Council Member Deni Taveras is committed to providing better public schools, safer and cleaner streets and increased sustainable economic development. She has over 15 years of experience as a policy analyst within local, state and federal government, as well as international financial institutions such as the World Bank. Taveras holds a dual Master’s in public affairs and urban regional planning from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School, a Masters from the University of Utah, and Bachelors from Barnard College
Suchdeve
Niti Suchdeve is the Cities for Action Program Manager based out of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. In her role, she supports a national coalition that is committed to promoting the well-being of immigrant communities. Her experiences as an immigrant combined with a passion for social justice led her to a career in national advocacy. Niti previously worked on immigrant integration by implementing local language access laws and launching special projects to expand language access for limited English proficient New Yorkers
Steinberg
Naomi Steinberg is the Senior Director, Policy and Advocacy of HIAS. Previously, Naomi was the Director of Refugee Council USA (RCUSA), a coalition dedicated to refugee protection, welcome and excellence in the U.S. refugee resettlement program. In this position, she led the overall work of the Council, including facilitating partnerships between RCUSA and other nongovernmental organizations, as well as fostering strong communications between international, federal and state partners. Naomi has an M.A. in Southeast Asian Studies from Cornell University and a B.A. in Political Science from Macalester College.
Stanley-Rea
Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea is Director of Refugee & Immigration Ministries (RIM) for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). RIM works to mobilize Disciples congregations around the country to offer hospitality to immigrants, provide refugee resettlement assistance to refugees, strengthen relationships, and seek justice for farm workers. Sharon also serves as the Chair of the DC Cluster of Congregations for the DVM Sanctuary Congregations Network. For 19 years previously, she served as Founder and Executive Director of Fresno Interdenominational Refugee Ministries. She holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Columbia Theological Seminary, and earned a Masters of Divinity degree (Summa Cum Laude) from San Francisco Theological Seminary.
Sousa-Rodriguez
Isabel Sousa-Rodriguez is the Director of Membership and Organizing with the Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC). They have had various roles at FLIC since 2008, especially working with immigrant youth statewide and with farm worker organizations throughout central Florida. Previously, they were the state coordinator of New York’s Mexican Initiative on Deferred Action; proudly served on the national selection committee of the DREAM.US Undocumented Youth Scholarship Fund; and are on the Board of Unite for a Fair Economy. Isabel has an Associate degree in Business Administration from Miami Dade College and a Bachelor’s in Sociology from the University of South Florida.
Siulc
Nina Siulc has spent the past two decades designing and conducting research on the human impacts of immigration and criminal justice policy, including in two previous tours at Vera at the Appearance Assistance Program and as the founding director of research for CIJ. Nina’s forthcoming book, Unwelcome Citizens, details how longtime residents of the United States and their families respond to deportation. Her second manuscript (in development), Children of the Crimmigration Era, explores the issues confronting migrant children coming of age in the United States today. Nina was previously a Fulbright Scholar to the Dominican Republic.
Simon
Stacey Simon is Director of IMPRINT, a coalition of organizations based at World Education Services (WES), active in the emerging field of Immigrant Professional Integration. With a growing network of partners, WES works across sectors to influence national and local policy developments and to promote the integration of foreign-trained immigrants. To this role, Stacey brings broad experience in international educational exchange and both here and abroad, having directed programs at New York University, One To World and World Learning. Her credentials include a Master of Arts in Teaching (ESL), an undergrad degree in Japanese Studies, and a certificate in not-for-profit management.
Shi
Rebecca Shi is the Executive Director of the Illinois Business Immigration Coalition. In this role, she works directly with a steering committee of 79 CEOs, University presidents, chambers of commerce and immigrant advocates to develop and implement strategy that support the passage of federal immigration reform. IBIC has been extraordinarily effective in winning public bipartisan support from the majority of Illinois's Congressional delegation for commonsense immigration reform, and has helped to launch a sister coalition in Florida, IMPAC FUND.
Sheerin
Kate Sheerin is a Public Policy Manager at Google, where she leads the company’s U.S. policy strategy on immigration reform. Prior to joining Google in 2010, she served as a Municipal and Community Development Volunteer for the Peace Corps in Niger, West Africa. Originally from New York, Kate received her B.A. in political science from Tulane University and studied at the American University of Paris.
Shapiro
Norah Shapiro is an award-winning filmmaker. Her latest feature documentary, Time for Ilhan, about Ilhan Omar, the 1st Somali-American legislator in the United States, has won multiple awards including the HBO Best Feature Documentary Audience Award at the Provincetown International Film Festival, and Best U.S. Feature Documentary at the 2018 Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. Her first feature film Miss Tibet: Beauty in Exile won the 2014 MSPIFF Best Minnesota Feature Documentary Award. Norah’s production company, Flying Pieces Productions produces freelance video content, specializing in helping nonprofits, artists, and businesses harness the power of video to tell their stories.
Shannon
Amy Shannon currently serves as Alianza Americas’s Senior Advisor, providing strategic and programmatic analysis and guidance. She has worked extensively in philanthropy, both as a consultant and as a program officer in the Environment Programs at both the C.S. Mott Foundation, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. She holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School, where she conducted research on rural financial systems, sustainable enterprise, and social marketing. Amy has lived and worked extensively in Latin America, and now resides in Chicago, IL.
Sepulveda
Diego Sepulveda currently directs the Dream Resource Center at the UCLA Labor Center and is a fearless and relentless advocate for justice. Through his lifelong work, Diego has marched through the streets of this country and through the halls of the Capitol to advocate for LGBTQ justice, immigrant rights, worker justice, environmental justice, and college affordability and accessibility.
Sarr
Fatou-Seydi Sarr, Social Justice advocate and Human Rights Activist is the founder and Executive Director of ABISA (African Bureau for Immigration and Social Affairs) a nonprofit that helps African and Black Immigrants in Metro-Detroit and to know their rights, access resources, become invested and civically engaged. A Senegalese native, Seydi is a graduate of Wayne State University School of Social Work (BSW) and Marygrove School of Social Justice (M.A. SJ). Her passion for social equity drives her commitment to advocacy for the intersectionality of religious, racial, immigration, socio-economy and gender issues.
Ryan
Liza Ryan is the Organizing Director at MIRA Coalition and works with the 140+ member organizations to advance pro-immigrant policy through capacity building, education and community engagement. Before joining MIRA, she worked with the East-West Center, a diplomatic think tank in Honolulu, Hawai’i, where she organized and coordinated fellowships for high-level media, political leaders, and educators on global affairs and media development, including U.S. relations with the Muslim-majority world. Liza holds a Master’s degree in Diplomacy and Strategic Studies from Hawaiʻi Pacific University and an undergraduate degree in Intercultural Studies and Language from the University of the Nations, Amsterdam.
Rodriguez Lima
Catalina Rodriguez Lima is the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MIMA) in Baltimore City, where she is responsible for promoting community well-being, economic development and the inclusion of immigrant and refugee communities in the City of Baltimore. Her office staffs Boards and Coalitions such as the Baltimore City Hispanic Commission, The Baltimore City Hispanic Advisory Council for Public Safety, and the New Americans Task Force – these last two created under Catalina’s leadership – to craft programs and policies to target the city’s estimated 50,000 foreign born.
Rodriguez
Maria Alegria 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.
Robinson
Rashad Robinson serves as Executive Director of ColorOfChange, the nation’s largest online civil rights organization. Under Rashad’s leadership, ColorOfChange has been at the forefront of issues ranging from fighting for justice for Trayvon Martin, to battling attempts to suppress the Black vote, to ending Pat Buchanan’s tenure as an MSNBC analyst. Rashad spearheaded ColorOfChange’s American Legislative Council (ALEC) national campaign. He previously held leadership roles at the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), Right to Vote Campaign and FairVote. Rashad serves on the Board of Directors for ALLOUT, Applied Research Center, Demos, the Global Campaign for LGBT Equality and State Voices.
Rigby
Theo Rigby is a director, cinematographer, and interactive storyteller who has dedicated his career to creating stories about the immigrant experience in the U.S. Theo is the founder of iNation Media, and his work has been showcased on the New York Times, nationally broadcast on POV, shown at Ellis Island, and at film festivals around the world.
Reith
Mireya Reith is the Founding Executive Director of Arkansas United, a nonprofit based in Springdale that is dedicated to empowering immigrants and their communities through immigrant rights advocacy and closing service gaps. Founded in 2012, Arkansas United boasts a network of over 200 immigrant organizers in 17 communities across Arkansas, operates 5 regional immigrant resource centers with partners, and represents Arkansas in leading, national coalitions advancing comprehensive immigration reform, Latino and Asian civic engagement and immigrant integration.
Rajendra
Dania Rajendra is faculty at Cornell's Worker Institute, where she directs the Union Communication Service; she sits on the boards of Political Research Associates and Jews for Racial and Economic Justice as well as the advisory council for the Food Chain Workers Alliance. In the eight hours for what we will, Dania will concocts elaborate layer cakes, complicated cocktails and the occasional poem.