Angelica Salas is Executive Director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), where, since 1999, she has spearheaded several ambitious campaigns that have led to wins in California such as in-state tuition for undocumented students; establishment of day laborer job centers; and driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants. Salas is President and Board Chair of Californians for Human Immigrant Rights Leadership Action Fund; an Executive Committee member of National Partnership for New Americans and Fair Immigrant Rights Movement. Salas also serves on the Board of Directors at California Wellness Foundation, America’s Voice, UNITE-LA, and Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy.
Sahoubah, Anisa
Anisa Sahoubah serves as director of the Youth and Education Department at ACCESS, where she has helped develop and implement vital programming for the community, build bridges with various community agencies and key stakeholders to maximize impact, and lead efforts to secure millions of dollars in funding for these programs. In addition to her role as director, Sahoubah is also active in numerous civic, cultural, and educational organizations. Anisa earned her bachelor’s degree in secondary education and her teaching certification from Wayne State University. She earned a master’s degree in adult instruction and performance technology from the University of Michigan.
Rubio, Isabel
Isabel Rubio founded the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama (¡HICA!) and has served as its Executive Director since 2001. The oldest and largest Latino serving organization in Alabama, ¡HICA! is a bridge bilder and has engaged thousands of Hispanics across Alabama to increase opportunities. Isabel is deeply involved in her community and serves on many boards locally, regionally and nationally, including the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders Executive Committee (NALCAB) and ASISTA. Isabel earned degrees in History from the University of Southern Mississippi and Social Work from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Rodriguez, María
María Rodriguez is the first Executive Director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, a bold and dynamic social movement organization that seeks the fair and equal treatment of all people, including immigrants. As a movement architect, Maria’s inclusive leadership has yielded impressive wins in college access, wage protections and combating criminalization, allowing more people to live, love and work without fear. A social entrepreneur, she has co-founded or helped establish half a dozen award-winning organizations, including a free medical clinic, a housing cooperative, an arts & therapy group and an electoral entity. She is a graduate of Georgetown University.
Rodríguez, Claudia
Claudia Rodríguez is an analyst at Latino Decisions, a polling and research firm specializing in Latino political opinion research. As a first-generation Mexican immigrant based in Los Angeles, her experiences have fueled her commitment to research and advocacy on issues that impact historically underrepresented minority communities. She has experience in community organizing and has held leading positions in immigrants’ rights advocacy and support networks. She is a recent graduate from the University of California-Los Angeles, where she obtained a B.A. in Psychology and Political Science.
Roche, Meagan
Meagan Roche is the Communications and Partnerships Coordinator at the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center. She previously worked as the West Michigan Communities Coordinator with Welcoming Michigan, a program at MIRC that focuses on building communities where immigrants experience equity and belonging both through institutional change and contact building. Meagan focuses on issues of language justice and language access at MIRC, in her organizing, and in broader community engagement. She speaks Arabic and French.
Reyna, Adrian
Adrian Reyna is the Director of Strategy for United We Dream and United We Dream Action. He has lead United We Dream’s groundbreaking technology, digital engagement and communications strategies. Under his leadership, the network has led teams to defeat anti-immigrants in office in California, New Mexico, and Texas, and has created new technology to help low income community organizers provide service and empowerment opportunities to immigrant youth and families. Adrian will lead United We Dream Action’s largest political operation yet in 10 states for the 2020 elections, and directs UWD’s national Census Get Out The Count efforts.
Ramos, Tarso Luís
Tarso Luís Ramos is Executive Director of Political Research Associates, a Boston-based national organization that analyzes the U.S. Right Wing for social justice movements. Tarso has studied and fought the Right for over 25 years and is a sought-after speaker and strategist. Grounded in the social justice feminism, for 35 years PRA has collaborated with immigrant-, racial-, LGBTQ-, economic-, and gender-justice movements contending with a broad spectrum of the Right—from neofascists to free-market neoliberals. PRA is a leading source for movement analysis of the Christian Right, racial and ethnic nationalism, and other right-wing movements, and maintains a large, free, online archive.
Quevedo, Juan
Juan Quevedo is a Supervising Attorney at The Bronx Defenders. The Bronx Defenders provides free legal representation through the New York Family Unity Project, the first program in the United States to provide legal representation to every low-income immigrant facing deportation in the City of New York. Juan graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law. During law school, Juan interned for the Honorable Gerardo Sandoval in the Superior Court of California for the County of San Francisco and the Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc. Juan graduated from California State University, Northridge with a degree in Political Science.
Picon, Irakere
Irakere Picon is the Director of Legal Services for the Illinois Business Immigration Coalition (IBIC). Prior to joining IBIC, Irakere worked with the National Immigrant Justice Center's Legal Protection Fund providing free legal services to low-income immigrant clients, the Community Activism and Law Alliance, and the Chicago Law and Education Foundation. Irakere earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his J.D. from Northern Illinois University’s (NIU) College of Law. He is licensed to practice law in Illinois.
Perez, Luis A.
Luis A. Perez currently directs the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)’s Legal Services Department, which provides free and low-cost immigration services, including DACA and Naturalization clinics, application assistance for family based petitions and survivors of violence relief and court representation for immigrants in removal proceedings. Since 2012, he has coordinated CHIRLA’s Deferred Action for Children Arrivals (DACA) legal clinic. In high school, he became the public face of initiatives like state Assembly Bill 540, a 2001 measure that allowed undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition at California public universities. Years later, he would become UCLA School of Law’s first student to benefit from AB 540.
Pastor, Manuel
Dr. Manuel Pastor is a Distinguished Professor of Sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California (USC) where he directs the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) and the Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration (CSII). He is the Turpanjian Chair in Civil Society and Social Change, and holds an economics Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He writes and speaks widely on issues including demographic change, economic inequality, and community empowerment. Pastor’s latest book is titled, State of Resistance: What California's Dizzying Descent and Remarkable Resurgence Means for America's Future.
Paris, Tony
Tony Paris is Lead Attorney at the Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social justice, a national, non-profit organization, dedicated to providing legal support and advocacy for low-income working people, immigrants, and their communities, where he specializes in worker and community rights regarding plant closings & mass layoffs, wage & hour actions, unemployment insurance benefits, and employee organizing & NLRB filings.
Panahi, Anahita
Anahita Panahi is the Southern California Refugee Organizer with the We Are All America Campaign, part of a local coalition between CHIRLA, IRC, and CAIR-LA. Anahita earned her Bachelors in International Security and Conflict Resolution at San Diego State University, while working with the Alliance for African Assistance to help settle and integrate refugees. Anahita continued her education at the Autonomous University of Barcelona graduating with a Masters in Political Science, where she conducted independent research on social movement theory in authoritarian regimes. Anahita’s experience studying and working across continents has deepened her understanding of the global refugee crisis and the solutions to be explored.
Ortiz, Andrea A.
Andrea A. Ortiz is a Manger of Education Policy at the New York Immigration Coalition, where she engages educational stakeholders and collaboratives to develop robust policies that ensure the academic success of immigrant learners in New York State. Previously, she worked with state education officials to develop professional development curricula and consulted with the Institute for Urban and Minority Education to improve academic enrichment programs serving youth of color. Andrea holds an M.A. in education policy with a specialization in law from Columbia University's Teachers College and a B.A. in philosophy and gender studies from New College of Florida.
Neumann-Ortiz, Christine
Christine Neumann-Ortiz is the founding Executive Director of Voces de la Frontera. Through her leadership, Voces has grown from a small, grassroots worker center to a state and national leader in the immigrant rights movement. She also serves on the board of a national coalition of the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM), the Wisconsin Legalization Coalition, Wisconsin Citizen Action board and the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice board. Neumann-Ortiz earned her Master’s Degree in US/ Chicano History at the University of Texas-Austin and her Bachelor of Art degree in English at the University of Wisconsin- Madison.
Muñoz, Laura Estefania
Laura Estefania Muñoz is a community organizer, survivor, and advocate for immigrant rights and gender justice. Born and raised in Colombia, Laura came to Miami in 2006 and lived as an undocumented youth for half a decade. Laura graduated from the George Washington University in 2016 and currently works on immigrant advocacy and services at the Florida Immigrant Coalition.
Mousslly, Basel
Basel Mousslly is the Program Manager for Migrant Services at Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS). In this role, he oversees services provided to migrants and asylum seekers around the country including the U.S. side of the border with Mexico. His portfolio of programs includes the Reception & Welcome, Detention Visitation, and Family Reunification Support Program. Prior to working with LIRS, Basel was a Refugee Resettlement Supervisor at Refugee Services of Texas. He has over eight years of experience in serving refugees and displaced populations domestically and internationally.
Morris Díaz, Tania
Tania Morris Díaz is the Detroit Front Door Staff Attorney with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC) Washtenaw office focusing on humanitarian cases and removal defense for detained migrants. She currently serves on the Board of the Immigration Law Section of the Michigan State Bar and is a member of the MI-AILA ICE Committee. Tania received her B.A. in International Studies with a concentration in Latin American Studies at the University of South Alabama. She pursued an M.A. in Political and Social Sciences at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and received her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.
Morris, Aaron C.
Aaron C. Morris, as the Executive Director of Immigration Equality, oversees the organization’s legal services, impact litigation, policy initiatives, and lobbying efforts. In addition to his work in national LGBTQ human rights advocacy, he is co-counsel on four district court discrimination cases for same-sex families. Aaron graduated from the University of Oklahoma and the American University’s Washington College of law. He was recently honored with the Peter M. Cicchinio award for Outstanding Advocacy in the Public Interest.