8:15AM-8:45AM
Registration and Breakfast

8:45AM-8:55AM
Welcome
Donald Kerwin
Executive Director
Center for Migration Studies

8:55AM-9:15AM
Keynote: Viewing Refugee Protection and Durable Solutions from a Faith Perspective

9:15AM-10:05AM
Session I: Resettlement and Integration Experiences of Syrian and Iraqi Refugees
Panelists will describe the reasons they left their homelands and their experiences with resettlement in the United States.

Moderator
Mark Franken
Center for Migration Studies

Speakers
Mazin Abdulmajeed Hadi Kamuona
Refugee from Iraq

Omar Al-Muqdad
Refugee from Syria

Fr. Don Rooney
Pastor
St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church in Fredericksburg, Virginia

10:05AM-10:15AM
Break

10:15AM-11:15AM
Session II: Voluntary Resettlement Agencies’ Perspectives on the Resettlement of Refugees from the Middle East
Panelists will offer insights on refugee resettlement in the United States and describe how communities across the country have responded, and are prepared to respond further, to refugees from the Middle East.

Moderator
Naomi Steinberg
Director
Refugee Council USA

Speakers
Melanie Nezer
Vice President, Policy & Advocacy
HIAS

William Canny
Executive Director, Migration and Refugee Services
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Abdullaziz A. Abokor
Resettlement Program Manager
Catholic Charities of Arlington, VA

11:15AM-12:30PM
Session III: International Community and US Government Response to Refugees from the Middle East
Panelists will discuss the response of the international community and the US government to the refugee crises in the Middle East, including overseas protection issues, resettlement opportunities, and integration into the United States.  Future plans for addressing these areas will be offered.

Moderator
Kevin Appleby
Senior Director of International Migration Policy
Center for Migration Studies

Speakers
Shelly Pitterman
Regional Representative
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Simon Henshaw
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Population, Refugees, & Migration
United States Department of State

Robert Carey
Director, Office of Refugee Resettlement
United States Department of Health & Human Services

12:30PM-12:45PM
Closing

Address by Mazin Abdulmajeed Hadi Kamuona

Address by Omar Al-Muqdad

Address by Shelly Pitterman

Address by Simon Henshaw

Address by Robert Carey

Abdullaziz A. Abokor
Resettlement Program Manager
Catholic Charities of Arlington, VA

Abdullaziz A. Abokor is the resettlement program manager with the Migration and Refugee Services division of Catholic Charities Diocese of Arlington. Originally from Somalia, Mr. Akobor has spent most of his professional career working with refugees since his arrival in the United States. Prior to his current position with Catholic Charities, he served as program manager with the agency’s Service to Older Adult Refugees (SOAR). Mr. Akobor also worked as a resettlement case manager with the International Rescue Committee (IRC). He has a degree in economics and public policy from George Mason University, and speaks Somali and Arabic.

Omar Al-Muqdad
Journalist and Documentary Filmmaker
Refugee from Syria

Omar Al-Muqdad is a Syrian journalist and a documentary filmmaker who has resided in Alexandria, Virginia since 2012. Mr. Al-Muqdad holds a degree in political science and international relations from the University of Damascus. Prior to his resettlement in the United States, he was a prisoner of conscience in Syria for more than two years. Mr. Al-Muqdad reported on the Syrian Revolution from his hometown, Dara’a, located in southern Syria, and later from Turkey when he was forced to escape the war. The private newspaper he founded was shut down three times by Syrian security forces for publishing articles critical of the Syrian regime. With more than nine years of journalism experience, Mr. Al-Muqdad continues to cover international events. Since his arrival to the United States, he has published numerous articles in various international newspapers and has appeared on several international news networks, speaking and analyzing the Syrian war and the refugee crisis. Mr. Al-Muqdad has produced two documentaries, one of which aired on BBC World in 2015. He currently has a film and book in production.

Kevin Appleby
Senior Director of International Migration Policy
Center for Migration Studies

Kevin Appleby is the senior director of international migration policy for the Center for Migration Studies (CMS) and the Scalabrini International Migration Network (SIMN). Prior to joining CMS and SIMN, Mr. Appleby served as the director of migration policy and public affairs of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) for more than 16 years. He has also worked as deputy director of the Maryland Catholic Conference in Annapolis, Maryland. Mr. Appleby has testified before Congress on immigration issues and represented the US Catholic bishops on these issues at public events and with the media. He is co-editor of the volume, On Strangers No Longer: Perspectives on the US-Mexican Catholic Bishop’s Pastoral Letter on Migration. Mr. Appleby worked for Senator Russell Long of Louisiana and select committees of the US Senate, including the Senate Select Committee on the Iran-Contra Affair. He received his BA from the University of Notre Dame, an MA in international affairs from the George Washington University, and a law degree from the University of Maryland.

William Canny
Executive Director
Migration and Refugee Services
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

William “Bill” Canny is the executive director of Migration and Refugee Services at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB/MRS). He joined USCCB/MRS in May 2015. Mr. Canny brings with him a demonstrated commitment to — and a wealth of experience in — providing service to migrants, refugees, and others in need. He has served as secretary general of the International Catholic Migration Commission and in various leadership roles within Catholic Relief Services, including as director of emergency operations for the period including the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake. Most recently, Mr. Canny was chief operating officer of the Papal Foundation, which supports the personal charitable initiatives of Pope Francis.

Robert Carey
Director, Office of Refugee Resettlement
United States Department of Health & Human Services

Robert “Bob” Carey is the director for the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Mr. Carey most recently served as the vice president of resettlement and migration policy at the International Rescue Committee (IRC), leading the agency’s advocacy on refugee, immigration, anti-trafficking, and community development policy issues. He also served for 10 years at the IRC as vice president of resettlement, where he oversaw IRC’s assistance to refugees, helping thousands establish new lives in the United States and become self-sufficient, productive citizens. In addition, Mr. Carey has served as the chair of Refugee Council USA, a coalition of NGOs working on issues affecting refugees, asylum seekers, displaced persons, victims of trafficking, and victims of torture.

Mark Franken
Center for Migration Studies

Mark Franken is a consultant to the Center for Migration Studies (CMS), supporting CMS’ Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative, which advances immigrant integration within the life of the local community. Mr. Franken has nearly 40 years of experience working with refugees and immigrants, having retired as the executive director of Migration and Refugee Services at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB/MRS) in 2007. After retiring, he worked briefly as the executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC). Since then, he has provided consultancy services and served as a board member for several non-profit organizations whose missions focus on refugee and immigrant populations.

Simon Henshaw
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
United States Department of State

Simon Henshaw is a career officer in the US Foreign Service, currently serving as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. His previous assignment was Director of Andean Affairs in the State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. From 2008 to 2011, he was the Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Mr. Henshaw joined the State Department in 1985. Prior to Tegucigalpa, he served overseas in Brasilia, St. Petersburg, San Salvador, Abidjan, and Manila. In Washington, he worked in the State Department’s Office of Cuban Affairs, Central American Affairs, and in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. He attended the National War College, where he earned a Master of Science in National Security Affairs, and has a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Mazin Abdulmajeed Hadi Kamuona
Refugee from Iraq

Mazin Abdulmajeed Hadi Kamuona is a refugee from Iraq who was resettled through Catholic Charities. Mr. Kamuona has a degree in architectural engineering from Baghdad University, and worked in the field for over 25 years. He now lives with his family in Fairfax County.

Donald Kerwin
Executive Director
Center for Migration Studies

Donald Kerwin directs the Center for Migration Studies (CMS), a New York-based educational institute/think tank devoted to the study of international migration, to the promotion of understanding between immigrants and receiving communities, and to public policies that safeguard the dignity and rights of migrants, refugees, and newcomers. CMS was established in 1964 by the Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Charles, Scalabrinians. It is a member of the Scalabrini International Migration Network (SIMN), which consists of more than 270 organizations that serve, safeguard, and advocate for migrants throughout the world. Mr. Kerwin previously worked for 16 years at the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), serving as that agency’s executive director for 15 years. CLINIC, a subsidiary of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), is a public interest legal corporation that supports a national network of charitable legal programs for immigrants. He has also served as interim executive director at CLINIC; as vice president for programs and non-resident senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute; and as an associate fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center and co-director of Woodstock’s Theology of Migration Project. Mr. Kerwin has also served on numerous boards, commissions, and task forces. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Border Network for Human Rights in El Paso, Texas.

Melanie Nezer
Vice President, Policy and Advocacy
HIAS

Melanie Nezer is vice president, policy and advocacy for HIAS. She directs the organization’s Washington, DC office and leads HIAS’ education and advocacy on immigration, asylum, and refugee protection issues. Ms. Nezer has also served as HIAS’ senior director, policy and advocacy and, previously, as migration policy counsel and director of the employment visa program, representing at-risk Jewish professionals and religious workers seeking to work in the United States during times of instability and crisis in their home countries. Before joining HIAS, Ms. Nezer was the immigration policy director for the organization now known as US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), where — in addition to conducting advocacy on immigration and asylum issues — she was co-editor of Refugee Reports and a writer for the annual World Refugee Survey. Prior to her work in Washington, she was in private practice in Miami, Florida, where she specialized in immigration law and criminal defense. Ms. Nezer obtained her law degree from Boston College Law School and her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Shelly Pitterman
Regional Representative
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Shelly Pitterman is the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) regional representative for the United States and the Caribbean, based in Washington, DC. Mr. Pitterman joined UNHCR in 1984 as a program officer in Sudan and has managed UNHCR field and country operations in Guinea, Burundi, and Kenya. He also served as the director of operations in Jordan for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. Mr. Pitterman has held positions in UNHCR’s Geneva headquarters, including as chief of resettlement and, most recently before taking up his assignment in the United States, as director of human resources management. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University and a master’s and doctorate from Northwestern University.

Fr. Don Rooney
Pastor
St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church in Fredericksburg, Virginia

Father Don Rooney is a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, and Pastor of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church in Fredericksburg, Virginia, a parish family of about 14,000. He received his MA in Systematic Theology from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia following a number of years as a creative director and owner of an advertising design firm. He was ordained in 1994.

For seven years he has served as the Officer for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs for the Diocese of Arlington, as well as a number of related organizations: formerly, Secretary of CADEIO; Treasurer of the Virginia State Committee of Lutheran, Anglican, Roman Catholic and United Methodist Churches (LARCUM), as well as a member of the Coordinating Cabinet for the Virginia Council of Churches. He is an active participant in several local and national dialogues and is a founding partner in the Catholic Muslim Dialogue of northern Virginia. He served as the national chair of the National Workshop on Christian Unity in Tampa in 2010. He also serves as member on a number of boards whose work is ecumenical and philanthropic in nature, including the Holy Land Christians Society whose goal is to promote education and peace, and Micah Ecumenical Ministries in Fredericksburg which seeks to serve the needs of the poor and homeless and the resettlement of refugees through the network of downtown churches.

Naomi Steinberg
Director
Refugee Council USA

Naomi Steinberg is the director of Refugee Council USA (RCUSA) where she coordinates and oversees the overall work of the Council. Ms. Steinberg’s work includes facilitating communication between RCUSA and other nongovernmental organizations and coalitions that share similar objectives, as well as fostering collaborations with federal and state partners and the Council. In addition, she is responsible for promoting strong communication between the Council and international bodies, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration, and the International Council of Voluntary Agencies. Prior to joining RCUSA, Ms. Steinberg was the deputy director of the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC). At SEARAC, she focused on building the capacity of community-based, refugee-led organizations. She holds an MA in Southeast Asian studies from Cornell University and a BA in political science from Macalester College.