Heartland Alliance International (HAI) is a human rights and social welfare group that operates in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. ^{1 2}  It is a former subsidiary of the Heartland Alliance, the Chicago-based social welfare organization founded in 1888 by Jane Addams. ³ HAI focuses on providing trauma therapy and mental health services to former victims of torture from various global crises, including war, famine, and violence. It also seeks to support migrants and refugees. ⁴

Although it received its nonprofit status from the IRS in 2015, HAI became a fully independent organization in 2024 when the Heartland Alliance, its former umbrella organization, dissolved due to financial concerns. ^{5 3}

Background

Heartland Alliance International (HAI) was originally the international arm of the Chicago-based Heartland Alliance, a social welfare organization originally formed in 1888. The Heartland Alliance was a chapter of Travelers Aid and was one of the oldest social welfare institutions in the country until it dissolved in 2024 due to financial problems. Although some employees in the Heartland Alliance were laid off because of its dissolution, most were working for Heartland Alliance Health and Heartland Housing, not Heartland Alliance International. ³

Although the Heartland Alliance’s dissolution raised questions about the future of its affiliated groups, Heartland Alliance International has continued its work. It is now an independent nonprofit organization that was re-founded in 2012 and received its nonprofit tax-exempt status in 2015, according to ProPublica. ^{1 6}  The group has continued its original work of seeking to help vulnerable people and communities in the U.S. through the Marjorie Kovler Center in Chicago, and internationally in Latin America, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. ²

Activities

Heartland Alliance International (HAI) maintains several initiatives across the world. It operates the Marjorie Kovler Center in Chicago, Illinois which seeks to provide torture survivors with mental health, medical, legal, and social services. ⁷

HAI also has programming in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Iraq, Syria, and Ukraine. In each area, it advocates for vulnerable communities impacted by war and human rights abuses by providing trauma recovery services, legal help, and immigration or asylum services. ² Particularly in the DRC, HAI seeks to end sex trafficking, forced labor, child labor, and forced marriage through its social welfare and advocacy programs. ⁸

In 2017, HAI employee Sherizaan Minwalla participated in a forum on a referendum on independence and democracy-building in Iraqi Kurdistan. Minwalla had spent nearly a decade in Iraq on behalf of HAI and other humanitarian groups. ⁹

In 2019, HAI employees recorded a short documentary detailing their conversations with legal scholars, prosecutors, and experts in sexual violence during which they argued that rape and sexual violence during a conflict constituted war crimes. Advocacy against sexual violence, particularly against women, is a priority for HAI. ¹⁰

In 2020, HAI psychologists and mental health experts published an article in PubMed analyzing the impacts of Chicago’s stay-at-home order during the COVID-19 pandemic on the group’s Child Trauma Program at the Kovler Center. The article explained HAI’s pivot to teletherapy and virtual medical and mental health services and acknowledged the difficulties in providing accessible care to children during the lockdowns. ¹¹

In 2020 and 2021, HAI partnered with several Chicago-based organizations to form the Get My Payment Illinois coalition, a group helping residents access COVID-19 government stimulus checks. One prominent funder to the coalition was the Steans Family Foundation, the philanthropic organization of Harrison Steans. ¹²

On October 11, 2024, HAI announced a partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) called Light Up Colombia. The initiative seeks to provide solar lanterns to girls and women in humanitarian emergency zones for activities such as work, cooking, studying, and to prevent violence against women. ¹³

On June 26, 2025, the United Nations partnered with Heartland Alliance International to mark the United Nations International Day in Support of Survivors of Torture at the Kovler Center in Chicago. The event included mental health speakers, a candlelight vigil, and an awards recognition for leaders in the field. ¹⁴

Leadership

As of 2025, Mary Kay Hazel was the co-executive director at Heartland Alliance International (HAI) where she oversaw the organization’s United States programs. Previously, she worked as a senior project manager for Invirospace, a researcher in equity and membership at the University of Michigan Medical School, and as a policy fellow for migrants and refugees for the Municipality of Haifa in Haifa, Israel. Hazel also previously worked as a Strategic Designer in the Policy Innovation Lab (Collaboratory) at the U.S. Department of State. ¹⁵ She received her B.A. in French and Music at Emory University and her Master of Social Work in Social Policy and Evaluation from the University of Michigan. ¹⁶

As of 2025, Carolina Ramazzina Van Moorsel was co-executive director at Heartland Alliance International and oversaw the group’s Global Strategy and Compliance work. She was also chief of programs at HAI. She began at HAI as the acting program director for the Regional Anti-Trafficking Program before she became a senior program officer and eventually associate director of HAI’s Washington, D.C. office. Previously, Van Moorsel worked as a program manager; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) council chair; and Award Management Unit Director at the International Youth Foundation. She also formerly offered pro bono legal services through the National Immigration Justice Center. ¹⁷ Van Moorsel received her Bachelor of Laws from the Fundação Getulio Vargas (Getulio Vargas Foundation) in Brazil and her Master of Laws from University of Illinois College of Law. ¹⁸

As of 2025, Esteban Moreno was a co-executive director at Heartland Alliance International where he directed the group’s Colombia programs. Previously, he worked for the International Organization of Migration in Colombia. ¹⁹ He received his undergraduate degree from Universidad de Los Andes in Psychology and his M.A. from Universidad de Los Andes in Peacebuilding. ²⁰

Financials

In 2023, Heartland Alliance International (HAI) reported $18,830,664 in total revenue, $20,645,333 in total expenses, and $4,642,115 in total assets. That year, HAI received $16,295,379 in government grants, which was 87 percent of the group’s total revenue. ⁶

At the bottom of its webpage, HAI lists “the United States government, the United Nations, and private foundations” among its donors. ²

In 2023, Heartland Alliance International received a $4 million grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as a part of USAID’s Foreign Assistance Program which seeks to partner with institutions like HAI in supporting economic growth, agriculture, trade, healthcare, democracy, and conflict prevention. ²¹

In 2024, HAI announced another USAID-sponsored project called Light Up Colombia, a partnership with the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) to provide solar panels to women and girls in Colombia to prevent dark, secluded areas in humanitarian crisis zones. ¹³

In February 2025, an opinion editorial defending USAID against the Trump administration’s proposals to substantially cut the agency’s operations highlighted a USAID-sponsored HAI initiative to provide job opportunities and housing arrangements for victims of armed conflicts in Colombia and migrants from neighboring Venezuela. The partnership, and USAID’s funding for the project, were terminated due to the Trump administration’s funding cuts. ²²

1. “Home.” Heartland Alliance International. Accessed July 14, 2025. https://heartlandallianceinternational.org/
2. “Where We Work.” Heartland Alliance International. Accessed July 14, 2025. https://heartlandallianceinternational.org/where-we-work/
3. Raju, Dilpreet. “A rip in the social safety net.” Chicago Reader. April 4, 2024. Accessed July 14, 2024. https://chicagoreader.com/news/heartland-alliance/
4. “Where We Work.” Heartland Alliance International. Accessed July 14, 2025. https://heartlandallianceinternational.org/where-we-work/ /
5. “Heartland Alliance International Llc.” ProPublica. Accessed July 14, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/300739799
6. “Heartland Alliance International Llc – 2023 Federal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed July 14, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/300739799/202520319349301412/full
7. “United States.” Heartland Alliance International. Accessed July 14, 2025. https://heartlandallianceinternational.org/united-states/
8. “Heartland Alliance International – Democratic Republic of the Congo.” End Slavery Now. Accessed July 14, 2025. https://www.endslaverynow.org/heartland-alliance-international-democratic-republic-of-the-congo
9. “Iraqi Kurdistan at the Crossroads: A Report on Civil Society.” National Endowment for Democracy. June 21, 2017. Accessed July 14, 2025. https://www.ned.org/events/iraqi-kurdistan-at-the-crossroads-a-report-on-civil-society/
10. “Conversations on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence.” WBEZ Chicago. May 24, 2019. Accessed July 14, 2025. https://www.wbez.org/worldview/2019/05/24/conversations-on-conflict-related-sexual-violence
11. Birman, Dina, Endale, Tarik, and St Jean, Nicole. “COVID-19 and refugee and immigrant youth: A community-based mental health perspective.” PubMed. August 2020. Accessed July 14, 2025. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32478552/
12. “New Resources Available to Help Illinoisans Get Stimulus Checks.” Heartland Alliance. 2020-2021. Accessed July 14, 2025. http://readi.dev.multipleinc.com/new-resources-available-to-help-illinoisans-get-stimulus-checks/
13. “Women and girls at the Frontlines of Humanitarian Crises.” Heartland Alliance International. October 11, 2024. Accessed July 14, 2025. https://heartlandallianceinternational.org/girls-at-the-frontlines-of-humanitarian-crises/
14. “United Nations International Day in Support of Survivors of Torture.” Heartland Alliance June 26, 2025. International. Accessed July 14, 2025. https://heartlandallianceinternational.org/un-day-survivors-torture/
15. “Mary Kay Hazel – Experience.” LinkedIn. Accessed July 14, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/marykayhazel/details/experience/
16. “Mary Kay Hazel – Education.” LinkedIn. Accessed July 14, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/marykayhazel/details/education/
17. “Carolina Ramazzina Van Moorsel – Experience.” LinkedIn. Accessed July 14, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolina-vanmoorsel/details/experience/
18. “Carolina Ramazzina Van Moorsel – Education.” LinkedIn. Accessed July 14, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolina-vanmoorsel/details/education/
19. “Esteban Moreno, Profile.” LinkedIn. Accessed July 14, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/esteban-moreno-4a921454/
20. “Esteban Moreno – Education.” LinkedIn. Accessed July 14, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/esteban-moreno-4a921454/details/education/
21. “GRANT to HEARTLAND ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL, LLC.” USA Spending. Accessed July 14, 2025. https://www.usaspending.gov/award/ASST_NON_720BHA23GR00295_7200
22. Grieser, Deborah. “USAID is in the interest of America.” Illinois Times. February 27, 2025. Accessed July 14, 2025.

    https://www.illinoistimes.com/news-opinion/usaid-is-in-the-interest-of-america-19816411