With a human-centered approach to design, she has produced the Hive’s Gamestorm, Big Book of Ideas and USA for UNHCR’s comprehensive Community Engagement toolkit.

The Task Force

Anne-Marie Grey is the CEO and Executive Director of USA for UNHCR. Anne-Marie brings more than 30 years of fundraising and marketing experience – both in the United States and internationally – to USA for UNHCR. Prior to joining USA for UNHCR, Anne-Marie worked with UNHCR, Save the Children, UNICEF and Share our Strength in a variety of leadership fundraising and marketing positions.

Jennifer Patterson is the Communications Director for USA for UNHCR. In 2016, she led the White House’s Partnership for Refugees – which secured private sector commitments to the refugee issue from over 50 leading organizations including Airbnb, UPS, Accenture and IKEA. She also has extensive experience directing global communications campaigns and developing public private partnerships from her twelve years at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide and previous work at Share Our Strength and Reading Is Fundamental.

Ari Wallach is the CEO of Synthesis Corp. an innovation and strategic design firm based in New York City. Synthesis Corp. developed and launched UNHCR Innovation as well as the Hive. Ari is also adjunct Professor at Columbia University, lecturing on the future of technology and public policy.