Jennifer Quigley is the Advocacy Strategist for Refugee Protection at Human Rights First, where she crafts and executes plans to persuade policy makers to adopt Human Rights First’s proposals to protect the rights of refugees. Previously, Jennifer worked for the U.S. Campaign for Burma for nine years, most recently as President/Executive Director focusing on the promotion of human rights, refugees and democratic change in U.S. Burma policy. Jennifer received an M.A. in Intercultural Management from the School for International Training and a B.A. in International Affairs from The George Washington University.
Pinckney
Jessica Pinckney is the deputy director of government affairs at In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, a national/state partnership with eight Black women’s reproductive Justice organizations. In Our Own Voice’s goal is to lift up the voices of Black women leaders on national, regional, and state policies that impact the lives of Black women and girls through strategies such as leadership development, advocacy and policy change, and movement building. Jessica coordinates the development, implementation, and evaluation of In Our Own Voice ’s national and state policy work.
Pastor
Dr. Manuel Pastor is Professor of Sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California. He currently directs the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) at USC and USC's Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration (CSII). In 2017, he received the Champion for Equity Award from the Advancement Project for his work with community-based organizations fighting for social change. Pastor holds an economics Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and is the inaugural holder of the Turpanjian Chair in Civil Society and Social Change at USC.
Pachnanda
Ellen Pachnanda is a Supervising Attorney at Brooklyn Defenders Services, where she represents detained non-citizens facing deportation through the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP). She is a seasoned attorney with over 13 years of experience focusing on criminal defense and immigration law. After receiving her B.A. from Cornell University (A.B., College of Arts & Sciences, 2000), she realized her desire to pursue law and attended State University of New York at Buffalo Law School (J.D., 2003).
Opoti
Nekessa Opoti is a multi-media storyteller and an organizer with the Black Immigrant Collective in Minnesota; part of the national UndocuBlack Network; and the co-founder of the Underground Media Collective. Her work in media promotes the articulation by grassroots voices of often unheard perspectives on minority and immigrant life in Minnesota, particularly the Twin Cities, and includes video production, research, and as a publisher, editor, producer and writer. For over five years, Nekessa produced and hosted a weekly radio show "Reflections of New Minnesotans" a talk show on immigrants and immigration on AM 950.
Oh
William Oh is the Youth Organizer at HANA Center in Chicago. His life’s mission is to fight for a just world where everyone can claim full citizenship and grow up with health, love, and dignity. Through his work, he seeks to be part of a compassionate social justice that heals and restores. He studied Social Anthropology and Ethnicity, Migration, & Rights with a focus on Asian American studies at Harvard.
Ochoa
Maria Ochoa is a Community Navigator with The Resurrection Project through the Chicago Legal Protection Fund. Maria has been a key leader and organizer in passing of pro-immigrant policies in Illinois such as the IL Trust Act. She is always open to learning, sharing information, and participating in advocacy efforts to ensure that the rights of people are protected.
Núñez
Abel Núñez is the Executive Director for CARECEN. Previously, he was Associate Director of Centro Romero in Chicago, primarily responsible for the day to day operations, fiscal management, program administration, and communications. He also worked for the Latino Civil Rights Center in D.C. and was on the staff of CARECEN, serving first as its Citizenship and Civic Participation Project Coordinator and later as its Deputy Director. He is one of the founding members of the Residency Now campaign and currently serves as Vice President of the Board of Alianza Americas. Mr. Núñez has a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from Hofstra University.
Montoya
LaLo Montoya is the Political Director for Make the Road Nevada, an organization committed to improving the quality of life for immigrants and the working class in Nevada. LaLo has been organizing for immigrant rights since high school; in 2012 he helped organize the first hunger strike inside President Obama’s campaign office in Colorado, advocating for an end to deportations and relief for undocumented families. As a DACA recipient himself and the oldest of his siblings, he has always taken a stand to make progress for the community.
Millona
Eva A. Millona is Executive Director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) and co-chair of the National Partnership for New Americans. Previously, she directed the refugee resettlement program in Central Massachusetts. In her native Albania, she practiced civil and criminal law, serving on Tirana’s District Court as the nation’s youngest district judge ever appointed. Ms. Millona is also the co-chair of the Governor’s Advisory Council for Refugees and Immigrants, and serves on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights; the Advisory Board for the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Advancement; and the Attorney General’s Council for New Americans.
Melo-Pinzon
Gladys Melo-Pinzon serves as AIUSA’s country specialist for Mauritania. In her career as women’s rights, human rights and security consultant, she has worked for USAID, the Canada Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, SIDA, the UN, the EU and the EC among others. She has also been working with different women’s and human rights coalitions in the US and around the world to contribute to the advancement of social justice movement building and social justice activism. Gladys Melo-Pinzon holds a doctorate degree from Laval University in Anthropology and an MBA in Management and Planning of Regional Development from Universidad de los Andes.
Meng
U.S. Congresswoman Grace Meng represents the Sixth Congressional District of New York, in her third term. She is the first Asian American Member of Congress from New York State, and the only Congressmember of Asian descent in the entire Northeast. Grace is a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee; a Senior Whip and Regional Whip for New York; a founder and Co-Chair of the Kids’ Safety Caucus; and was a founding member and former Co-Chair of the Quiet Skies Caucus. She graduated from the University of Michigan and earned a law degree from Yeshiva University’s Benjamin Cardozo School of Law.
Mendoza
Laura Mendoza is an Immigration Organizer with The Resurrection Project in Chicago, Illinois. She has led the development and implementation of the City of Chicago’s Legal Protection Fund program, which aims to provide information and legal resources by training community members as Community Navigators. This is the first position in which Laura has been able to directly address her own immigration status. She is a DACA recipient from Mexico and came to the US at the age of 6. Laura obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work at Northeastern Illinois University.
Melaku
Nicole Melaku is the Executive Director of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition. Nicole was introduced to organizing and fundraising as a volunteer in Aurora public schools and was inspired to bring her skill set to the immigrant rights movement in 2010. In 2012, she joined the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC) where she worked on CIRC’s immigrant integration programming in conjunction with national partners. Previously, Nicole was on the staff of the Latino Community Foundation of Colorado, where she oversaw grant-making and special initiatives including the Colorado Immigrant Funders Collaborative.
Matos
Kica Matos is the Director of Immigrant Rights and Racial Justice at the Center for Community Change (CCC), where she coordinates the work of the Fair Immigration Reform Movement, the nation’s largest network of immigrant rights organizations. Previously, Ms. Matos headed up the U.S. Reconciliation and Human Rights Program at Atlantic Philanthropies; served as Deputy Mayor in the city of New Haven; and was the Executive Director of JUNTA, New Haven’s oldest Latino advocacy organization. She has a B.A. from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, an M.A. from the New School and a J.D. from Cornell Law School.
Madeleine
Andy Madeleine is a documentary and commercial Director. His latest, award winning documentary “Above Below Sea Level” paints a portrait of a flood-ravaged Baton Rouge as it recovers from tragedy, premiering at Louisiana International Film Festival in 2017. His work with The New American Economy has taken him to West Virginia and Michigan- in the former, to focus on a Mexican-immigrant doctor helping to solve the healthcare crisis in Appalachia, and the latter, to focus on two Muslim Lebanese youths, both pursuing athletic scholarships in Dearborn, Michigan.
Lopez
Julio Lopez is the Co-Director of Community Dignity Campaigns at the Center for Popular Democracy, were he supports affiliates in building campaigns around Puerto Rico and immigration. He received his undergraduate degree and Juris Doctor at the University of Puerto Rico; received his LLM on International and Comparative Law at Tulane Law School; and received training in arbitration and conflict resolution at Humboldt University in Berlin. After law school, he served as a law clerk for the Orleans Public Defenders and as a project officer for the New Orleans Independent Police Monitor to create a mediation program between citizens and the police.
Lin
Amy Lin is the Immigrant Rights Program Manager at Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) where she develops and implements community-based education curriculum to engage and organize with directly impacted Chinese migrants on immigrant Know Your Rights and advocacy; language access and language justice; and, community safety and police accountability. Identified as undocumented and queer, Amy has worked in immigrant communities as part of advocacy efforts to inform and mobilize community members on crucial immigration issues. As Program Manager, Amy focuses on solidarity-building for migrant justice through in-language messaging to push for cultural shift and through CAA’s collaborative work with community partners.
Kase
Virginia Kase is the CEO of the League of Women Voters of the United States. Prior to joining the League, she served as COO of CASA, an organization at the forefront of the immigrant rights movement representing nearly 100,000 members. In that leadership role, Virginia managed the strategic growth, direction, and operations of the organization and served as a key thought leader on its politics and policy team. Prior to CASA, Virginia spent eight years serving as the National Technical Assistance and Training Manager at the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise (CNE) in Washington, DC.
Joshi
Anu Joshi is the Senior Director of Immigrant Rights Policy at the New York Immigration Coalition where she leads the organization's work on issues relating to immigration status and enforcement. She has worked for over seven years in the immigrant rights movement, including with the Center for New Community in Chicago and the American Immigration Lawyers Association in Washington, D.C. Previously, Anu organized around issues relating to access to education and foreign policy and spent three years as a child services social worker in the Bay Area. She has her Masters in Social Welfare from UC Berkeley.