Massarra Eiwaz-Ransom, MPH ’18, MA ’19, left Iraq 10 days before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. At 10 years old, Massarra made her way to Syria with her family and watched her city and country being bombed on television.

“I remember we were just sitting in Syria waiting for it to end,” Massarra says. “While in Syria, my parents made sure we focused on our education and attending school, not wanting us to get behind.”

Massarra and her family returned to Iraq as they thought the war had ended. After experiencing bombings and persecution as a family of Christian faith, they returned to Syria again, but this time, they lived for six years with the hope that they would return home one day. With everything that was happening in Iraq, it became clear that they didn’t have a way back.

Syria was a welcoming country to them, but it was never a place where they could live, go to school, and work for the rest of their lives, given the rules that prevented Iraqis from working there.

A new life in Portland

In 2008, Massarra and her family applied to the United Nations for resettlement and were placed in Portland, Oregon, with the assistance of Lutheran Community Services Northwest.

“When arriving in Portland, it was impossible for us to process the emotions of losing our home, our second home, memories and extended family,” Massarra says. “We went from surviving to living and making new friends and memories. A part of me was stuck in the past and also in the future.”

Massarra enrolled in Clackamas High School as a junior while also learning English. She was in an after-school enrichment program, where students from Lewis and Clark College showcased various careers in science. She was immediately drawn to psychology, particularly behavioral neuroscience. A refugee herself, she was driven to advocate for and support Portland’s immigrant and refugee community by pursuing research in behavioral health.

A passion for behavioral health

Inspired by the after-school program, Massarra enrolled at Lewis and Clark College. She served as a research assistant at Lewis and Clark and OHSU throughout her four years. Her experiences in the labs and her internship with Iraqi women at Lutheran Community Services Northwest shaped her senior thesis.

“Throughout my time working in behavioral health labs,” Massarra says, “I discovered a lack of research literature on refugee and immigrant needs.”

Massarra conducted research with Iraqi women refugees in Portland, identifying their needs and concerns. Her findings led to a full-time position as a clinical cross-cultural mental health case manager at Lutheran Community Services Northwest, where she worked with immigrant and refugee clients and helped develop treatment plans.

Pursuing education and advocacy

Massarra wanted to continue her passion for researching immigrant and refugee health care, helping to shape policies around supporting refugees in the Portland area. A colleague suggested she pursue an anthropology degree, so she contacted Kenneth Maes, an associate professor of anthropology at Oregon State University, who encouraged her to apply.

Massarra pursued a double degree in applied anthropology from the School of Language, Culture, and Society and an MPH in global health from the College of Health, combining ethnographic knowledge and public health training to deliver community-led services for refugees effectively.

“I was in safe hands while a student of two colleges,” Massarra says. “I had so much support from my anthropology advisor Kenneth Maes and my public health advisor Chi Chunhuei. It was such a complementary experience, and my two advisors truly believed in my work and experience.”

Researching refugee needs

Working with Lutheran Community Services Northwest again, Massarra’s graduate thesis aimed to fill a critical need for ethnographic studies investigating how anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and anti-Arab rhetoric and policies, combined with chronic gaps in services, influence the everyday lives of Iraqi women refugees in the U.S.

Massarra documented the concerns and desires of Iraqi women to better understand their expressions of frustration and uncertainty and the effects of these feelings on their mental health and resettlement processes. Based on the qualitative study, she recommended more culturally appropriate therapy practices and greater involvement of community health workers and peer support specialists.

A career in policy analysis and advocacy

Massarra now works for the Oregon Home Care Commission as a policy analyst, specifically as a traditional health worker program coordinator. She organizes community health worker and personal health navigator training for in-home caregivers throughout the state. She ensures training is accessible to all caregivers, including offering programming in any language.

Outside of work, Massarra is a commissioner with the New Portlander City Commission in Portland, advocating for her community’s needs and ensuring the city provides appropriate services and policies.

Massarra says she feels lucky that she has always been surrounded by her family, her husband and friends who believe in her and cheer her on. Her parents are her superheroes, her siblings are her rocks and her husband is her home.