Basma Alawee is the State Refugee Organizer with Florida Immigrant Coalition, working on the We Are All America campaign. While Basma holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Material Engineering, like many refugees she was unable to find work in her chosen field upon coming to the United States from Iraq. Basma taught math at The Foundation Academy and volunteered to help refugees at World Relief and Lutheran Social Services. Basma was selected to be the Florida delegate for the UNHCR Refugee Congress. She currently serves on the boards of Refugee Center Online and Southeast Immigrant Rights Network (SEIRN).
Agarwal
Nisha Agarwal is the Senior Advisor to the NYC Deputy Mayor, to boost civic engagement among New Yorkers and build DemocracyNYC’s efforts on immigration, disability, and healthcare. Previously, Agarwal served as Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, building landmark initiatives like IDNYC, the City’s municipal identification card, and Cities for Action, a national advocacy coalition of local elected officials. She has also served as the deputy director and co-founder of the Center for Popular Democracy and the executive director of the Immigrant Justice Corps. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School.
Vang, Juleeah
Juleeah Vang is the Policy-Advocacy Program Assistant for Asian Services In Action, Inc. (ASIA, Inc.) based in Akron, OH. As the Policy-Advocacy Program Assistant, her roles include coordinating and leading civic engagement work for the agency, speaking out against issues that will affect the immigrant community, and educating the community about the impacts of the issues.
Steinberg, Katherine
Katherine Steinberg is content and marketing professional with a passion for digital communications and brand building. She has an extensive background in content development, brand management, social media strategy, branded content and analytics-based campaigns.
Shiva, Alexandra
Alexandra Shiva is an award-winning filmmaker. Her most recent film, This is Home, is an intimate portrait of four Syrian refugee families arriving in Baltimore, Maryland and struggling to find their footing in the first 8-months. The film premiered at The Sundance Film Festival in 2018, where it won the Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary. Her previous films include How to Dance in Ohio (Peabody Award-winner); Stagedoor; and Bombay Eunuch (awarded Best Documentary at New York’s New Festival and the Special Jury Award at the Florida Film Festival). Alexandra graduated from Vassar College with a BA in Art History.
Sarmiento, Monica
Monica Sarmiento is currently the Executive Director for the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to the defense of dignity, power, and quality of life for all immigrant and refugee communities. She is a Salvadorian-American and long-time Washingtonian with ties to Southern California.
Magaña Gamero, Mariana
Mariana Magaña Gamero is a Policy Advocate at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA). She is a former Executive Fellow, through Sacramento State University and the office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. Originally from Jalisco, Mexico and raised in the Pico Neighborhood of Santa Monica, Mariana is extremely passionate about immigrant advocacy efforts that are inclusive of all 11 million and dismantles the good/bad immigrant narrative. She attended Santa Monica Community College and transferred to the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), where she majored in Political Science.
Bedient, Adam
Adam Bedient is the primary Direct of Photography for Off Ramp Films. Based in Brooklyn, he has worked as an editor, director, and shooter for the last ten years. He has developed a love for the art of visual storytelling, having the chance to work with the International Rescue Committee, the Environmental Defense Fund, Planned Parenthood, Major League Soccer, and others. In his current role, he seeks to produce work that fosters genuine connection between subject and audience.
Young, Aisha
Aisha Young is the Senior Director for Strategy & Equity at the Meyer Foundation, where she leads efforts to integrate racial equity into all areas of the Foundation’s work. Previously, she was the Director of Thought Leadership at KaBOOM!, shaping and leading trajectory-changing initiatives to create public space equity for kids and families in marginalized communities. She was also the Operations Director for the Department of Neighborhood & Economic Development for the City of Charlotte. Aisha attended Hampton University, where she earned her BA in English and Early Childhood Education and studied social work at Temple University’s School of Public Health.
Telzak, Rebecca
Rebecca Telzak is the Director of Health Programs for Make the Road New York. Under Rebecca’s leadership, the program’s services have expanded to include health insurance enrollment, health navigation services, food stamp enrollment, community health worker (CHW) training and home visiting services, and food pantries for over 8,000 community members each year. She has a BA from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Baruch College.
Sridaran, Lakshmi
Lakshmi Sridaran is the Director of National Policy and Advocacy at South Asians Leading Together (SAALT). Previously, she served as the Policy Director for The Praxis Project, an organization focused on health justice in communities of color. She also completed six years of work supporting public infrastructure in New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. Lakshmi holds a Masters degree in City Planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.A. in Ethnic Studies from The University of California, Berkeley.
Sandoval-Moshenberg, Simon
Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg is the Legal Director of the Immigrant Advocacy Program at the Legal Aid Justice Center. In 2016, he was awarded the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year award from the Virginia State Bar for his work setting up a statewide legal representation program for Central American child refugees. In 2017, he won the Winn Newman Equality Award from Americans for Democratic Action, for his work challenging the Muslim Ban.
Quinonez, Sonia
Sonia Quiñónez is the Northern Virginia Program Director at the Meyer Foundation. Previously, she was the executive director at SCAN of Northern Virginia from 2010 to 2018, and has held community leadership roles on the Nonprofit NOVA Steering Committee and the Alexandria Council of Human Services Organizations, among others. For over three decades Sonia has designed, implemented and evaluated initiatives that seek solutions to community challenges by working in partnership with families in poverty, immigrant families, families of children with disabilities, and families struggling with trauma and abuse. She has a master’s in social work from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Phillipi, Karen
Karen Philippi is the Director of the Michigan Office for New Americans. She began working in immigration law over 26 years ago by serving as the Immigration and State Department Specialist for US Senator Don Riegle. Since then, she has worked in various law firms developing and managing employment-based immigration practices. She serves as Board Chair for Global Detroit and she is a Steering Committee member for the Welcoming Economies Global Network. Karen has a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Michigan State University.
Oh, Sookyung
Sookyung Oh leads organizing and campaign work with Asian American communities in Virginia for NAKASEC, where she previously coordinated national immigrant rights campaigns. She has also worked at the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) as a Public Policy Analyst and The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis in Richmond, VA as a State Policy Fellow. Currently, she is on the board of the Virginia Civic Engagement Table and the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights.
Nemes-Galarza, Marjorie
Marjorie Nemes-Galarza is the Latino Economic Development Center’s Chief Development Officer. Ms. Nemes comes to LEDC with 16 years of experience in the community development field. Prior to joining LEDC, Ms. Nemes’ work focused on assessing the needs of vulnerable and marginalized communities and the impact of programs designed to minimize social inequities. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Maryland, College Park, in Psychology and a Master of Science in Cross-Cultural Psychology from Brunel University in London, England.
Mostofl, Bitta
Bitta Mostofi is the Commissioner for the New York City’s Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. Since joining the office in 2014, she spearheaded the IDNYC outreach program and helped design the ActionNYC legal services program. Previously, working with Safe Horizon, she led the organization’s advocacy work on behalf of immigrant crime victims seeking U visas. Before that, had practiced civil rights law with a particular focus on the discriminatory impact of immigration practices on Muslim or Middle Eastern immigrants. She has a law degree from DePaul University in Chicago.
Mora, Sonia
Sonia Mora is senior manager of the Latino Health Initiative and Welcome Back Center of Suburban Maryland at the Montgomery County, Department of Health and Human Services. She has been a leader working with Latino and other immigrant communities around access to health services; health promotion; workforce development; community engagement and empowerment; data collection analysis, and reporting; and policy development. She has provided technical consultation to community-based organizations in the development, implementation, and evaluation of culturally and linguistically appropriate health equity programs and services.
McHugh, Margie
Margie McHugh is the Director of the Migration Policy Institute’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, a national hub for leaders in government, community affairs, business and academia. Ms. McHugh’s work focuses on education quality and access issues for immigrants and their children from early childhood through K-12 and adult, postsecondary and workforce skills programs. She also leads the Center’s work seeking a more coordinated federal response to immigrant integration needs and impacts, and more workable systems for recognition of the education and work experience immigrants bring with them to the United States.
Kruggel, Adam
Adam Kruggel is the Director of Strategic Initiatives for People’s Action, where he is helping to build the Rural & Small-Town Organizing Strategy, one of the largest progressive organizing efforts in rural and small-town communities in the country. Prior to joining People’s Action, Adam had been the Director of Organizing for PICO California, a volunteer-led voter engagement program, and the Executive Director at Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization, working to reduce gun violence and dismantle mass incarceration.