Kim, Granate

Granate Kim

Granate Kim (she/her) is the Campaign Director at MPower Change, where she brings over a decade of experience as a campaigner and communicator in social justice organizing and activism to her role. She’s worked with a variety of organizations, unions, and advocates including the Fight for $15, Kairos Fellowship, and served as Communications Director at Jewish Voice for Peace. The internet is still a fun place for Granate –– as well as a place to build and contend for power. Working for gender, economic, and racial justice is part of her family’s legacy from Korea, Russia, and NYC; she is based in the Bay Area.

Chang, Jeff

Jeff Chang

Jeff Chang (he/him) serves as a Senior Advisor at Race Forward and runs the Butterfly Lab for Immigrant Narrative Strategy. His book, Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation, was named one of the best nonfiction books of the last quarter century.

Hsu, Yvonne

Yvonne Hsu

Yvonne Hsu (she/her) is the Chief Policy and Government Affairs Officer at the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, where she is responsible for the development and implementation of the advocacy strategy to dispel the model minority myth and build power for Asian American and Pacific Islander women and girls. A 1.5 generation immigrant, prior to joining NAPAWF, she worked for the National Council of State Housing Finance Agencies, and previously for U.S. Reps. Katherine Clark (D-MA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) and as a political appointee in the Obama Administration at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Garlick, Melissa

Melissa Garlick

Melissa Garlick (she/her) is the Associate Director for Advocacy and Partnerships at the Vera Institute of Justice, working on the Advancing Universal Representation initiative where she leads the initiative’s advocacy and strategic partnerships strategy through building and supporting campaigns and advocacy work for universal representation across the country. Before joining Vera, Melissa was the civil rights national counsel at the Anti-Defamation League, where she led policy and advocacy work on immigrant and refugee rights as well as a range of civil rights issues. Prior, she served as legislative director for MA State Senator Jamie Eldridge, working on issues of immigration, criminal justice, and housing. She holds a BA from Brandeis University and a JD from Northeastern University School of Law.

Onwa, Uchechukwu

Uchechukwu Onwa

Uchechukwu Onwa (he/him/his) is the Co-Director of the Queer Detainee Empowerment Project and Coordinator of QDEP’s Community Organizing Program. At QDEP, he focuses on building and strengthening the membership base while maintaining partnerships and coalitions with other organizations and leads QDEP’s Leadership Development Program for Cisgender Queer and Trans Women and Gender Non-Conforming People. A Nigerian-born organizer, trainer, abolitionist, and movement strategist, he fled his home country due to the repression and persecution he faced as a gay man. He is a member of the Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project (BLMP) with over 9 years of experience working in community outreach, public health, and human rights. He is a high-impact voice for the LGBTQ+ community and a social justice advocate, health advocacy and human rights work. Uche’s work has been featured in numerous outlets including Windy City Times, Shonderland, Buzzfeed, Pulitzer Center, Advocate Magazine, Vogue Magazine, Gay City News, PoliticsNY and AMNY.

Rendón, Eréndira “Ere”

Eréndira “Ere” Rendón

Eréndira “Ere” Rendón (she/her/ella) is Vice-President of Immigrant Justice at The Resurrection Project, where she created the Immigrant Justice Department and serves as the organization’s lead strategist and manager of local and state-wide campaigns impacting the lives of immigrants. She has played a leading role in the successful passage of many pro-immigrant legislation in Illinois, including Temporary Visitors Driver's Licenses, the renewal of Illinois’ All Kids healthcare program, the expansion of healthcare to undocumented seniors and older adults, the Chicago Legal Protection Fund, and the creation of the first-ever immigration unit in the law office of the Cook County Public Defender. In 2019, Ere led the successful passage and implementation of IL Access to Justice Program, a now $20M first-in-the nation program that provides free legal representation and mass "know-your-rights" education. An undocumented immigrant with DACA protectionm, Ere was born in Oaxaca, Mexico and immigrated to the U.S. in 1990 to be reunited with her dad. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

DeFilippi, Pablo

Pablo DeFilippi

Pablo DeFilippi (he/him) is currently Executive VP at the Inclusiv Network, a CDFI intermediary, nonprofit organization, and national association of 450 community development credit unions that represents, supports and invests in credit unions serving 17 million consumers in predominantly low-income, financially underserved communities; the Inclusiv Network manages over $250 billion in community-controlled assets. DeFilippi has more than 25 years of experience in community finance and financial inclusion working with regulated financial institutions both in the domestic and international arena. Originally from Chile, hehas served as CEO of the Lower East Side People’s FCU and later managed the World Council of Credit Unions, Inc and its International Remittance Program. He has has been the recipient of numerous industry recognitions, including most recently the President’s Award from the Asociación de Ejecutivos de Cooperativas de Puerto Rico and the DEI Trailblazer Award from the African American Credit Union Coalition. Based in Madison, WI, he holds a B.A. from Universidad de Chile, as well as a Professional Accounting Certificates from Baruch College and New York University. He has a MBA from Pace University and is a graduate of CUNA’s Management School and NCUF’s Social Impact Management Institute. He is also a Credit Union Development Educator and a UK Credit Union Development Educator, and is currently pursuing a DE&I Certificate from Cornell University.

Vargas Martínez, René A.

René A. Vargas Martínez

René A. Vargas Martínez (he/him) is Director of the Puerto Rico Network at Inclusiv, where heoversees an initiative to build and expand a network of CDFI credit unions and cooperativas in Puerto Rico, providing technical assistance, resources, and access to financial inclusion programs in the continental US. He also advances financial inclusion for Hispanic and immigrant communities through the Juntos Avanzamos national network of credit unions serving these communities. Prior to joining Inclusiv, René worked at Pentagon Federal Credit Union in Puerto Rico and American Airlines Federal Credit Union. He also recently served as Associate Vice President for Student Affairs at the University of Puerto Rico, overseeing the operations of the University’s financial aid, admissions, medical services, cultural affairs, ombudsperson and athletic offices, respectively. Prior he served as Director of the Office of the Student Ombudsman at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, and served in the University of Puerto Rico’s Board of Trustees from 2011 to 2012. René holds a B.A. in History from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus anda Juris Doctor from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law.

Chun, Seongeun

Seongeun Chun

Seongeun Chun (she/her) is the Director of Health Policy at the New York Immigration Coalition, where she supports efforts at the municipal, state and federal levels to improve access to high-quality care for immigrant New Yorkers. Most recently at Montefiore Medical Center, Seongeun directed a multi-site study to increase access to effective treatment for opioid use disorders in primary health care settings. Prior, she led research and policy analysis focusing on health care delivery, and access to maternal and neonatal care in Indonesia, Liberia and China. Seongeun received her MPH from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Ahmad, Azizah

Azizah Ahmad

Azizah Ahmad (she/her/hers) is the Policy and Community Advocacy Manager at the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum. In her role, she assesses and advocates on policy initiatives that address the needs of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities, and aims to make policy more accessible in these communities. An active member of the Cham American community, where her commitment to social justice is rooted, Azizah has over a decade of experience advocating and analyzing policies affecting indigenous, Southeast Asian, and AA & NH/PI communities. Prior to APIAHF, she worked in immigration law, providing legal aid to low-income residents in California, and most recently served at the office of the California Attorney General analyzing policy on immigration, environment, health care, and criminal justice reform.

Nguyen, Christine

Christine Nguyen

Christine Nguyen (she/her) is the Policy Manager at the National Asian Pacific Women's Forum, the only organization building power with AAPI women and girls through a reproductive justice framework. Christine manages a portfolio that includes NAPAWF’s immigrant health care access and reproductive justice work. She previously served as Policy and Research Manager for The Fairness Project, where she provided campaigns research expertise and worked with coalitions to draft policies for ballot initiatives to raise the minimum wage, pass Medicaid expansion and reform policing in states and cities across the country. Christine has previous experience working for women’s health advocates, physicians’ interest groups, and think tanks. She holds a Masters of Public Health from George Washington University and a Bachelor’s in Sociology from the University of Michigan.  

Basaca, Liz

Liz Basaca

Liz Basaca (she/her) is Director of Content and Communication at USAHello. She is grateful to help provide free online information and classes to over 1.7 million newcomers annually through USAHello’s digital platforms. Her work prioritizes creating easy-to-understand plain language resources. She strives for USAHello's content to be inclusive, accessible, and responsive.

Sharma, Priyanka

Priyanka Sharma

Priyanka Sharma (she/her) is Vice President of World Education Inc., overseeing the organization’s U.S.-based projects and centers of expertise, including the EdTech Center, National College Transition Network, New England Literacy Resource Center, and SABES Program Support Center. Priyanka leads projects on post-secondary career readiness, technology integration, digital transformation, and digital skills development. She co-leads Digital US, a national initiative with a cross-sector approach to design a learn and work ecosystem that fosters digital resilience for all learner workers. She also directs the New England Literacy Resource Center, leading projects that emerge from collaboration among policymakers, professional developers, and practitioners. Priyanka has authored two resources (Mentoring Toolkit and English Now! Implementation Guide) that support peer mentoring and learning; contributed to Mapping the Financial Journey for adult students; and co-authored Leveraging Technology to Increase Opportunity and Economic Security for Adults. She has a degree in biology and anthropology from the State University of NY.

Alobaidi, Marwah

Marwah Alobaidi

Marwah Alobaidi (she/her) is the Manager of Translations & Community Programs at USAHello. She is also a found board member of WeaveTales. Marwah brings 10 years of experience in the nonprofit development, communication, and marketing sector. Her lived experience as an immigrant woman drives her passion to empower other immigrants experiencing forced displacement. She is a strong advocate for language justice access and works tirelessly to ensure newcomers feel welcome and have the resources they need for successful integration. 

Hofstetter, Jacob

Jacob Hofstetter

Jacob Hofstetter (he/him) is an Associate Policy Analyst at the Center on Immigrant Integration Policy of the Migration Policy Institute, where he conducts research and policy analysis to promote the long-term civic, economic, and linguistic integration of immigrants and refugees, with a focus on adult education and workforce development policy. Previously, he worked as a Research and Policy Associate at the Massachusetts Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, where he led a project evaluating language access in the state’s child welfare system. He has also interned for Refugee Services of Texas, worked as a Legal Services Coordinator for Human Rights First in Houston, and spent a year as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Spain. He holds a master’s degree in global policy studies with a focus on immigration and refugee policy from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, Austin and a BA in history from Miami University.

Muñoz, Paula

Paula Muñoz

Paula Muñoz (she/her/ella) is the Director of Campaigns at the Florida Immigrant Coalition, she works with a team of issue-based organizers and coordinators to strategically build power to push national, statewide and local policy on issues that impact FLIC’s members and communities. Born in Bogota, Colombia, she came to the US when she was 7 years old. As a previous asylee and immigrant, her passion is to fight for the rights of all immigrants, who like her and her family, came to the U.S. for safety and in hopes of a better life. She got involved in immigrant rights through her organizing with youth against mass incarceration and prison divestment with Students Working for Equal Rights in 2011.

Steinberg, Naomi

Naomi Steinberg

Naomi Steinberg (she/her) is Vice President, U.S. Policy and Advocacy at HIAS. Previously, Naomi was the Director of Refugee Council USA, 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 with other nongovernmental organizations, as well as fostering strong communications between international, federal and state partners. Prior to her work with RCUSA, Naomi was the Deputy Director of the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, where she focused on building the capacity of community-based, refugee-led organizations.

Minuche, Melanie

Melanie Minuche

Melanie Minuche (she/her) is a climate justice organizer at Alianza Americas. She works to support climate justice-related efforts of Alianza America's network of migrant-led organizations and creates space for migrant communities to find their involvement in the movement for climate justice. Before joining Alianza Americas, in November 2021, Melanie worked with young asylum seekers from West Africa, Central America, and Southeast Asia, many of whom were fleeing gender-based violence, political persecution, and climate displacement.  As the daughter of Ecuadorian immigrants, Melanie's passion for promoting mobility and migratory rights comes from envisioning a world free of borders and rooted in community.

Goss, Eli

Eli Goss

Eli Goss (they/them) is the Policy Director at OneAmerica in Seattle, WA. Originally from south and central Texas, Eli moved to WA 13 years ago to attend The Evergreen State College and has worked in a variety of progressive causes through policy, electoral and community organizing. At OneAmerica, they have been part of advocacy fights to secure over $500 million in cash assistance for undocumented workers, progressive revenue, childcare investments for multilingual families and providers, dual language supports in K-12 and state funding for refugee assistance and naturalization. Their passion is making advocacy, power analysis and government lobbying accessible and transformative for activists to make the change needed for communities to thrive.

Dar, Sarah

Sarah Dar

Sarah Dar (she/her) is the Health & Public Benefits Policy Director at the California Immigrant Policy Center. Sarah received her B.A. from Northwestern University and MPH from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. She has organized on a number of different state and local campaigns and led enrollment and outreach following the Affordable Care Act. Before joining CIPC, she worked in the Navigator Program at MNSure, Minnesota’s state health insurance exchange. For the last 5 years, Sarah has worked on CIPC's policy advocacy to improve immigrants' access to health care and public benefits in California and currently leads that portfolio of work.