I Am Human Rights Lawyer Becca Heller and This Is How I Work

As Co-Founder and Executive Director of the International Refugee Assistance Project , Becca Heller provides legal assistance to refugees trying to emigrate to the United States. Her organization has fought directly against the Trump administration’s travel ban by filing a federal lawsuit that has saved thousands of people from discriminatory travel restrictions . We spoke with Heller about her journey to founding IRAP, how she manages her day in and day out, and her problem with adhering to long-running processes.

Location: New York, NY. Current job: Co-founder and Executive Director of the International Refugee Assistance Project. Current computer: MacBook Air. Current mobile device: iPhone. One word that best describes your job: multitasking.

First of all, tell us a little about your past and how you got where you are now.

In the summer of 2008, between my first and second year at Yale Law School, I was fortunate enough to travel to Jordan and meet six Iraqi refugee families. I felt that as a US citizen, I had a certain responsibility for the humanitarian consequences of the war in Iraq. I wanted to see the refugee crisis in person.

To my surprise, one of the biggest problems most families face was legal : they could not return to Iraq because something terrible could happen to them, they could not stay in Jordan because it was unsuitable for refugees’ lives, and their only hope was to relocate to a safe third country (for example, the United States, Canada or Australia). But to do so, they had to go through an incredibly complex, difficult and ultimately arbitrary bureaucratic legal process.

I thought to myself that if I went through a trial and my life depended on its outcome, I would most like a good lawyer. So I went back to school and, along with a group of other students, started IRAP to provide legal aid to refugees around the world, trying to find safe and legal ways to keep their families safe. Today we have affected over 200,000 displaced persons.

Take a recent workday, for example.

I spent a lot of time today preparing for our first ever major fundraising event on May 7th at Jazz at Lincoln Center hosted by John Oliver. I worked on the script and launch of the show.

I also spent time planning a possible pilot project with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to help street children in North Africa reunite with their parents in Europe. We hope to launch a pilot version in a couple of months.

I have prepared my notes for our board because our meeting coincides with the day of the event, so there is a lot to prepare for this meeting. I went through a bunch of budget documents and asked my assistant a lot of stupid questions about technology.

What apps, gadgets or tools can’t you live without?

It’s simple, but with Spotify and headphones. I love listening to music all the time, especially in New York, where you walk everywhere.

How is your workplace arranged?

I have a desk, but I use it for my legs while I type on my laptop on my lap. We’re going to put on a sofa. I just ordered a mobile ceiling globe which made me very excited. There is a large window overlooking the public garden, which I gaze at with longing, although I wish I was less distanced from the products of my labor.

What’s your favorite shortcut or hack?

Black pajamas as a business suit. This may not actually be a hack. Maybe people are just being polite to me when I look sloppy.

Tell us about an interesting, unusual, or challenging process you have at work.

I am not good at processes. I have managed to hire people who are really good at them and they keep me subservient. I am the kind of person who always likes, why should we follow this process? Can’t we just do it? And as we got bigger over the years, I realized the value of processes. But I still don’t follow them very well.

Who are the people who help you achieve results, and how do you rely on them?

IRAP is a team sport. We have amazing staff. I expect almost everyone to do much more and surpass everything that is usually expected of them. We all rely on each other for moral support because it is really hard work in very difficult times. We work a lot in teams to make sure we get the most varied opinions and suggestions, and I think this makes the product better (assuming you can manage meetings individually and don’t waste people’s time).

How do you keep track of what you need to do?

The combination of Sticky Notes, Google Calendar, never had more than 29 emails in my inbox and a lot of obsessive-compulsive / neurotic behavior. I also have a really very good team that sends me reminders and makes sure I never have to be reminded to do something twice.

How to recharge or relax?

I’m really bad at this. This is problem. This is usually pretty binary: I work and then I go home and play with my child and my husband, and then every now and then I take a week or two and leave the country for some place that is really great and interesting to me. , and get lost in all the novelty. This is probably volatile, but it retains interest. The last place I visited was Sri Lanka, it was beautiful and mesmerizing. What is happening there now is terrible.

What’s your favorite side project?

Encourage my three and a half year old daughter to be the most persistent, cool, curious and kind.

What are you reading now or what do you recommend?

Exit to the west of Mohsin Hamid. It’s a gripping sheet of pages, beautiful text, and one of the best images of a refugee resettlement experience I’ve ever come across.

Can you share the music playlist you’ve created for work or somewhere else?

Becky Heller Playlist 2019 [Featuring Prince, Kendrick Lamar & The Beach House.]

Who else would you like to see to answer these questions?

Stacy Abrams.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

Know when to be patient and when to be impatient.

What problem are you still trying to solve?

Our administration and governments of the alternative right around the world constantly blame refugees and migrants for economic problems that have nothing to do with migration. Until we can change the overall narrative, this policy of hate and xenophobia will continue. I desperately hope that putting kids in cages is the end, not the beginning.