Yeni Telles has worked with children and families for more than fifteen years, including Latino and refugee families nationally and internationally who have experienced trauma. Yeni is a social justice advocate promoting community engagement and empowerment to promote change on a local, state, and at the federal level.  Yeni is the Executive Director of International Rescue Committee (IRC) where she oversees multiple programs including resettlement and placement, safety and wellness, education, and economic empowerment, Yeni is also an Adjunct Professor at Wichita State University in the Social Work Department. 

 

Yeni was appointed by Governor Laura Kelly to serve the Kansas Hispanic and Latino American Affairs Commission and to the Kansas Advisory Group on Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention. She also serves on the Advisory Committee for National Initiative for Trauma Education and Workforce Development-University of North Caroline and the Community Task Force formed after the murder of CJ Lofton. 

 

Yeni was born in Mexico and migrated to the United States at age 10 and has lived in Wichita for more than 20 years. She is the younger of 12 siblings and the first one to attend college in the United States. Yeni graduated from Wichita State University with a master’s degree in social work in 2015.