Mrs. Sheehan brings more than 30 years’ experience in the field of migration, including eight years with IOM in the Caucasus. From 1998-2002 she was the Chief of Mission in Yerevan, and from 1998-2002 she was the Regional Coordinator for the Caucasus based in Tbilisi. After a three year break from the region during which she opened the IOM office in Sri Lanka to provide emergency response and livelihood replacement for tsunami victims, Mrs. Sheehan returned to Tbilisi as Chief of Mission for the Georgia Office. She has also served as Deputy Director of Volunteer Programs to the Governor of California on issues related to the influx of Southeast Asians after the Vietnam war; Director of the International Catholic Migration Commission training program in Sudan for Ethiopian and Eritrean refugees involved in a U.S. resettlement program; and nine years in a law office dealing with immigration. She began her career with the United Farm Workers Union in California and Arizona, advocating for the rights to unionize and strike, on political campaigns and with voter registration.
International Organization for Migration (retired)