G.E.R.A. WELCOMES KAT ESQUICHE AS THE NEW DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION

February 22, 2019

Global Emergency Response and Assistance (GERA) is a 501(c)3 grassroots non-profit dedicated to protecting human rights and restoring the dignity, well-being, and safety of those affected by conflicts and disasters, is excited to welcome Ms. Kat Esquiche as the new Director of Education. GERA was founded by Sikandar Khan, after the death of former U.S Ranger who was captured and killed by ISIS in 2014.

Global Emergency Response and Assistance operates in the United States and abroad and here at home.

GERA Current Domestic Projects:

#1 NJ ReBuild- is GERA’s flagship program that provides direct assistance, offers regular ESL and educational programs, fosters community ties, and advocates for refugee families with media and political leaders.

#2 Grad Plus- Grad + is a Safety net program that help high school students to be on a career pathway.  In partnership with the Paterson school district, Embrace Relief and Passaic County One-Stop is to prepare students for vocational training, college, and enter into workforce. Last month GERA and its partner organizations recruited 230 high school students from East Side High school in Paterson NJ to go into trade schools.

Kat Esquiche will lead the ESL component of NJ ReBuild and guide Grade Plus team.  Kat is passionate about empowering refugee families on becoming proficient in English as part of their economic and social resettlement in the United States. Kat earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology & Sociology from William Paterson University, A Master’s Degree in Urban Education with a concentration in English as A Second Language from New Jersey City University, and completed the East Asian Studies Consortium at Princeton University.  In 2002, she became the first Peruvian American elected to office in the state of New Jersey when she won a seat in the Prospect Park Board of Education, where she served as commissioner in the Buildings & Grounds, School Finance and Education Committees.

On April 2014, Kat was directly appointed by Governor Chris Christie to serve on the New Jersey Human Relations Council Executive Board and re-appointed in October 2017.   In June 2018, she served in Paterson Mayor Andre Sayeghs transition team as co-chair of the Arts, Culture and Tourism Committee.

She is certified in the state of New Jersey as an elementary School teacher, Bilingual teacher, ESL teacher and School Supervisor. She currently works as Supervisor of Bilingual/ ESL and World Languages for the Paterson School district and as an adjunct professor of ESL.