Promoting Just and Inclusive Communities in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana: A “Whole of Community” Approach to Immigrants and Refugees

July 16, 2018 Agenda

SITE VISITS

10:30AM
For those selected to attend the Butler County Jail visit, please meet the shuttle at the entrance of the Courtyard Cincinnati Midtown/Rookwood hotel at 10:30AM.

12:00PM-1:00PM
Butler County Jail
705 Hanover Street
Hamilton, OH 45011
Space is limited to only 15 people. Deadline to submit request to attend was Friday, July 13. Those selected received email confirmation and more information. Direct questions to cms@cmsny.org.

NOTE: Following this visit, the shuttle will transport Butler County Jail group to Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center and then to the Courtyard Cincinnati Midtown/Rookwood hotel.

2:00PM
For those attending the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center only, the shuttle will depart from the Courtyard Cincinnati Midtown/Rookwood hotel at 2:00PM.

2:30PM-4:00PM
Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center
215 East 14^th Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202

NOTE: Following this site visit, shuttles will return participants to the Courtyard Cincinnati Midtown/Rookwood hotel.

July 17, 2018 Agenda

Cintas Center at Xavier University
1624 Herald Avenue
Cincinnati, Ohio 45207
Free parking available in Lot C2. Entrance to the conference is located on the east side of the facility. Please follow signs to the Schiff Banquet & Conference Center.

7:45AM and 8:10AM
Shuttles depart the Courtyard Cincinnati Midtown/Rookwood hotel for the Cintas Center. NOTE: Shuttles are first come, first serve. Please try to make the first shuttle. We may not be able to offer a third trip for those who arrive late or if the second shuttle is at capacity.

8:00AM
REGISTRATION OPENS
Lobby

8:30AM – 9:00AM
WELCOME
Banquet Room 2

INTRODUCTION
Donald Kerwin
Executive Director
Center for Migration Studies

KEYNOTE
Most Reverend John Stowe, OFM Conv.
Bishop of Lexington
Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky

9:00AM – 10:20AM
SESSION I
CHALLENGES FACING IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES IN OHIO, KENTUCKY, AND INDIANA: LAYING THE GROUNDWORK
Banquet Room 2

This panel will describe the major challenges facing immigrant and refugee communities in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, including government policies and practices seeking to: deny state or local IDs to undocumented immigrants; restrict immigrants and refugees’ access to due process; expand detention; require federal, state, and local immigration enforcement partnerships; defund service providers; and weaken refugee resettlement. The panel will also correct some of the false, entrenched narratives surrounding immigrants and immigration issues.

Moderator: Lisa Koop, Associate Director of Legal Services, National Immigrant Justice Center

Speakers:

James P. Buchanan, University Professor and Executive Director of the Edward B. Brueggeman Center for Dialogue, Xavier University
Heather Drabek Prendergast, Of Counsel, Aljijakli & Kosseff, LLC
Jesús Ibañez, La Casita Center and Mijente Louisville
John A. Koehlinger, Executive Director, Kentucky Refugee Ministries

10:20AM – 10:30AM
BREAK

10:30AM – 12:15PM
SESSION II
MOBILIZING WITH IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT OHIO, KENTUCKY, AND INDIANA
Banquet Room 2

This panel will discuss the work of local and regional coalitions and organizations working with immigrant and refugee communities. It will discuss “whole of community” approaches to immigration challenges, how communities have organized to defend the rights of immigrants, and the engagement and mobilization of a diverse group of stakeholders, including: immigrants and refugee leaders; legal services providers; the funding community; government officials; immigrant advocates; and social services organizations.

Moderator: Sr. Tracey Horan, Bilingual Community Organizer, Faith in Indiana, Archdiocese of Indianapolis Justice for Immigrants Campaign

Speakers:

Karina Barillas, Executive Director, La Casita Center
Antonio Fernandez, Director of the International Welcome Center, Roberts Academy
Allison E. Herre, Immigration Attorney/Immigration Legal Services Director, Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio, Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Terri Morris Downs, Executive Director, Immigrant Welcome Center
Rev. Christopher Wadelton, Pastor, St. Philip Neri Catholic Church and Holy Cross Catholic Church

12:15PM – 1:15PM
LUNCH
Banquet Room 1

KEYNOTE
Rabbi Margaret J. Meyer
Former President
Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition of Cincinnati (MARCC)

1:15PM – 2:35PM
SESSION III
NATIONAL AND REGIONAL RESPONSES TO CHANGING POLICIES
Banquet Room 2

This session will discuss how networks comprised of diverse community groups are responding to new immigration-related challenges. Exploring “whole of community” responses to current threats and opportunities, it will describe the role of immigrant-serving and organizing institutions in response to priority needs and services. The conversation will assess what’s been working, what hasn’t, and why.

Moderator: Donald Kerwin, Executive Director, Center for Migration Studies

Speakers:

Jeanne Atkinson, Executive Director, Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC)
Melissa Bertolo, Certified Welcoming Manager, Welcoming America
Jessica Garcia, Deputy Political Director, Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW)
Robert Warren, Senior Visiting Fellow, Center for Migration Studies

2:35PM – 2:45PM
BREAK

2:45PM – 4:15PM
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Conference attendees are invited to break out by state/region to share state specific challenges, partnerships, strategies, and resources.

Mobilizing in Ohio
Banquet Room 2

This breakout will use Open Space Technology to build a collaborative working agenda and invite individuals to convene smaller group breakouts within the Ohio cohort to discuss topics of most interest to those gathered. Bring ideas for a topic you’re passionate about!

Moderator: Allison Reynolds-Berry, Executive Director, Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center

Mobilizing in Indiana
Conference Room 1

In this breakout, conference attendees will discuss ongoing advocacy projects in local Indiana communities and statewide initiatives and how to get involved.

Moderator: Sam Centellas, Executive Director, La Casa de Amistad, Inc.

Mobilizing in Kentucky
Conference Room 2

In this breakout, conference attendees will come together, learn, and build a collective agenda of priorities and strategies for the future of Kentucky. Come ready to engage, think, and brainstorm with your friends from across the state. This breakout will use Open Space Technology – a process that enables groups of any size to come together around complex, important issues and organize for action. Conversation hosts will guide groups to discuss issues important to them, hold collective inquiry, and brainstorm ideas. Facilitators will be on hand to guide the process and collect information for organizing work across Kentucky.

Moderators:

Sarah Nuñez, Assistant Director of Hispanic and Latino Initiatives, University of Louisville Cultural Center, Co-Director of Latinx Oral History Project, and Founding Member of Mijente Louisville, KY Crew
Enid Trucios-Haynes, Professor of Law and Interim Director of the Muhammad Ali Institute for Peace and Justice, University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law

Speaker:

Stephanie Solis, Member, Mijente Louisville and Intern, American Civil Liberties Union Kentucky

4:15PM – 5:35PM
SESSION IV
LITIGATION AND OTHER STRATEGIES
Banquet Room 2

This panel will address the use of litigation and other unifying strategies to address current challenges such as the Trump administration’s executive orders, the elimination of legal immigration programs (e.g., Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals [DACA], Temporary Protected Status [TPS], etc.), immigration enforcement practices, and individual removal cases. It will also examine successful campaigns to prevent implementation of policies harmful to immigrants such as addressing how communities can prepare for, assist in, and utilize litigation as one potential tool in an effective community response to anti-immigrant legislation and practices.

Moderator: Kate Melloy Goettel, Litigation Attorney, National Immigrant Justice Center

Speakers:

Kathleen Kersh, Staff Attorney, Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. (ABLE)
Nazly Mamedova, Of Counsel, WANGLAW
Enid Trucios-Haynes, Professor of Law and Interim Director of the Muhammad Ali Institute for Peace and Justice, University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law

5:35PM – 7:00PM
RECEPTION
Banquet Room 1

6:30PM and 7:15PM
Shuttles depart the Cintas Center for the Courtyard Cincinnati Midtown/Rookwood hotel. NOTE: Shuttles are first come, first serve. Please try to make the first shuttle. We may not be able to offer a third trip for those who arrive late or if the second shuttle is at capacity.

July 18, 2018 Agenda

Cintas Center at Xavier University
1624 Herald Avenue
Cincinnati, Ohio 45207
Free parking available in Lot C2. Entrance to the conference is located on the east side of the facility. Please follow signs to the Schiff Banquet & Conference Center.

8:15AM and 8:40AM
Shuttles depart the Courtyard Cincinnati Midtown/Rookwood hotel for the Cintas Center. NOTE: Shuttles are first come, first serve. Please try to make the first shuttle. We may not be able to offer a third trip for those who arrive late or if the second shuttle is at capacity.

9:00AM – 10:20AM
SESSION V
REFUGEES, DREAMERS, UNACCOMPANIED MINORS, AND TPS BENEFICIARIES
Banquet Room 2

This panel will discuss local, regional and national responses to changing policies impacting refugee protection, DACA beneficiaries and the broader Dreamer population, asylum seekers including unaccompanied minors, and TPS recipients.

Moderator: Camille R. Gill, Managing Attorney, Immigration Legal Services, Migration and Refugee Services, Catholic Charities Diocese of Cleveland

Speakers:

José Cabrera, Immigration Program Organizer, Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center (IJPC)
Leah Engle, Program Director, Maxwell Street Legal Clinic, Kentucky Equal Justice Center
Allyson Ferry, Community Empowerment Specialist, Kentucky Office for Refugees, Catholic Charities of Louisville
Jessica A. Ramos, Staff Attorney, Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. (ABLE)

10:20AM – 10:30AM
BREAK

10:30AM – 12:00PM
SESSION VI
DETENTION AND DEPORTATION DEFENSE
Banquet Room 2

This panel will cover the defense of persons in detention and in removal proceedings. Panelists will discuss how organized communities can assert and defend their rights, how to establish coordinated removal defense projects, and whole-of-community responses to the threat of removal.

Moderator: Shoshanna Spector, Executive Director, Faith in Indiana

Speakers:

Brian Hoffman, Immigration Justice Campaign Pro Bono Coordinator, The International Institute of Akron
Corey Lazar, Senior Program Associate, SAFE Cities Network, Center on Immigration and Justice, Vera Institute of Justice
Manuel Pérez, Membership Coordinator and Organizer, Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center
Carla F. Wallace, Co-Founder, Showing Up for Racial Justice and Co-Coordinator, Alerta Roja

12:00PM – 1:00PM
LUNCH
Banquet Room 1

1:00PM – 2:30PM
BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Engaging Funders
Banquet Room 2

This breakout will discuss how funders support migrant and refugee work (e.g., health care services, English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, legalization services, etc.). Funders will discuss the benefits, risks, and gaps in funding work with immigrants and refugees. They will offer suggestions on how an organization might approach a funder to consider a grant for work benefitting immigrants and refugees. The breakout will also discuss the recent study, “Our Pathway to a Brighter Future: Ohio’s New Americans 2018,” available at http://bit.ly/2KNYTDY.

Moderator: Sr. Sally Duffy, Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati

Speakers:

Elizabeth A. Casselman, Executive Director, The Clowes Fund, Inc.
Eric DeWald, President, HealthPath Foundation of Ohio
Angela Lloyd, Executive Director, Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation

Engaging the Media
Conference Room 1

This workshop will cover how to successfully engage local, regional, and national media to bring attention to critical immigration and refugee issues and the work being done to respond. Speakers will also discuss how to build and maintain media relationships, how to communicate with media (e.g., interviews), and how to leverage media attention to further advocacy efforts.

Moderator: Robyn Lamont, Executive Director, RefugeeConnect

Speakers:

Samantha Searls, Program Manager, Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center (IJPC)
Jackie Congedo, Director, Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC)
Karen Dabdoub, Executive Director, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

Local IDs: The Process and Value
Conference Room 2

Local identification cards (IDs) have been critical in improving local government, community, and community-police relations. Presenters will focus on the ID process through the on-the-ground efforts of immigrant/community advocates. Participants will learn the difference between state and municipal IDs with the focus on local IDs and how the local ID process is initiated and works. The process outlines the community ask, negotiation, training, implementation, value and geographic expansion. The two examples of local IDs will be the initiatives used in South Bend, Indiana and Metropolitan Cincinnati.

Moderator: Margaret A. Fox, Executive Director, Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition of Cincinnati

Speakers:

Sam Centellas, Executive Director, La Casa de Amistad, Inc.
Edwin Ortiz, Lead Bilingual Case Worker, Su Casa, Catholic Charities of Southwestern Ohio

2:30PM – 2:40PM
BREAK

2:40PM – 4:00PM
SESSION VII
PLAYING TO WIN OVER THE SHORT- AND LONG-TERM
Banquet Room 2

This panel will highlight successful models of collaboration to defeat anti-immigrant legislation and to create momentum and winning partnerships for long-term reform. It will discuss the ingredients of successful past legislative campaigns; voter engagement and impact on immigration policy; current state advocacy challenges; and likely legislative challenges in Congress in the upcoming months. The discussion will also consider possible strategies following the 2018 mid-term elections and strategies moving forward.

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

Speakers:

Elizabeth Cedillo-Pereira, Director of the Office of Welcoming Communities and Immigrant Affairs, City of Dallas
Silva Mathema, Senior Policy Analyst, Immigration Policy, Center for American Progress
Glenn Tebbe, Executive Director, Indiana Catholic Conference

4:00PM – 5:00PM
SESSION VIII: CLOSING SESSION
Banquet Room 2

Plenary discussion on lessons learned and next steps in the response of diverse communities to federal, state, and local challenges facing immigrants.

Moderator: Lisa Koop, Associate Director of Legal Services, National Immigrant Justice Center

5:10PM and 5:35PM
Shuttles depart the Cintas Center for the Courtyard Cincinnati Midtown/Rookwood hotel. NOTE: Shuttles are first come, first serve. Please try to make the first shuttle. We may not be able to offer a third trip for those who arrive late or if the second shuttle is at capacity.

Presentations

Speaker Profiles

Kevin Appleby
Senior Director of International Migration Policy
Center for Migration Studies
Washington, DC / New York, NY

Kevin Appleby is the senior director of international migration policy for the Center for Migration Studies of New York (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 for 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 George Washington University, and a law degree from the University of Maryland.

Jeanne Atkinson
Executive Director
Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.
Washington, DC

Jeanne M. Atkinson is the executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC). Ms. Atkinson co-chairs the Committee for Immigration Reform Implementation and co-founded the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Representation Project to provide volunteer legal representation and advocacy on behalf of mothers and children held in Dilley and Karnes City, Texas. She speaks nationally on topics including the implementation of large-scale immigration programs and travels internationally to examine issues causing people to migrate and speak with government officials and other NGOs. Prior to joining CLINIC, Ms. Atkinson served as the director of Catholic Charities’ Immigration Legal Services program and the Refugee Center for the Archdiocese of Washington. She serves on the Board of Advisors of Catholics for Family Peace.

Karina Barillas
Executive Director
La Casita Center
Louisville, KY

Karina Barillas is a native from Guatemala and is one of the co-founders and current executive director for La Casita Center. La Casita Center is a community of Latino hospitality, unique in the state of Kentucky, which enhances the well-being of Louisville’s Latino community through education, empowerment, advocacy, and wellness. La Casita works intentionally to build a thriving community based on mutual support and respect. Previously, Ms. Barillas worked with women’s issues as president of the International Students Organization at the University of Louisville in 2000. She worked for eight years advocating, accompanying, and supporting Latina victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault at the Center for Women and Families. For three years, she was the cohost of the first Spanish TV Show in Kentucky, Amigos en Louisville, a social, informational, and educational program.

For her work with victims and survivors of sexual assault and with the Latino community, Ms. Barillas has received a number of honors, including: the National Conference for Community and Justice’s Peace Maker Humanitarian Award; being named one of Louisville Magazine‘s 12 “Women to Watch” in 2004; being named “One of the 25 Most Influential Hispanics in Louisville” by Hoy en Las Américas; the Arte Sana National Latina Advocate Award; the Alden Fellowship by the Community Foundation of Louisville; the Toward Award on Service and Advocacy by Presentation Academy; the University of Louisville Community Spirit Award by the College of Arts and Sciences; and being named one of the three 2017 Most Outstanding Latinas in Louisville by Al Día en America. Through a Fulbright scholarship in 1996, Ms. Barillas earned her BA in psychology and education with a minor in English from the University of Louisville. She received her Master of Education with a concentration in counseling psychology from the University of Louisville in 2002. Ms. Barillas is the proud mother of Alicito and Fatimah, and loves to dance salsa, sing, and cook in her spare time.

Melissa Bertolo
Certified Welcoming Manager
Welcoming America
Dayton, OH

Melissa Bertolo is the Certified Welcoming Manager at Welcoming America. In this role, Ms. Bertolo is responsible for leading Welcoming America’s certification efforts and overseeing the certification process. Prior to joining Welcoming America, she gained national and international experience working on immigration issues. Most recently, she served as the Welcome Dayton Program Coordinator, where she was responsible for facilitating community efforts and developing cross-sector strategies to improve immigrants’ and refugees’ successful integration into the community. Under Ms. Bertolo’s leadership, Dayton became the first Certified Welcoming community in the United States and two of Welcome Dayton’s programs received national recognition as a best practice by the White House Task Force on New Americans. She is tapped nationally for her expertise on the role of government in creating welcoming communities and has spoken at national, regional, and local conferences. She earned her BA in environmental and social justice from Warren Wilson College and her Master of Social Work and Master of Public Health from New Mexico State University.

James P. Buchanan
University Professor and Executive Director of the Edward B. Brueggeman Center for Dialogue
Xavier University
Cincinnati, OH

James P. Buchanan was educated at Yale University and University of Chicago where he completed a PhD in comparative religions and comparative value systems. He has also studied at Paris-Sorbonne University, Lomonosov Moscow State University, and Peking University. His teaching and research has focused upon ethics, global systems, comparative religions, interfaith dialogue, and the application of intercultural values to a range of issues connected with globalization. Before coming to Xavier University, he taught at the University of Montana (where he helped create the Mansfield Center), Bucknell University, the University of Chicago, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He held the Carolyn Werner Gannett Chair in Ethics and Humanities at Rochester Institute of Technology and the National Endowment for the Humanities Chair at Hamilton College. He taught ethics at the University of Rochester Medical School. In 2000 he became the first Besl Family Chair in Ethics/Religion and Society at Xavier University. From 2002 to the present he has been University Professor and Executive Director of the Edward B. Brueggeman Center for Dialogue at Xavier.

José Cabrera
Immigration Program Organizer
Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center (IJPC)
Cincinnati, OH

José Cabrera is the immigration program organizer at the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center (IJPC). Growing up, Mr. Cabrera always attended rallies, marches, and meetings on the rights of immigrants or workers with his mother. At the time, Mr. Cabrera did not understand the purpose of this work, but then in the seventh grade, he found strength in sharing his own story. Since his sophomore year of high school, Mr. Cabrera was a part of the Youth Education Society (YES) program at IJPC. As a member of YES, he shared his personal immigration story with others, helped organize YES events, and fell in love with IJPC’s values and mission. Today, he is a recent graduate of Xavier University where he studied entrepreneurship with a minor in justice and peace studies. In August, Mr. Cabrera will be moving to Washington, DC where he will be working for NETWORK lobby as a government relations associate.

Elizabeth A. Casselman
Executive Director
The Clowes Fund, Inc.
Indianapolis, IN

Elizabeth A. Casselman is executive director of the Clowes Fund, a family foundation established in Indianapolis in 1952. Since joining the Fund in 2000, she has helped the foundation develop an open communications style and focused grantmaking process, including the Fund’s priority interests in services for immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. Ms. Casselman’s career in philanthropy spans more than 25 years, starting in 1992 as the founding director of the Community Foundation of Boone County. She is a member of Grantmakers Concerned for Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR), past chair of the Indiana Philanthropy Alliance (IPA) board, United Way of Central Indiana’s Boone County advisory board, and a founding member of the Indiana Chapter of the Assets Funders Network (AFN). A graduate of Butler University, she has professional certificates from the Grantmaking School at Grand Valley State University and the Fundraising School at Indiana University’s Lilly School of Philanthropy. Ms. Casselman received IPA’s Hazelett Award for Leadership in Grantmaking for integrity and mentoring of other professionals. She has contributed to a variety of philanthropic conferences and publications and is quoted in an issue brief, Immigrant Lives, American Futures: Linking Asset Building and Immigrant Integration, published collaboratively this spring by AFN and GCIR.

M. Elizabeth Cedillo-Pereira
Director of the Office of Welcoming Communities and Immigrant Affairs
City of Dallas
Dallas, TX

Mary Elizabeth (Liz) Cedillo-Pereira is the director of the Dallas Office of Welcoming Communities and Immigrant Affairs (WICA), which was established in March 2017. The Dallas WCIA seeks to be a bridge connecting Dallas’s diverse immigrant communities with existing Dallas residents so that common ground and shared leadership can be realized. A Dallas native, Ms. Cedillo-Pereira has more than 15 years of experience at the federal, state, and local level on immigration-related matters. Prior to joining the City of Dallas management team, she served as the Obama administration’s senior advisor to the director at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, where she focused on immigration policy and community engagement to foster relations in communities across the United States. An attorney, advocate, and policy advisor, Ms. Cedillo-Pereira is dedicated to improving our nation’s immigration system.

Among numerous awards, Ms. Cedillo-Pereira has been conferred the Distinguished Alumni Award by SMU Dedman School of Law, the Ohtli Award from the Republic of Mexico, the Maura Award by the Dallas Women’s Foundation, the 2018 SMU Latino/a Alumni of the Year, the 2017 Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas Latina Trailblazer Award, D Magazine 2018 Best Attorneys in Dallas. Ms. Cedillo-Pereira is board certified in immigration and nationality law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and received her BA in English from the University of Pennsylvania and her JD from Southern Methodist University. She is married to Oscar Pereira, an aeronautical engineer, and they are blessed with three children.

Sam Centellas
Executive Director
La Casa de Amistad, Inc.
South Bend, IN

Sam Centellas is the Executive Director of La Casa de Amistad a Latino focused non-profit community center on the West Side of South Bend, Indiana. Since joining the staff at La Casa in 2013, Mr. Centellas has doubled its event fundraising income and started its first endowment with the Community Foundation. La Casa has continued to break fundraising and programmatic records each year. Under his leadership, La Casa launched its immigration legal program, new summer preschool, South Bend ID program, and helped start West Side Wednesday.

Mr. Centellas was appointed by the mayor of South Bend as a commissioner to the Housing Authority and to the Diversity Utilization Board, helping develop minority- and women-owned businesses. He served on the steering committee for the West Side Main Streets Project. Sam currently serves on the Supervisory Board of the Notre Dame Federal Credit Union, Community Advisory Board of Junior League, and is a trustee with his fraternity’s education foundation. He has a Master of Education from Grand Valley State University.

Jackie Congedo
Director
Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC)
Cincinnati, OH

Jackie Congedo is the Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati (JCRC). She brings a decade of strategic communications, public relations, current affairs, and journalism experience to the JCRC, which works to protect Jewish security, recognizing that Jewish security depends on a just society for all. Ms. Congedo received a BA in journalism from the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism, graduating summa cum laude. After graduation, she worked for the next nine years as an award-winning reporter at television news stations in Washington, DC; Lexington, Kentucky; and Cincinnati, Ohio. Most recently, Ms. Congedo led public relations efforts for the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati and directed and implemented marketing and communications strategy for the JCRC and the Federation’s Israel Center. Ms. Congedo is also a graduate of the Jewish Nonprofit Leadership Institute.

Karen J. Dabdoub
Executive Director, Cincinnati Office
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
Cincinnati, OH

Karen Dabdoub has served as the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Cincinnati Office since 2004. Before moving over to the nonprofit sector, she worked in business and local government. Ms. Dabdoub has served the greater Cincinnati community in a variety of capacities including as a commissioner and president of the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission, as a founding member of Muslim Mothers Against Violence, as a member of the Martin Luther King Coalition of Cincinnati, on the WCPO-TV Community Advisory Board, and currently serves on the Hospice of Cincinnati Diversity Committee. She has also been a member of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Multi-Cultural Advisory Council and the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights Community Advisory Committee. Ms. Dabdoub was also member of Friends of Open House – Cincinnati Chapter, an international organization that works to bring about peace and understanding between Palestinians and Israelis. She is currently on the Steering Committee and the Anti-Bullying Committee of the Immigrant Dignity Coalition, is a member of the Cincinnati Non-Violent Cities Project, and Women’s Interfaith – Northern Cincinnati.

Karen is a mom to three and grandma to five. She and her husband, Majed, have been married for 37 years.

Eric DeWald
President
HealthPath Foundation of Ohio
Cincinnati, OH

Eric DeWald is the president of the HealthPath Foundation of Ohio. HealthPath makes grant investments across 36 counties and partners with other funders on a number of statewide initiatives. Before coming to HealthPath in January 2016, Eric was the executive director of the AllOne Foundation, a Blue Cross and Blue Shield conversion foundation in northeastern Pennsylvania. He was also the President and CEO of the Central Susquehanna Community Foundation for 16 years. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Eastern University and a Master of Public Administration from Penn State University.

Terri Morris Downs
Executive Director
Immigrant Welcome Center
Indianapolis, IN

Since 2007, Terri Morris Downs has served as the executive director of the Immigrant Welcome Center of Indianapolis. As executive director, Ms. Downs manages programs that support and help empower immigrant families by connecting them to resources needed to help them transition to life in Indianapolis. She also works with other nonprofits, community partners, and local corporations to support efforts to help make Indianapolis a welcoming community. Since its opening, the Immigrant Welcome Center has served more than 10,000 immigrants and refugees.

In 2014, the Indiana Commission for Women named her a 2014 Torchbearer, with the special distinction of “The Heart of Indiana.” Ms. Downs is an alumna of Butler University and a former special assistant to Mayor Bart Peterson and deputy director of the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee. She lives in Irvington with her husband, Tim, and their two children, Grace and Caroline, where they are active members of St. Therese (Little Flower) Catholic Church.

Sr. Sally Duffy
Sister of Charity (SC) of Cincinnati, Former President/CEO of SC Ministry Foundation
Cincinnati, OH

Sister Sally Duffy, SC is a Sister of Charity (SC) of Cincinnati since 1977 and was president/CEO of the SC Ministry Foundation from 2004 to 2017. Sr. Duffy has served in various administrative capacities including hospital president/CEO and vice president for student affairs. Her degrees include a Master of Education, Master of Public Administration, and a Master of Divinity. Sr. Duffy’s recent honors include: 2018 Graduate Commencement speaker for Xavier University and receiving honorary degree, 2018 Ohio Senior Citizen Hall of Fame, FADICA Charles Carroll Award in Catholic Philanthropy, 2017 Katherine Drexel Award for Catholic Philanthropy, 2017 YWCA Cincinnati Career Women of Achievement, 2017 Cincinnati Enquirer Women of the Year, 2018 Lifetime Achievement from Cincinnati Invest in Neighborhoods, 2008 Doctor of Humane Letters from the College of Mount Saint Joseph, Recognition of Appreciation from the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, and Co-Executive Producer of the Gabriel Award documentary We Shall Not Be Moved: Catholic Sisters of New Orleans. Sr. Duffy is one of the co-chairs of the Child Poverty Collaborative with the goal of reducing 10,000 children in poverty and 5000 adults over the next five years in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Leah Engle
Program Director, Maxwell Street Legal Clinic
Kentucky Equal Justice Center
Lexington, KY

Leah Engle is the Program Director at Maxwell Street Legal Clinic. She came to Kentucky Equal Justice Center from Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, where she served as an Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellow with Veterans Legal Corps. Earlier, Ms. Engle helped survivors of human tracking and domestic violence through the Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Family Services in Chicago and the Human Trafficking Clinic at the University of Michigan Law School. She received her JD from University of Michigan in May 2014. She has served in the Peace Corps from August 2008 to October 2010 as a teacher of English as a foreign language in Turkestan, Kazakhstan.

Antonio Fernandez
Director of the International Welcome Center
Roberts Academy
Cincinnati, OH

Antonio Fernandez is part of the Community Learning Center Institute team and works as the Director of the International Welcome Center at Roberts Academy. He holds dual nationality from Spain and Mexico where his family still resides. He came to the United States to study and play soccer at Bethel College in Indiana where he earned a degree in computer information systems and met his wife. After college, Mr. Fernandez worked for the Pan American Games, the World Taekwondo Federation, the US Soccer Federation, and continues to serve as an international sporting event consultant for the US Soccer Federation and the US Olympic Committee. Mr. Fernandez came to Roberts Academy in 2014 to lead the after school program and became the Director of the International Welcome Center in 2016. He serves as a key element of the Immigrant and Refugee Law Center providing access to critical legal services to immigrant and refugee families in the Greater Cincinnati area.

Allyson Ferry
Community Empowerment Specialist, Kentucky Office for Refugees (KOR)
Catholic Charities of Louisville
Louisville, KY

Allyson Ferry is the Community Empowerment Specialist at the Kentucky Office for Refugees (KOR), a department of Catholic Charities of Louisville. Ms. Ferry is the connector between Kentuckians who arrived through the resettlement program, and KOR. She listens to the concerns of the community to detect any gaps in services and strives to find ways to fill those gaps, either through encouraging changes in KOR-funded programs, or through working with mainstream providers to utilize more culturally responsible resources. She also works on administrative advocacy initiatives such as language access. Outside of work, Ms. Ferry serves as a board member at La Casita Center, and is active in local efforts fighting for immigrant justice. She holds an MA in sustainable international development from Brandeis University.

Margaret A. Fox
Executive Director
Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition of Cincinnati (MARCC)
Cincinnati, OH

Margaret A. Fox, MA is the executive director of the Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition of Cincinnati (MARCC). MARCC is an interfaith coalition of denominations that work on social concerns in the metropolitan Cincinnati region, to improve policies and raise the level of discourse in the process. At MARCC, she has worked on community-police relations, immigration reform, affordable housing development, interfaith dialogue/human rights, education, and employment issues.

Before returning to Cincinnati, Ms. Fox worked as consultant in New Jersey with nonprofits in the areas of human services, public education, housing, the arts, and government. While there, she helped establish an award-winning public school-community partnership to improve minority achievement, an interfaith community nursing project, and a Hispanic child care center. Ms. Fox began her career as a community organizer in Cincinnati where she worked assisting residents on housing and land development issues. She has a Master of Arts in interdisciplinary studies and social sciences from Antioch University.

Jessica García
Deputy Political Director
Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union
United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW)
New York, NY

Jessica García is Deputy Political Director at the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW). As part of her work, she represents the union in national advocacy efforts around immigration reform. She formerly served as director of programs and organizing at New Immigrant Community Empowerment, a worker center in New York City, where she had the privilege of working with day laborers and domestic workers on advocacy efforts to advance immigrant worker rights at the local, state, and national level. Prior to that, and inspired by the seminal work of Jonathan Kozol, she dedicated herself to addressing school funding inequities which disproportionally impact communities of color. Born in Honduras, she immigrated to the United States as a child with her mother. She earned a Master of Social Work from the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College and a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University.

Camille R. Gill
Managing Attorney, Immigration Legal Services
Migration and Refugee Services, Catholic Charities Diocese of Cleveland
Cleveland, OH

Camille Gill is the managing attorney of Cleveland Catholic Charities’ Migration and Refugee Services’ Immigration Legal Services program. She has worked as an immigration attorney at Catholic Charities since January 2014. She graduated from the University of Toledo College of Law in 2008. She has practiced immigration law and worked on immigrant issues relating to taxes, public benefits, language access, and domestic relations throughout her career. Ms. Gill is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, and the Lawyer’s Guild for the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland.

Kate Melloy Goettel
Litigation Attorney
National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC)
Chicago, IL

Kate Melloy Goettel is a senior litigation attorney at the National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago, Illinois. She focuses her practice on federal district court cases including class actions, habeas petitions, and Administrative Procedure Act complaints with an emphasis on cases involving immigration enforcement, unaccompanied children, U visas, detainers, and the legal issues surrounding sanctuary cities. Prior to joining NIJC in 2017, Ms. Goettel worked for eight years in the Department of Justice’s Office of Immigration Litigation. She has practiced in nearly 40 federal district courts, seven courts of appeal, and the US Supreme Court. Before joining DOJ, she clerked for two years for a US district judge in the Southern District of Iowa. Ms. Goettel is a graduate of the University of Iowa College of Law and previously served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kosrae, Micronesia.

Brennan Grayson
Executive Director
Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center (CIWC)
Cincinnati, OH

Since 2015, Brennan Grayson is the executive director of the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center (CIWC), a not-for-profit, charitable organization serving, educating, and organizing low wage and immigrant workers. From 2015 to 2016, Mr. Grayson led the CIWC’s campaign to create and pass Ohio’s first Wage Enforcement Ordinance. Cincinnati’s model ordinance was adopted in Indianapolis, Indiana. Similar legislation is pending in Dayton and Columbus, Ohio. Also in 2016, the CIWC prepared a Cincinnati Immigrant’s Bill of Rights, which included a demand for city-sponsored photo identification cards, which was adopted on May 11, 2016.

Mr. Grayson is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s College of Law and received his undergraduate degree from Sarah Lawrence College in New York. He and his wife Jennifer Summers are the proud parents of Jack and Eleanor.

Allison E. Herre
Immigration Attorney/Immigration Legal Services Director
Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio, Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH

Allison E. Herre is the immigration attorney/immigration legal services director at Catholic Charities of Southwestern Ohio where she leads a team of legal advocates in representing immigrant families in visa applications, green card and work card applications, applications for citizenship, and humanitarian relief from deportation, such as asylum. Ms. Herre has experience in private and not-for-profit legal practice and has spent all of her career serving immigrants in immigration-related cases. She has a special interest in serving unaccompanied immigrant children in deportation proceedings and has successfully represented dozens of children and adolescents in applications for asylum and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.

Ms. Herre is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and Spanish language and literature from Marquette University and received her JD from Creighton University School of Law. She is admitted to practice law in the State of Ohio and the State of Nebraska (inactive status).

Brian Hoffman
Immigration Justice Campaign Pro Bono Coordinator
The International Institute of Akron
Akron, OH

Brian Hoffman is the AILA/American Immigration Council (AIC) Immigration Justice Campaign Fellow at the International Institute of Akron, coordinating pro bono representation for detainees at the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center in Youngstown, Ohio. He previously served as the inaugural Lead Attorney for the CARA Pro Bono Project in Dilley, Texas, and as the first Lead Attorney for the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative launched at the Stewart Detention Center in 2017.

Sr. Tracey Horan
Bilingual Community Organizer, Faith in Indiana
Archdiocese of Indianapolis Justice for Immigrants Campaign
Indianapolis, IN

Sr. Tracey Horan, SP, is a vowed member of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods and currently serves as the bilingual community organizer with Faith in Indiana (formerly Indianapolis Congregation Action Network [IndyCAN]) and the Justice for Immigrants contact for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Sr. Horan was the 2017 recipient of the Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award for her work building the capacity of everyday congregation members across central Indiana to organize for racial and economic justice.

Last year, Sr. Horan led a campaign with partner organizations to end ICE detainers in Marion County, which ended with victory as Judge Sarah Evans Barker signed and upheld a joint injunction against the practice last fall. She has spearheaded local and statewide efforts to develop community response infrastructure through Accompaniment and Rapid Response Teams across Indiana. Sr. Horan’s previous ministry experiences include ministry at the White Violet Center for Eco-Justice, Hispanic ministry in Terre Haute, Indiana, labor organizing with Unite HERE in Indianapolis, an AmeriCorps VISTA term with the Indy Hunger Network, and teaching middle school in El Paso, TX.

Jesús Ibañez
Spokesperson
La Casita Center and Mijente Louisville
Louisville, KY

Jesús Ibañez is an unapologetic loudmouth Chicano who recently graduated from the Brandeis School of Law. Mr. Ibañez is the spokesperson for Mijente Louisville, a Latinx organization at the helm of the Sanctuary City movement in Louisville. Additionally, he is a core organizer of #OccupyICELOU, a movement that utilizes civil disobedience and radical Black and Latinx leadership to reach its objective: the abolition of ICE and the dismantling of the deportation machine. Mr. Ibañez is cognizant of the difficulty non-Spanish speakers have pronouncing his name. If you have trouble pronouncing his name, you can call him by his nickname, it’s Huitzilopochtli.

Kathleen Kersh
Staff Attorney
Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. (ABLE)
Dayton, OH

Kathleen Kersh is a staff attorney with Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (ABLE) in Dayton, Ohio. She represents low-income immigrants and agricultural workers in immigration, employment, and civil rights matters. Ms. Kersh specializes in representing immigrants in anti-discrimination litigation against state agencies who wish to enforce immigration law. She also represents immigrant victims of crime and agricultural workers before US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), immigration courts, and courts of appeals. She first came to ABLE as an Equal Justice Works Fellow in 2013, where she worked with local law enforcement agencies to develop immigrant-friendly policing policies. Since then, she has extensively trained local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies on best practices for working with immigrant victims of crimes, particularly labor trafficking and domestic violence. Ms. Kersh received her JD from the University of Michigan Law School and her BA from Earlham College. She is a native of Dayton, Ohio. She is admitted to the bars of the State of Ohio, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the US District Courts in the Southern and Northern Districts of Ohio.

Donald Kerwin
Executive Director
Center for Migration Studies
Washington, DC / New York, NY

Donald M. Kerwin, Jr. is executive director of the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS). The organization is an 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 the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. between 1992 and 2008, serving as its executive director (ED) for 15 years and its interim ED for six months in late 2012 and early 2013. Upon his arrival at CLINIC in 1992, he coordinated CLINIC’s political asylum project for Haitians. CLINIC, a subsidiary of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, is a public interest legal corporation that supports a national network of several hundred charitable legal programs for immigrants. Between 2008 and 2011, Mr. Kerwin served as vice president for programs at the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), where he wrote on immigration, labor standards, and refugee policy issues. He has also served as: an associate fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center where he co-directed Woodstock’s Theology of Migration Project; a non-resident senior fellow at MPI; a member of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Immigration; a member of the Council on Foreign Relations’ Immigration Task Force; a board member for Jesuit Refugee Services-USA, the Capital Area Immigrant Rights (CAIR) Coalition, and the Border Network for Human Rights; an advisor to the USCCB’s Committee on Migration; and a member of numerous advisory groups. Mr. Kerwin writes and speaks extensively on immigration policy, refugee protection, access to justice, national security, and other issues.

John A. Koehlinger
Executive Director
Kentucky Refugee Ministries
Louisville, KY

John Koehlinger is the executive director of Kentucky Refugee Ministries (KRM). Founded in Louisville in 1990, KRM, an affiliate of Church World Service, is the largest refugee resettlement agency in Kentucky, with offices also in Lexington and Covington. KRM provides assistance in securing housing and medical and mental health care; comprehensive case management, employment, educational, and family and youth services; and arts programming. KRM offers citizenship classes and employs five full-time immigration attorneys who work on range of immigration applications, including adjustment of status, naturalization, asylum (including for Central American minors), and family reunification. Mr. Koehlinger has worked at KRM since 2000 in educational, grants, and administrative positions. He is a graduate of Northwestern University.

Lisa Koop
Associate Director of Legal Services
National Immigration Justice Center (NIJC)
Goshen, IN

Lisa Koop is associate director of legal services at the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC). Ms. Koop directs NIJC’s asylum project, handles federal litigation, and provides representation and supervision in deportation defense matters. She specializes in litigation, policy, and direct services advocacy on behalf of immigrant survivors of gender-based violence. Ms. Koop heads NIJC’s Indiana office and is an adjunct professor at Notre Dame Law School.

Robyn Lamont
Executive Director
RefugeeConnect
Cincinnati, OH

Robyn Lamont is the co-founder and executive director of RefugeeConnect, a Cincinnati based nonprofit whose mission is to improve the lives of refugees in Greater Cincinnati, to foster community acceptance and inclusion, and to construct a sustainable support system that empowers new Americans on the path to self-sufficiency. RefugeeConnect’s Navigator Initiative addresses barriers working directly with refugee children and their families through afterschool and summer programs, coordinating access to English, citizenship, and cultural orientation classes for parents, and linking mentors to accelerate families’ integration. RefugeeConnect’s Ambassador Initiative trains and mobilizes local businesses and volunteers with the vision to become the most welcoming city for refugees. RefugeeConnect’s Refugee Empowerment Initiative of more than 100 organizations focuses expanding and strengthening community partnerships, reviving best practices from previous local generations of refugee communities and support organizations, learning current worldwide best practices, and co-creating solutions across interdisciplinary backgrounds. As a regional facilitator of systems change, Ms. Lamont is excited to join the conference to support media engagement within our welcoming communities.

Ms. Lamont is an adjunct faculty at Northern Kentucky University teaching social work focusing on strategies to proactively respond to evolving organizational and community change. Her international experience includes rural development and empowerment in India in 2008 and asylum seekers health service navigation from Eritrea and Ethiopia in Israel in 2009-2010. Ms. Lamont holds her bachelors in Anthropology from Miami University and her Master of Social Work degree from The Ohio State University and is a licensed social worker. While at Ohio State she educated the Ohio State Legislature on nonpartisan health outcomes research at Health Policy Institute of Ohio and was a therapist at the Counseling Center on Ohio State’s campus providing individual and group therapy to students. Prior to co-founding RefugeeConnect, she managed refugee employment services at a refugee resettlement agency, Catholic Charities of Southwestern Ohio. Ms. Lamont is a YWCA Rising Star and a member of National Association of Social Workers.

Corey Lazar
Senior Program Associate, Safety and Fairness for Everyone (SAFE) Cities Network
Center on Immigration and Justice, Vera Institute of Justice
New York, NY

Corey Lazar is a Senior Program Associate for the SAFE (Safety and Fairness for Everyone) Cities Network, a network of jurisdictions that have set aside public funding for representation of detained immigrants in removal proceedings, at the Vera Institute of Justice. Ms. Lazar started her legal career at the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), where she held several positions, first as a Judicial Law Clerk for the New York Immigration Judges. From 2012 to 2013, she was assistant director of the Office of Legal Access Programs, which oversees major initiatives such as the Legal Orientation Program for detained immigrants nationwide and for custodians of unaccompanied minors. Prior to departing the DOJ, Ms. Lazar served as an attorney advisor at the Board of Immigration Appeals drafting decisions for the board members.

Angela Lloyd
Executive Director
Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation
Columbus, OH

Angela Lloyd is the executive director of the Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation, the largest funder of civil legal aid in Ohio. Prior to directing the foundation, Ms. Lloyd taught as an associate clinical professor at the Ohio State University Michael E. Moritz School of Law, and as an adjunct professor at Seton Hall University School of Law and Fordham University School of Law.

Her practice areas are immigration law and children’s rights. She previously worked at Covenant House New Jersey; Covenant House New York; and the African Community Resource Center in Los Angeles.

Ms. Lloyd received her JD from Columbia University School of Law and an MA from Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. She clerked for the Honorable Warren J. Ferguson on the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Nazly Mamedova
Of Counsel
WANGLAW
Cincinnati, OH

Nazly Mamedova practices US immigration law and offers legal support to the immigrant communities of the Tri-State area, including counsel in juvenile and domestic relations matters. Her primary focus is immigration litigation. She serves both Butler and Boone county jails in Ohio and Kentucky.

Ms. Mamedova received her JD from Salmon P. Chase College of Law of Northern Kentucky University and a BA in international affairs from Xavier University in Cincinnati where she was a Brueggeman Fellow. She is admitted to the Kentucky Supreme Court, to the US District Court for Eastern Kentucky and the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She may appear before the Board of Immigration Appeals, the US immigration courts, and all US immigration agencies. Ms. Mamedova is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and Cincinnati Mayor’s Immigration Task Force.

Silva Mathema
Senior Policy Analyst, Immigration Policy
Center for American Progress
Washington, DC

Silva Mathema is a senior policy analyst on the immigration policy team at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC. Her primary research interest revolves around understanding the impacts of various US immigration policies on immigrants. Her current body of work ranges from highlighting programs that boost refugee integration to researching the role of immigrants in rural America. Previously, she worked as a research associate for the Poverty and Race Research Action Council, where she studied the intersections between race and ethnicity issues and policies regarding affordable housing and education. Dr. Mathema earned her PhD in public policy from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where her dissertation focused on the impact of a federal immigration enforcement program on the integration of Hispanic immigrants in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina. She graduated from Salem College with a Bachelor of Arts in economics. She is originally from Kathmandu, Nepal.

Rabbi Margaret J. Meyer
Former President
Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition of Cincinnati (MARCC)
Cincinnati, OH

Rabbi Margaret Meyer was born in New York City and raised there and in Canton, Ohio. She is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio, and has an MA with honors in English literature from the University of Cincinnati. In her first career she was a high school teacher and later an English instructor at University of Cincinnati.

Rabbi Meyer was ordained from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, in 1986, and has an MA in Hebrew literature and Doctor of Divinity from that school. She has served congregations in small communities throughout the Midwest and South, often commuting from her home in Cincinnati. In these communities, and in Cincinnati, she has always been involved in interfaith and social justice causes.

In Cincinnati, Rabbi Meyer served on the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, is immediate past president of MARCC, a past President of the Cincinnati Board of Rabbis, a former member of the Cincinnati Human Relations Committee, and the City of Cincinnati Human Services Advisory Committee. She is a member of the Board of the Jewish Community Relations Council. Through her work in MARCC, together with Catholic Charities, she worked on achieving a municipal ID card in Cincinnati. She also currently volunteers as an ESL teacher to new immigrants.

Sarah Nuñez
Assistant Director of Hispanic and Latino Initiatives, University of Louisville Cultural Center
Co-Director of Latinx Oral History Project
Founding Member of Mijente Louisville, KY Crew
Louisville, KY

Sarah Nuñez currently volunteers as a board member of La Minga Cooperative Farm in Prospect Kentucky and she works and volunteers with many local projects including the Louisville Latino Education Outreach Project, Louisville Latinx Oral History Project, and Mijente. She regularly engages in the Louisville area community across sectors — government, business, nonprofit, and education, and across issues — social, environmental, economic, and political. Throughout her career, she has participated in education equity initiatives, living wage campaigns, fair housing testing, public radio advocacy, immigrant rights advocacy, civil liberties protections, social enterprise, and advocating for rights of black, LGBTQ+, Muslim, and Latinx communities.

Ms. Nuñez is a 1.5 generation immigrant born in Bogota, Colombia, and raised in North Carolina. She has lived in Louisville for three years and works at the University of Louisville’s Cultural Center as she builds and manages programs for Latino students. She holds a Master in Public Affairs from Western Carolina University as well as Bachelor of Arts in interdisciplinary studies from University of North Carolina-Asheville.

Edwin Ortiz
Lead Bilingual Case Worker
Su Casa, Catholic Charities of Southwestern Ohio
Cincinnati, OH

Edwin Ortiz was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He attended the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio where he majored in political science and human rights studies, with focuses on human trafficking and genocide. During his brief career, Mr. Ortiz has worked to advocate for homeless and immigrant populations, as well as victims of human trafficking. He is currently the lead bilingual case worker at Su Casa Hispanic Center where he provides direct services to the Latino/immigrant community in Greater Cincinnati. Mr. Ortiz is also in charge of organizing the monthly MARCC ID drives hosted by Catholic Charities and providing Trafficking Victim Assistance Program (TVAP) services to survivors of human trafficking.

Manuel Pérez
Membership Coordinator and Organizer
Cincinnati Interfaith Workers’ Center
Cincinnati, OH

Manuel Pérez is a Guatemalan immigrant with a decade of experience working as a primary school teacher and principal in the low-income urban areas of Guatemala City. He studied humanistic social education at the University of San Carlos. Over the past eight years, he has been active with the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center, first as a member, then board member, and now staff member, where he currently serves as the community organizer and membership coordinator and leads the worker safety and health campaign. Mr. Pérez devotes himself to advancing immigrants’ rights and improving the living conditions for immigrants and their families. He has a strong personal motivation in his fight for comprehensive immigration reform as he works with others to prevent the separation of their families and reunite his own. For his leadership in this area, he was recently asked to join Mayor Cranley’s Immigrant Friendly Task Force and the AFL-CIO Workers Center Task Force. Mr. Pérez was selected for the 2016 Apoyo Latino Hispanic Service Award and the Faith and Community Alliance of Greater Cincinnati’s Duane Holm Community Leadership Award.

Heather Drabek Prendergast
Of Counsel, Aljijakli & Kosseff, LLC
Cleveland, OH

Heather Drabek Prendergast practices immigration law in Cleveland, Ohio where she is Of Counsel with Aljijakli & Kosseff, LLC. Her practice focuses on: complex removal defense including trials, appeals, and federal court litigation; employment-based immigration for skilled professionals; family-based immigration; asylum; and naturalization. In January 2018, Ms. Prendergast joined the faculty at Cleveland State University’s Cleveland-Marshall College of Law as an adjunct professor teaching immigration and nationality law. Ms. Prendergast is one of 21 directors elected to serve on the Board of Governors for the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), a national association of more than 15,000 attorneys and law professors who practice and teach immigration law. From 2015 to 2018, Ms. Prendergast chaired AILA’s National Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Liaison Committee where she met with senior ICE leadership in Washington, DC to resolve issues faced by immigrants and their legal counsel when dealing with the agency. She regularly speaks about immigration issues at local, regional, and national conferences, and serves on several conference planning committees. Ms. Prendergast is a graduate of Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and Skidmore College and is admitted to practice in Ohio, New York, the US District Court, Northern District of Ohio, and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. She is an avid equestrian and runner.

Jessica A. Ramos
Staff Attorney
Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. (ABLE)
Dayton, OH

Jessica A. Ramos is an attorney with Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (ABLE), a nonprofit organization in Ohio that provides legal assistance to help low-income individuals achieve self-reliance, equal justice, and equal economic opportunity. Ms. Ramos represents clients in immigration and civil rights cases, and she has been recognized for her extensive experience working with unaccompanied immigrant children, including testifying before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in April 2018 where she made recommendations regarding protecting this vulnerable population. She played a pivotal role establishing recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals’ (DACA) rights to certain state benefits, including driver’s licenses and in-state tuition. Ms. Ramos is very active in Welcome Dayton, an initiative that seeks to support immigrant access to services, integration into the community, and job development and entrepreneurship, and was appointed by the Dayton City Commission to the Welcome Dayton Standing Committee. Ms. Ramos also serves as the State Director of Civil Rights for the Ohio Chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and was named Ohio LULAC’s Woman of the Year in 2017. Ms. Ramos is an alumna of the Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and a master’s degree in Hispanic linguistics, and is a graduate of the University of Toledo College of Law. She reluctantly enjoys long-distance running and while a long-time resident of Ohio, her native state of West Virginia will always be “home.”

Allison Reynolds-Berry
Executive Director
Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center
Cincinnati, OH

Allison Reynolds-Berry is the executive director for Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center (IJPC), and has been thrilled to find a home there as the organization continues to grow. In her role as IJPC’s executive director in the last three years, Ms. Reynolds-Berry has led a re-founding of this 30-year-old institution bringing deep commitments from community members on an individual level and increasing coalition building with organizational partners. During her tenure at IJPC, the organization has responded to an increasingly volatile political climate and engaged in an 83-mile walk to stop executions, held many rallies advocating for immigrant rights with young immigrants leading the work, and created the Nonviolence Alliance of Greater Cincinnati. After graduating from Loyola University Chicago, Ms. Reynolds-Berry accompanied students and Salvadorans during her time with the Casa de la Solidaridad in El Salvador. There, she learned about the collective power of community and gained a love of the Spanish language. She previously worked as a community organizer in Boston doing domestic violence prevention. She received her Master of Social Work from Boston College and her bachelor’s degree from Loyola University Chicago.

Samantha Searls
Program Manager
Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center (IJPC)
Cincinnati, OH

Samantha Searls is a program manager at the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center (IJPC). IJPC educates and advocates for peace; challenges unjust local, national, and global systems; and promotes the creation of a nonviolent society. Her work focuses on the issues of human trafficking and immigration. Ms. Searls has her Master of Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis and has spent the last few years as a community organizer working on environmental, economic, and social justice issues both in St. Louis and in Cincinnati.

Stephanie Solis
Intern, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Kentucky
Member, Mijente Louisville
Louisville, KY

Stephanie Solis was raised in Louisville, KY and is majoring in nongovernmental organizations and social change with a pre-law track at the University of Southern California (USC). She is currently interning at the ACLU of Kentucky and is a member of Mijente Louisville. Throughout her first year in college, Ms. Solis participated in the movement to change the name of El Centro Chicano, USC’s Latinx Cultural Center, to a more inclusive title. Toward the end of her spring semester, she became the student liaison between the custodian community at USC and the USC administration in their fight for better wages and benefits while working at USC. This past summer, she attended the ACLU membership conference in Washington, DC, where she listened to various speakers and panelists address their commitment toward social justice. With the help of Mijente, Ms. Solis was able to travel to San Diego to join a march to shut down the San Diego Courthouse to protest US Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ Operation Streamline. Ms. Solis is committed toward attaining justice for all communities that have been wronged by our nation and by white supremacy. After college graduation, she plans to attend law school and become an immigration lawyer.

Shoshanna Spector
Executive Director
Faith in Indiana
Indianapolis, IN

Shoshanna Spector is the founding executive director of Faith in Indiana. Faith in Indiana is a catalyst for faith communities and marginalized peoples to act collectively for racial and economic justice. By developing movement leaders, awakening the electorate, amplifying the prophetic voice, and forging strategic coalitions, Faith in Indiana builds for systemic change in Indiana. Their efforts have redirected millions of dollars and new policies to end mass criminalization of people of color, protect immigrant rights, and promote economic dignity. Ms. Spector brings over 20 years of experience in the community organizing field in Chicago, the Bay Area of California, New York, and Indiana, and across diverse networks: Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), People’s Action, and the Faith in Action (formerly PICO Network). Ms. Spector is also a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Interdisciplinary Research Leadership Fellow, whose work is a national model of engaging communities to advance a culture of health.

Most Rev. John Stowe, OFM Conv.
Bishop of Lexington
Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington
Lexington, KY

Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv., was ordained as the third Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington on May 5, 2015, succeeding Bishop Ronald Gainer who was appointed as Bishop of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 2014.

Bishop Stowe was born April 15, 1966 in Amherst, Ohio. He attended grade school at St. Anthony of Padua Parish, staffed by the Conventual Franciscans, and Lorain Catholic High School. After a year of community college, Bishop Stowe joined the formation program for the Conventual Franciscan Province of Our Lady of Consolation at St. Bonaventure Friary in St. Louis, Missouri. During the time of his candidacy, he began studies in philosophy and history at St. Louis University and completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in each in 1990, after an interruption for his novitiate. He subsequently earned a Master in Divinity and a Licentiate in Church History from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California.

Bishop Stowe made his solemn vows on August 1, 1992, and was ordained to the priesthood on September 16, 1995. Bishop Stowe served in Texas as a pastor, Moderator of the Curia, and eventually as Chancellor for the Diocese of El Paso. In 2010, he was elected Vicar Provincial of the Province of Our Lady of Consolation and became Pastor and Rector of the Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey, Ohio. On March 12, 2015, Pope Francis named him the third Bishop of Lexington.

Glenn Tebbe
Executive Director
Indiana Catholic Conference
Indianapolis, IN

Since July 2004, Glenn Tebbe has served as executive director of the Indiana Catholic Conference. Prior to assuming these duties, he served as executive director of the Indiana Non-Public Education Association for 10 years. Before working in the area of public policy, Mr. Tebbe served the Archdiocese of Indianapolis as a teacher and principal in Catholic schools in southeastern Indiana for over 20 years.

A resident of Greensburg, Indiana, he is a parishioner of St. Mary Parish. The father of four children, he and his wife, Laura Jo, also enjoy the company of 10 grandchildren.

Enid Trucios-Haynes
Professor of Law and Interim Director of the Muhammad Ali Institute for Peace and Justice
University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law
Louisville, KY

Professor Enid Trucios-Haynes joined the faculty at the Brandeis School of Law in 1993. She is a nationally recognized scholar in immigration law and she has been in the field for 30 years. Professor Trucios-Haynes’ research and scholarship focus on immigration law, constitutional law, and race and the law with an emphasis on issues affecting Latinos. She was the founder and director of the Brandeis School of Law Immigration Mini-Clinic (1998-2000), a pilot project and the only live-client clinical experience available to students at that time. Professor Trucios-Haynes served as Associate Dean of Academic Affairs for the Brandeis School of Law from 2004 to 2007.

Professor Trucios-Haynes currently is the chair of the Faculty Senate and trustee of the University of Louisville. Since Fall 2014, she has been the interim director of the Muhammad Ali Institute for Peace and Justice, a diversity unit within the Office of the Vice Provost for Diversity and International Affairs. Professor Trucio-Haynes is the co-founder and co-director of the Brandeis Human Rights Advocacy Program which focuses on immigrant, noncitizen, and refugee rights. From 2010 to 2016, she served as the University’s Faculty Grievance Officer. Previously, she worked in litigation with Rosenman & Colin (now Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP), and practiced immigration and nationality law as a senior associate at the law firm of Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP. She has a JD from Stanford University School of Law.

Rev. Chris Wadelton
Pastor
St. Philip Neri Catholic Church and Holy Cross Catholic Church
Indianapolis, IN

Rev. Chris Wadelton was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, the fourth of five children of Ann and Tommy Wadelton. He attended Immaculate Heart of Mary grade school and Bishop Chatard High School. He studied electrical engineering technology at Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis and received a BS in 1990. After graduation, he worked in research, marketing, and sales in the semiconductor industry for 12 years. In 2002, he entered Seminary at Mt. Angel Seminary in Oregon, and then transferred to Mundelein Seminary near Chicago. Fr. Wadelton then entered the Franciscan Postulancy program with the Province of Saint Barbara. Later, he decided to return to the Archdiocese of Indianapolis to complete his studies and pursue ordination to the priesthood and enrolled at St. Meinrad Seminary for the final two years of theology. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 27, 2009.

His first assignment was as associate pastor at Holy Spirit Catholic Church on the east side of Indianapolis, where he worked extensively with the Latino community. He is currently pastor of St. Philip Neri Church. His continues to work extensively with the Latino Community, especially in promoting justice, advocacy and accompaniment of undocumented persons.

Carla F. Wallace
Co-Founder, Showing Up for Racial Justice
Co-Coordinator, Alerta Roja
Louisville, KY

Carla F. Wallace grew up between a farm in Kentucky and Amsterdam, Netherlands where her grandmother hid people fleeing Nazis under her floorboards during World War II. Ms. Wallace has done social justice work for over 35 years. She is a co-founder of Louisville Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), and a co-founder and leader in the national SURJ network which organizes white people for racial justice. Ms. Wallace believes in lifting up the interconnections between immigrant rights, war, economic, environmental, education, health, and gender justice, and that we will make no progress on any of them without placing racial justice central to those issues.

Mentored by southern civil rights activists in the Black Liberation Movement and by white racial justice fighter Anne Braden, Ms. Wallace believes that those most impacted by an unjust system must be central to our change making.

Robert Warren
Senior Visiting Fellow
Center for Migration Studies
New York, NY/Indianapolis, IN

Robert Warren served as a demographer for 34 years with the US Census Bureau and the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Mr. Warren served as director of INS’s Statistics Division from 1986 to 1995. One of his accomplishments at INS was to project accurate ranges of the number of unauthorized immigrants that would apply in each state under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA). During his service, he also worked for three years with the staff of the Panel on Immigration Statistics of the National Academy of Sciences, which published the report, Immigration Statistics: A Story of Neglect, co-edited with Daniel B. Levine and Kenneth Hill (National Academy Press, 1985). Mr. Warren retired from INS in January 2002.

Mr. Warren has testified before Congress concerning the estimation of undocumented immigration and served as an expert witness for the Department of Justice on the issue of educating undocumented children. He was the US representative at United Nations meetings on immigration statistics in Geneva in May 1986 and February 1991, and an advisor to the US Commission on Agricultural Workers in 1992. For three years, Mr. Warren also played professional baseball in the Chicago White Sox organization. He holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Education from Indiana State University.