In this episode of Across Archives, host Kristin from The Refugee Archive speaks with Kristen Smith Dayley, Executive Director of TSOS, and Brandi Kilmer, Community Programs Coordinator and co founder of the Refugee Physicians Advocacy Coalition.

Kristen and Brandi walk us through the real experiences of refugee and internationally trained doctors who arrive in the United States ready to care for patients but find themselves stuck in long and expensive pathways to re enter medicine. They share what they see on the ground every day and how TSOS uses careful storytelling to help communities and decision makers understand what these doctors are truly facing.

Kristen talks about how her background in law shapes the way she protects storytellers and how consent is never a one time thing. Brandi explains what she has learned from walking with doctors who are trying to get back into the workforce and why a coalition can move change faster than any single group working alone.

Key Topics

• How Kristen began working with refugees and why consent guides her leadership

• What Brandi sees when supporting refugee physicians through the licensing maze

• Why storytelling influences policy and community programs

• How real stories from doctors help shape practical solutions like supervised practice and provisional licensing

• What ethical storytelling looks like in a world where online safety and privacy matter

• How local partners in Washington DC support refugee and immigrant professionals

Resources and Links

TSOS website: https://tsosrefugees.org/Refugee Physicians Advocacy Coalition project pageGeorgetown University School of Medicine partnership

About Across Archives

Across Archives is produced by The Refugee Archive, a storytelling and research initiative highlighting how archives, oral histories, and community storytelling preserve the lived experiences of migrants, immigrants, internally displaced people (IDPs), and refugees worldwide.

Together with our companion series, The Archive Speaks, we explore how archives can amplify refugee voices, build solidarity, and reshape how the record of displacement is remembered.

🎧 Continue the journey on The Archive Speaks, featuring the real voices of displaced women and single mothers around the world.