Powell, Kimahli

Kimahli Powell

Kimahli Powell (he/him) is the Executive Director of Rainbow Railroad, where he has led the organization through transformational growth helping thousands of people. Under his leadership, RR expanded its international reach and completed successful crisis interventions in Chechnya, Egypt, Uganda, and more recently Afghanistan and Ukraine. A senior leader in the INGO field with expertise in community building and strategic advocacy with a focus on international development, law and policy, HIV/AIDs and internally displaced persons, Kimahli holds an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Victoria and was listed in Out Magazine’s 2018 profile of 100 influential LGBTQI+ people. He has served as a board member for ILGA, is the current Chair of the Dignity Network, and on the board of the Foundation for Black Communities. Kimahli is a regular contributor to international media with appearances on CNN, MSNBC, CBC, BBC and a profile on 60 Minutes.

Thanjan, Theresa

Theresa Thanjan

Theresa Thanjan (she/her) is the Senior Manager of Organizing and Strategy for NYC of the New York Immigration Coalition, where she engages 130 member agencies and partners in local, state, and federal advocacy campaigns. These include fighting for municipal voting rights, legal services funding, language access as well as a pathway to citizenship. Theresa also co-leads the #Coverage4All Campaign, which aims to provide health insurance coverage to all New Yorkers regardless of status.

Ross, Kenrick

Kenrick Ross

Kenrick Ross (he/him) is the Executive Director of the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance, the nation’s leading organization empowering LGBTQ+ Asians and Pacific Islanders. Previously, he served in leadership at YWCA of Queens, The Leaguers, Inc., and Indo-Caribbean Alliance, and his career spans sectors as diverse as civic engagement and education reform to equitable entrepreneurship and community health. Kenrick has spoken at 50+ events, produced a short film, served on a dozen boards, and founded Urban&Out, an LGBTQ+POC platform. He’s also a huge evangelist for LGBTQ community athletes, fitness, and sports, especially tennis. Born in Guyana and raised in New Jersey, he holds a BA in Politics from New York University, and an MS in Urban Policy and Leadership from CUNY-Hunter College.

Ndoye, Adja Soukeyna

Adja Soukeyna Ndoye

Adja Soukeyna Ndoye (she/her) is the Operations and Program Manager at African Bureau of Immigration & Social Affairs, where she focuses on bridging the resource and information gap impacting Black immigrant communities. A native of Senegal, she received a Diploma in Organizational Communication and Public Relations from Toulouse, France, Paul Sabatier University, focusing on community organization and change. Adja attributes her interest in social justice and immigration policies, in part, to the difficulties she faced during her immigration process. She found the process time-consuming, expensive, and discouraging. As the weaver she is, she said, “I am sure I can make an impact if I get in.”

Panahi, Anahita

Anahita Panahi

Anahita Panahi (she/her) is the Refugee Campaign Manager at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), and in partnership with We Are All America. In her role, she builds grassroots support, convenes various stakeholders, sustains grass-tops leadership, and fosters welcoming practices for refugees' rights and needs in California. Anahita received her Bachelors in International Security and Conflict Resolution at San Diego State University and a Masters in Political Science at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. As an immigrant and the product of refugees from Iran, she has always had a strong desire to help resettle refugee families in various capacities before joining We Are All America in 2018. Anahita is also the Vice Chair of the Refugee Forum of Los Angeles.

Mohamed, Adamou

Adamou Mohamed

Adamou Mohamed (he/him) is the Associate Director of Grassroots Organizing with the Immigration and Refugee Program at Church World Service, where he leads a team of Refugee Community Organizers in eight states engaging refugees in leadership development and capacity building trainings in community organizing and civic engagement. He coordinates refugee and immigrant advocacy efforts in key states lifting refugee voices, stories, and promoting the welcome of refugees and immigrants. Adamou is also an executive member of the Opportunity for All Table and sits on other state civic engagement tables. Prior to joining CWS, Adamou served as the Detention and Deportation Pipeline Interruption Fellow at the American Friends Service Committee of the Carolinas. Adamou holds an MA in International Studies from NC State University, Raleigh, NC.

Sesay, Dauda

Dauda Sesay

Dauda Sesay (he/him) is the National Network Director for African Communities Together. A refugee from Sierra Leone, Dauda fled his homeland at 16 due to war and resettled in the U.S. He earned a degree in Applied Science in Process Technology and is currently pursuing his Bachelor's in Administrative Management with a concentration in International Business at the Louisiana State University-Shreveport. Before joining ACT, Dauda worked at Dow Chemical Company and volunteered with various local and national nonprofit organizations. A community advocate and founding member of the Louisiana Organization for Refugees and Immigrants, Dauda is also a member of Mayor Sharon Weston Broome's International Relations Commission and Chairperson of the Commission of Culture and Art Engagement. He was appointed as the U.S. Advisor at the UNHCR High-Level Officials Meeting on Global Impact on Refugees, recently served as the refugee Advisor on the U.S. Delegation at the Annual Tripartite Consultations on Resettlement in Geneva, Switzerland, and is presently Vice-Chairman of Refugee Congress’s Board of Directors.

Clerjeune, Judith

Judith Clerjeune

Judith Clerjeune (she/her) is the Campaigns and Advocacy Director at the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, where she oversees and leads policy priorities and campaign initiatives. In close partnership with organizers, she advances strategic national, statewide, and local campaigns around issues that impact TIRRC'S membership and immigrant and refugee communities. Judith brings bold visions to the immigrant rights movement in TN and a deep commitment to intersectional struggles. She has been instrumental in TIRRC's policy victories through her lobbying, research, and building strategic relationships with stakeholders and elected officials. Judith holds a B.A. in History from Williams College and a Masters of Divinity from Vanderbilt Divinity School.

Seniuk, Sarah

Sarah Seniuk

Sarah Seniuk (she/her) serves as Director of Advocacy and Communications for Refugee Council USA, where her work includes spearheading the strategic messaging and campaigns, and the creation and management of RCUSA’s anti-racism working group. Prior, Sarah worked as Program Associate for Muslim Advocates, where she utilized her advocacy, community organizing, and research skills to help combat anti-Muslim bigotry. Sarah earned an interdisciplinary Masters of Arts in Ethics, Peace, and Global Affairs with a focus on human rights and social justice from American University, and holds a Bachelors of Arts from Eckerd College in Ancient Studies, with focuses on Anthropology and Religious Studies.

Partolan, Raymond

Raymond Partolan

Raymond Partolan (he/him) is the National Field Director at APIAVote. For almost a decade, he has been an advocate for immigrant and refugee communities. Prior to APIAVote, was the Program Associate at Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta. A coalition-builder, he played a key role establising the Georgia Immigrant Alliance for Civic Empowerment, and has engaged with the media extensively to bring the challenges faced by communities of color into the public eye. He was named one of the 25 Most Influential Asian Americans in Georgia in 2018 and 2019, and won three Grammy Awards in 2019 for his work on the highly-acclaimed jazz album, American Dreamers: Voices of Hope, Music of Freedom. Raymond graduated summa cum laude from Mercer University in Macon, GA and is trilingual in English, Spanish, and Tagalog.

Kelechian, Kayla

Kayla Kelechian

Kayla Kelechian (she/her) is the Manager of Organizing and Strategy for Central NY of the New York Immigration Coalition, where she supports NYIC members on campaigns like Farmworker Organizing and Access to Representation. A native Tejana, Kayla has worked with Karen refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border and at the height of refugee resettlement, she relocated to Central New York. Prior, she was an organizer with the Workers' Center of Central New York, whose members took part in the historic passing of the Greenlight law, and Farmworker Fair Labor Practices Act. She has also worked as a community problem solver and has participated in bilingual literacy projects for adult learners.

Sarr, Seydi

Seydi Sarr

Seydi Sarr (she/her) is an award-winning social justice advocate, human rights activist, and curator of equitable practices through lived experiences. She is the Founder and Helmswomxn of the African Bureau for Immigration and Social Affairs and co-founder of the Black Immigrant Bail Fund. 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). She advocates at the intersections of racial, immigration, socio-economy, religious, and gender issues, and curates the vision of a multicultural, multifaceted society built on acknowledgment, understanding, courage, transformation, and service. Seydi is a court interpreter, an alumna of the Detroit Equity Action Lab fellow, a Michigan Political Leadership Program fellow, and a New American Leaders fellow.

Kessler, Shayna

Shayna Kessler

Shayna Kessler (she/her) is the Senior Planner the state advocacy manager for the Advancing Universal Representation Initiative at the Vera Institute of Justice. Her work focuses on building support for universal representation across the country. Prior to Vera, she was the associate director of the Workers’ Rights Clinic at the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law, where she advocated for the protection of the rights of low-wage immigrant workers and a public defender at the Bronx Defenders. Shayna co-chairs the New York State Bar Association’s Committee on Immigration Representation.

Beattie, Ellen

Ellen Beattie

Ellen Beattie (she/her) is Senior Director, Program Quality & Innovation with the Resettlement, Asylum and Integration department of the International Rescue Committee, where she oversees a portfolio of innovative program and services that promote the social and economic integration of refugees, immigrants and migrants across 28 U.S. cities and six European countries. With the IRC since 2003 in successive executive leadership roles, she has extensive experience in international and community development with international organizations including United Nations Development Program, German Agency for International Development and Heifer International. Ellen holds a B.A. from Rice University, an M.S. in Regional Development Planning from Los Andes University, and studied Development Sociology at Justus-Liebig University.

Valdez, Craig

Craig Valdez

Craig Valdez (he/him) currently serves as the Deputy Director of Programs and Partnerships for New American Leaders, where he develops lasting partnerships with organizations across the country and recruits, plans, and executes the Ready to Lead and Ready to Win training programs to prepare and empower immigrants, refugees, and their allies to engage in our democracy. The proud son of immigrant parents from the Philippines, Craig witnessed firsthand the injustices and systemic barriers his family faced — propelling him to pursue a career in policy and advocacy work. Craig remains a steadfast activist for the Southern Nevada Asian American and Pacific Islander community, serving as the Chair of the Asian American Pacific Islanders Community Commission for Clark County, Nevada, bringing a deep commitment to uplifting marginalized groups all across the country. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Ali, Ishraq

Ishraq Ali

Ishraq Ali (he/him) is the Organizing Director at MPower Change and has worked in faith-based and online organizing initiatives on both coasts of the United States. Prior to MPower Change, Ishraq was the Membership Manager at the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. His start in grassroots work was through the Muslim American Society of Boston; followed by organizing with the Industrial Areas Foundation in Illinois and New York Communities for Change on GOTV campaigns, housing equity and school reform issues. He is a former fellow with the New Leaders Council working towards a more inclusive Los Angeles, a fellow and later a facilitator for Bend the Arc’s Community Organizing Residency program, and a fellow at the American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute that trains Muslim leaders on effective leadership development and civic growth. Ishraq seeks to implement the Prophetic model in his organizing.

Vazquez, Laura

Laura Vazquez

Laura Vazquez (she/her) is the Associate Director for Immigrant Integration at UnidosUS (formerlyNCLR), the largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. She works with its affiliates to expand and sustain their immigration legal services programs and provide additional supports for immigrants and their families. Previously she conducted legislative and administrative advocacy to advance just and humane reforms to the current immigration system. Prior to joining UnidosUS, she served as a constituent caseworker for Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, assisting D.C. residents with their immigration applications, and as a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Fellow, monitored efforts to address laws passed in 1996 that impacted immigrants. Her background includes research on Mexican migration to the U.S. and the role of nonprofits in advocating for Latino immigrants. Laura holds an MA in Latin American Studies from the University of California, San Diego and a BA in Political Science and Spanish from Kenyon College.

Moorthy, Shweta

Shweta Moorthy

Shweta Moorthy currently serves as Research Director at Race Forward, a national racial justice organization. Born and raised in New Delhi, India, she moved to the US in 2005 and acheived a doctorate in political science at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Cutting her teeth in social justice movements for Palestine, nuclear disarmament, actions against US imperialist wars in Afghanistan while in India, and in Asian American abolitionist collectives in Portland and Chicago, she has over 10 years of research experience, including developing and implementing a research justice vision that moves research towards achieving social justice change. She has authored publications such as Leading With Race: Research Justice in Washington County, set up Portland’s first community-driven hate violence tracking system through Portland United Against Hate, and conducts research capacity building work among communities of color across the country. She also serves on the board of Asian Americans Midwest Progressives.

Reddi, Ravi

Ravi Reddi

Ravi Reddi (he/him) is the Associate Director of Advocacy and Policy at the Asian American Federation, where he helps oversee the expansion of advocacy capacity in AAF's 70 member organizations through state and city hearings, coalition work, and Budget and policy mobilizations relating to senior services, culturally competent mental health, and myriad other direct services our CBOs provide. Before joining AAF, Ravi worked in policy research and nonprofit communications. He earned Masters degrees in Social Work from Columbia University and in Public Policy from the University of Minnesota.

Cruz, Conchita

Conchita Cruz

Conchita Cruz is a Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director at the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, a is a membership-based organization of more than 350,000 asylum seekers from 175+ countries now living in all 50 U.S. states. ASAP works alongside its members to build a more humane asylum system in the United States. Conchita is originally from Miami, Florida, and is the daughter of a Guatemalan immigrant and Cuban refugee. She speaks Spanish, English, Portuguese, and French.