Norma Dharnaj

As a Transitional Independent Living Residential (TIL) Counselor, Norma Dharnaj supervises GEMS’ crisis shelter overnight, meets with residents to address their needs and concerns, and distributes stipends and medication to residents. She also facilitates weekly art groups, during which residents hone skills to express themselves creatively.

Before joining the GEMS team, Norma was an outreach and client services fellow at Polaris Project, where she provided overnight supervision at the transitional housing facility, reached out to potential human trafficking victims at the U.S. District Court, and provided case management. While interning at the Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, she aided in producing the 2008 Trafficking in Persons Report and assisted in public outreach events such as screening GEMS’ Very Young Girls at the Library of Congress. As an undergraduate, Norma spearheaded an awareness campaign on human trafficking titled Slavery Still Exists.

Norma has a Bachelor of Arts in international relations from Saint Anselm College, New Hampshire, and is currently enrolled in Fordham University’s Graduate School of Social Science’s social work program.