Semhar Araia is an Eritrean American social activist, professor and international lawyer. She is the founder and Executive Director of the Diaspora African Women's Network (DAWN) non-governmental organization. Semhar was recently appointed as UNICEF USA Managing Director of Diaspora and Multicultural Partnership.

The University of St. Thomas is a private Catholic research university with campuses in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1885 as a Catholic seminary, it is named after Thomas Aquinas, the medieval Catholic theologian and philosopher who is the patron saint of students. As of fall 2021, St. Thomas enrolled 9,347 students, making it Minnesota's largest private, nonprofit university.