Leila has served as the Volunteer Relations Manager for the IFI Columbus team since 2005.  She organizes and mobilizes IFI volunteers and church partners so they can minister to students.  Her desire to have a career working with international students started back when she was a student at The Ohio State University.  While pursuing graduate work in International Politics, Leila had an internship in the International Students Office.  This eventually led her to working for many years as an International Admissions Counselor at OSU, until joining the IFI team! 

Leila first heard about IFI and began volunteering with them while she was a student at OSU.  One of the things Leila loves about outreach to internationals is that we can continue to reach out through our various life situations--after she married and had kids she created and led the Wives’ Group English Class and then the International Mom’s Group.

Leila’s childhood dream was to be an ambassador for the US to a foreign country.  One of her biggest rewards in working for IFI has been experiencing the ways God uses her as an ambassador for Him! 

“[2 Corinthians 5] talks about being ambassadors for Christ; Him making His appeal through us. This was really something God showed me that He wanted me to do, to tell internationals, everyone, but internationals in particular, about Him,” says Leila.  

Over the 16 years she has worked for IFI, Leila has seen God prepare IFI to serve international students by raising up laborers in countless ways.  One summer an unusually large number of new volunteers were recruited and trained--while Leila did not know where all these new volunteers would be able to serve--God knew!  That year, OSU received twice as many international students than ever before, and the army of new volunteers were called into action to do airport pickup and provide temporary housing for over 600 new students!

Time and time again, Leila’s faith has been strengthened as she has seen God call His people to give generously so that IFI’s ministry would thrive and even grow to other campuses in Central Ohio and elsewhere.  The IFI annual fundraising banquet has been one of the important ways He has done this.  Leila has been involved with the Banquet from the beginning and plays a key role in recruiting group hosts who invite their friends to attend.  Check out the article in this newsletter about hosting a virtual table for the April 24th event or contact Leila directly at .

More help is needed--have you considered filling a staff position as a volunteer or paid worker?  One position just recently posted is for Campus Liaison!

See https://www.ifipartners.org/careers or contact Phil at for more information on job opportunities.