Liza Philipo is an Oakridge Neighborhood team member whose journey from refugee to community advocate is truly inspiring.

Liza’s parents are originally from Eritrea. She was born in Sudan and then moved with her family to Ethiopia, before ultimately coming to the United States to escape the war in Eritrea. In Ethiopia, her family lived for a time in a refugee camp before settling in the capital city, Addis Ababa. In December 2009, they arrived in Houston, Texas, when she was 13 years old.

Liza credits her resilience and success first to God, and then to the unwavering support of her parents.

Education Key

“My parents didn’t have the opportunity to go far in school, but they always made sure education was important for us. My mom, for example, would look at our report cards and remind us that anything below average wasn’t good enough, while my dad encouraged us to keep striving. Even if they couldn’t always help directly with homework, they stayed involved, asked questions, and kept us motivated. I believe that’s what helped me keep moving forward,” Liza says.

In Houston, Liza completed high school and went on to graduate from the University of Houston with a bachelor’s degree in Humanities and Social Sciences.

Liza moved from Houston to Des Moines in September 2023. Just two months later, she began working at Oakridge Neighborhood.

Advocating for Others

In her role as a case worker, Liza works primarily with refugees, helping them navigate everything from job applications and resumes to securing food stamps, Medicaid, Social Security applications, immigration paperwork, and more. She’s deeply involved in maintaining records and reports on the refugee community served by Oakridge, and helping new arrivals integrate as smoothly as possible. Her work also includes coordinating with community resources like DMARC for food distribution. She’s uniquely suited to this role, given her own background.

“I love my job,” Liza says. “I love helping people. I know where I came from. I was a  refugee, so I know the struggle, especially if you don’t speak the language.”

One story, in particular, stands out for Liza – a client who arrived with nothing, struggling to care for a very sick child while living with relatives. Liza and a colleague worked tirelessly to help secure housing, benefits, and employment for the mother, who is now living independently in an Oakridge apartment, working, and receiving the support she and her child need.

She’s passionate about continuing to support refugees and hopes for more resources to educate and empower families – from job training workshops to parenting classes that could bridge cultural gaps and help families thrive.

Liza’s journey, courage and unwavering dedication to lifting others are proof of how powerful one person’s impact can be, and why her work at Oakridge Neighborhood matters so much to our community.

Families in need turn to Oakridge Neighborhood for support. From secure housing to youth programs nurturing potential, to workforce and family services building brighter futures, our reach has expanded because the need has grown. Your support ensures that hope, opportunity and belonging remain within reach for thousands of Central Iowans who count on us every day. Learn more.

My name is Dalia Elnour. I arrived in the United States in December 2024 with my husband and our six children. We had spent the previous three years in Eygpt after fleeing war in our native Sudan, where we’d been employees of the U.S. government abroad.

When we first arrived in Iowa, we stayed for a month at my brother’s wife’s home in Oakridge Neighborhood. In our search for work during that time, my husband and I visited the Oakridge offices. There we met a caseworker named Abubaker and the lead of the Family and Workforce Programs team, Almardi. They provided us significant assistance and enrolled us in the HOPE for Stable Familes program led by Ms. Veleta, which provided us so many services.

Through the Oakridge programs we learned to drive and obtained our driver’s licenses. They helped us pay our rent and electricity bills, and enroll our children in school and Oakridge summer youth programs. Oakridge helped both my husband and me find jobs, and assisted with car payments through the Wheels of HOPE program. That car gave us independence.

Oakridge Neighborhood became our first supporter in the United States. Because of Oakridge, my children sleep in a warm, safe home. My husband and I can focus on building a future. They didn’t just give us help, they gave us stability, dignity, and a peace of mind.

Oakridge protected my family’s future when we needed it. You changed our lives. From my heart, thank you.

Click here to watch a special message from Dalia.

Families like Dalia’s turn to Oakridge Neighborhood for support. From secure housing to youth programs nurturing potential, to workforce and family services building brighter futures, our reach has expanded because the need has grown. Your support ensures that hope, opportunity and belonging remain within reach for thousands of Central Iowans who count on us every day. Learn more.

My name is Lilianna Bernstein, Associate Director of Admissions at Drake University. My connection to Oakridge Neighborhood is as a passionate parent and advocate for its early childhood program – Oak Academy, a truly special school. I have two daughters – Flora and Twyla – who’ve attend Oak Academy. 

We discovered Oak Academy during the height of COVID. It was a difficult time to find childcare and harrowing as a parent with a newborn. But we were particularly drawn to Oak Academy for several reasons:

• First, it’s nationally accredited and one of the few childcare centers in the area designated a QRS Level 5 – the highest rating available in Iowa.
• But also, Oak Academy took COVID seriously, with all the important precautions in place.
• And, the diversity of the children attending Oak Academy was a huge selling point. I value raising my children to be colorblind to who their friends are…they are all just kids being kids. 

So, that’s what initially attracted me. Here is why we stay at Oak Academy and why I’ve now successfully recruited four to five other families to send their children there as well:

• Any parent can understand that when you drop your child off at daycare, you are dropping off your heart. But at Oak Academy, I never worry. The teachers are truly teachers who love our children and create a nurturing culture. They are dedicated, they go above and beyond every single day. If you are familiar with daycare quality, you know this is just not common.)
• And, both my children have flourished in Oak Academy’s care and within the rigorous curriculum. Every day the classrooms are building foundations and important skills at the earliest of ages.
• Perhaps most importantly, Oak Academy models social emotional learning, kindness, and empathy every day. I believe growing up with that daily emphasis in those formative years has had a positive influence on both our children. I saw Flora model these behaviors of patience, love, and care when she became the best big sister when Twyla was born. Oak Academy taught her that. 
• Lastly, Flora and Twyla have forged true friendships from all backgrounds at Oak Academy. They both have regular play dates outside of daycare and it is my hope they have the foundation of lifelong friendships.

Oak Academy is a hidden gem. I’m so passionate about Oak Academy that I tell every friend I have who is looking for childcare to consider it. It makes me truly proud to tell people that we are an Oak Academy family!

Families like Lilianna’s trust Oak Academy to nurture their babies and toddlers. Oak Academy is just one of a number of programs offered onsite at Oakridge Neighborhood. From secure housing to youth programs nurturing potential, to workforce and family services building brighter futures, our reach has expanded because the need has grown. Your support ensures that hope, opportunity and belonging remain within reach for thousands of Central Iowans who count on us every day. Learn how you can make a difference.