Empowering displaced people in the Middle East

Jessica Binzoni ’15 J.D.

Founder and Executive Director, HOPE + FUTURE International

NOTRE DAME LAW SCHOOL

In 2017, Jessica Binzoni ’15 J.D. founded HOPE + FUTURE International, a non-profit organization based in Northern Iraq that aims to equip displaced people with the necessary tools to thrive, not just survive.

The traditional response to existing and emerging displaced populations involves overcrowded displacement camps and the ongoing provision of emergency assistance, which prevents displaced people from rebuilding their lives. In response, HOPE + FUTURE International seeks to recognize and uphold the dignity of displaced people by empowering them to achieve long-term self-sustainability. They work together with program participants to identify their greatest obstacles to self-sufficiency and provide educational and economic development projects designed to address them holistically. 

Upon graduating from Notre Dame Law School, Binzoni received the Thomas L. Shaffer Fellowship and worked as an attorney for the National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago where she represented asylum seekers in asylum interviews and before the immigration court.