FRANCISCA VIGAUD-WALSH
Executive Director
Francisca joined the Refugee Self-Reliance Initiative in 2026. As Executive Director, Francisca oversees the RSRI's work, leading strategic planning, fundraising, partnership development, and daily operations for the initiative’s growing global network.
Francisca has more than two decades of experience advancing protection for refugees and other displaced people across humanitarian operations and policy. Prior to joining the RSRI, Francisca led strategy and advocacy at the Center for Engagement and Advocacy in the Americas (CEDA). She coordinated coalitions to strengthen protection and inclusion for refugees and migrants, convening partners to align priorities and advance structured civil society inclusion in migration governance processes. She also led engagement with the U.S. Congress on displacement and protection in the Americas.
As an emergency responder, Francisca has led protection programs during conflict and natural disasters in more than 30 countries worldwide. Her field research and publications on humanitarian response have influenced protection policy and practice and informed refugee status determinations. As a policy advisor and strategist, she has coordinated interagency efforts that helped shape U.S., UN, and EU approaches to protection globally.
Francisca has held roles with Catholic Relief Services, International Rescue Committee, UNHCR, and the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, and Refugees International, where she led its Women and Girls Program. She has consulted for multilateral institutions and donors, including the World Bank and UNICEF, on protection and gender-based violence standards, risk mitigation, and accountability. She also served as an expert on the Organization of American States working group on Venezuelan refugees and migrants.
Francisca holds an M.A. from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), is certified by the Institute for International Criminal Investigations in atrocity crimes investigations, and serves on Amnesty International USA’s Board of Directors.
