Devon Cone
Devon Cone tells us that, “I am a human rights advocate, social justice activist, and policy expert focused on improving the lives of forcibly displaced people around the world. I concentrate my work on the unique challenges and capabilities of displaced women and girls. I have spent my entire career meeting with asylum seekers, refugees, and internally displaced people– basically anyone who has been forced to flee their home. I have lived and worked in many countries including Kenya, Egypt, Uganda, Lebanon and others. I make policy recommendations that are creative, responsive, context-specific, and timely, trying to ensure human rights are protected.”
What were your initial years of growing up like? Tell us about your life before starting your Entrepreneur journey/venture/initiative.
I had a pretty standard, wonderful, stable, loving, childhood. I guess it wasn’t so standard, in the sense that I had five brothers. We were an unusually large family in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. My father worked in finance and my mother took care of all of us. It was a pretty charmed life with friends, trips, school, family, and adventures. Living just outside of D.C., I was also exposed to really ambitious people, interesting careers, and stimulating cultural opportunities. I was definitely surrounded by an amazing community growing up. I lived in the same place, in the same house for my entire life until I went off to university.
Given the fact that I never moved growing up and had a pretty idyllic childhood, it might seem unexpected that I now work on issues of forced displacement. However, I think that’s one of the reasons why I gravitated towards this work. Because my situation growing up and through early adulthood was one of stability and financial security, I wanted to work with people who did not have that kind of life. I committed to working with and better understanding the tens of millions of people who have been forced to move and find themselves in very difficult circumstances.
Every industry that is now a large-scale, top-notch business once started as a small idea in the minds of entrepreneurs. What was that idea or motivation that made you start your business /initiative? What motivated you within to say YES, go for it!”
Ever since I can remember, I have wanted to work to make the world a better place. And my family can attest, I have always challenged the status quo. So there was not a specific idea or motivation that led me to push for refugee rights.
But, one of the experiences I remember that I think planted the seeds for my future career was when I was in primary school. Some neighbors were hosting a man in their basement who needed a place to live. He obviously was not from our neighborhood, or even from the United States. I was a very curious child and asked him a lot of questions during the few months that he was living there. I learned that he was from Georgia in Eastern Europe. He explained to me that he was forced to flee his country due to some political reasons. He didn’t get into too many details, but it sounded like he had criticized the government and then they threatened him. He had to leave his wife and children behind and he was seeking safety in the United States. What really shocked me though, was that he was a brilliant man and was trained as a neurosurgeon. Yet, he was bagging groceries at the local store.
This, of course, didn’t make sense to me. Why did he not feel safe in his home country? How did he manage to get to the U.S.? Why did he have to leave his entire family? And especially, why was he working a minimum wage job requiring no skills when he knew how to operate on the most complex part of our bodies…the brain?! As I left home, went to university, traveled to many countries around the world, and then decided I wanted to study conflict and human rights, the experience of getting to know this man came back to me. The legal, financial, political, and psychosocial challenges faced by forcibly displaced people like him really disturbed me.
I often question why things are the way they are. So with this experience in mind, and after seeing people living in vastly different environments globally, I decided I needed to focus my efforts on the growing population of forcibly displaced people. I vowed to dedicate my career to improving the situation and opportunities for people who have to leave their homes and change the way we think about refugees.
Tell us something about your initiative or current role. What is it about, and what impact are you trying to make?
I am currently the senior advocate for women and girls at an independent non-governmental policy and advocacy organization called Refugees International. In this role, I highlight the distinct ways in which displacement affects women and girls. I travel to various countries around the world to meet with forcibly displaced women and girls so that I better understand their situations. I also meet with the NGOs, UN agencies, and governments who are making decisions that affect them. By doing so, I get a picture of what is really going on and can suggest policies to improve their lives.
Although it is often difficult and quite an uphill battle, the impact I’m trying to make is really quite simple. I am trying to create a more welcoming world in which all human beings, including and especially people who have been forced to flee their homes, are treated with dignity, respect, have safety, and can access opportunities.
Your journey and your vision are very inspiring, but are there any achievements or accomplishments you would like to mention?
My achievements are really the achievements of refugees, asylum seekers, and those who have had to flee. For almost 10 years of my career, I interviewed refugees for resettlement to the United States and other countries. These were desperate families and individuals from countries they could not go back to. Yet they were in neighboring countries where they were still not safe. They were stuck in limbo. I have reconnected with some of the people from the cases I worked on. Many of them are thriving and accomplishing amazing things. One family from Rwanda particularly stands out. They now have jobs and families and education. They are really inspiring.
My work and my advocacy is all in an effort to help refugees be safe and progress. So when they succeed, I succeed.
Would you like to share with our young budding women entrepreneurs the change you would like to see in the world if given an opportunity?
I would just like to see a world in which we understand that every life––no matter where the person was born, or what resources they have, or what happens in their country––is valuable and deserves safety and opportunity. If we all thought that way, so many of the problems I work to tackle just wouldn’t exist.
Women are a growing force in the workplaces worldwide, standing shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts. What are your thoughts about women leadership today?
Women are indeed a growing presence in the workforce; in fact, women are usually the majority of staff in my line of work. Women I have worked with over the years are clearly smart, driven, knowledgeable, and experienced. And they are deeply dedicated to social justice. They work hard and have so much to offer. Yet, time and time again in my field, I see them passed over for leadership positions. I could come up with many explanations as to why, but what I notice in almost all cases is that these women underestimate themselves. I am one of those women. I often underestimate myself and sell myself short. I think the best women leaders know what they want, ask for it clearly, know their value, and in many cases, just create leadership opportunities themselves.
What would you want to say to our young leaders/audience reading this?
It is important for you to have confidence in yourself. If there is a problem you want to address in the world, you should dedicate yourself to doing so. And you should be creative. Think outside the box, utilize your networks, and keep at it, even if the problem seems unsolvable. Intractable problems might not be able to be “solved”, but you can always move the needle and improve any situation you come across.