BALTIMORE -- At 9 months old, most babies are just learning how to stand and crawl on their own. Krishanti “Krish” O’Mara Vignarajah was learning how to navigate life in a new country.
Her parents, Elyathamby and Anandasothy Vignarajah, left Sri Lanka at the brink of a civil war in the early 1980s, with their infant daughter and 3-year-old son.
The Vignarajah family moved to Catonsville with no jobs and just $200 to their names.
“I realized that we were the lucky few that got out, that had a chance to start a new life. That meant we were blessed, but needed to earn it,” Vignarajah said. “So I think that’s just motivated me to pursue a career in public service.”
Her family’s immigration story motivated her to pursue a career in public service and give back to immigrant communities. Her older brother, Thiruvendran “Thiru” Vignarajah, is the former deputy attorney general of Maryland and has run for mayor once and state’s attorney twice in Baltimore.
As president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, or LIRS, a nonprofit focused on immigrants, Vignarajah sees her job, which she has been doing since 2019, as a way to pay her family’s good fortune forward.
“My current role … feels like things have come full circle because, of course, now I work every day to help other immigrants coming to this country experience the warm welcome that allowed us to not just put down roots, but to really experience, that allowed us to write our own American story,” Vignarajah said.
LIRS opened a welcome center June 13 in Otterbein for refugees and asylum seekers. The center offers social services, legal assistance and workforce development, among other things.
The organization’s New American Cities program, a workforce development program, helped refugees like Norma Asimba advance their career and network in the new city they call home.
After immigrating from Kenya in 2020, Asimba struggled to find a consistent job and faced financial troubles.
With the help of LIRS, Asimba got financial aid to avoid eviction and found a stable job for a Fortune 500 tech company that allows her to care for her son.
“I remain forever grateful to God and to LIRS through this process, I really felt empowered. I felt motivated and embraced,” Asimba said at the welcome center’s ribbon cutting ceremony.
“I hope that [with] these new waves of immigrants that we can make it easier, we can make it possible for them to realize the American dream,” Vignarajah said. “Because I count my blessings every day, knowing that for my family, we feel like we achieved ours.”
The organization plans to assist 300 families in the new center’s first year, according to Tim Young, director for public relations at LIRS.
While the new center’s location hits home for Vignarajah, Baltimore is a hub for immigration. A report by the George W. Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative ranked the city as second-best in the United States for immigrants. The 2020 U.S. census recorded 292,100 immigrants residing in Baltimore, 10% of the city’s total population.
Wendy Young, president of Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), an organization for unaccompanied and separated children, said the services that will be offered at the welcome center are critical.
“With that kind of assistance, you see that newcomers, including children, can really have a strong possibility of thriving in this country. So I think it’s a great step forward for the Baltimore community,” Young said.
Prior to joining LIRS in 2019, Vignarajah, a graduate of Woodlawn High School, was a policy director for First Lady Michelle Obama and a senior adviser at the State Department.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in molecular, cellular and developmental biology from Yale College and a master’s degree in political science from Yale University. She went on to receive a master’s degree in international relations at Oxford University before graduating from Yale Law School.
Vignarajah ran unsuccessfully as a Democratic candidate in Maryland’s 2018 gubernatorial primaries, which were won by Ben Jealous.
While she has a lengthy resume and expansive list of accomplishments, her brother Thiru said her individuality is what inspires their family.
“She inspires me and our whole family, every day in showcasing how to be a fiercely loyal member of the family and balance that with her professional commitments.
“You read the resume and you’re expecting this kind of cerebral, officious person to walk on stage. Instead you’ve got this incredibly charming, dynamic, charismatic voice,” he said.
Her connection to public service and the support of her husband, Collin O’Mara, and two daughters, Alana and Leya Vignarajah, is what drives her.
“People like Krish should be in public service‚” said Rushern Baker, a former Prince George’s County county executive, of his 2018 gubernatorial primary opponent. “We need more folks like that lady in our cities or counties, and especially our state.”
