Noel Henry
Noel Henry
Operations Director and Citizenship Program Manager
Noel (they/he) began their relationship with AFIRE in the summer of 2018 before joining the staff full-time in the summer of 2023 as AFIRE’s NAI (New Americans Initiative) Program Manager. Prior to joining staff, Noel became a Core Leader in 2019, where they subsequently worked with AFIRE to produce and facilitate The Alon Project from 2019–21.
For about a decade, Noel worked professionally in the arts and entertainment industry. They produced commercial industrials for 5 years in the early 2010s and most recently worked as talent agent for Chicago and Regional Theatre for nearly 5 years.
In their spare time, they’re sometimes an over-achieving home cook, often cooking food for community members to taste-test their latest recipe find. They are otherwise a huge fan of pop, dance, instrumental, and classical music, often trying to dance with their pet Yorkie, Po (short for Potato).
Kuya Noel leads AFIRE’s efforts to support those interested in or actively seeking citizenship status and oversees its operations work.