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Staff

Fellowships View Board of Directors

Leadership

Michael Breen
President and CEO
Nicole Elkon
Chief Operating Officer
Welton Chang
Chief Technology Officer
Jim Bernfield
Senior Vice President, Marketing & Communications
Rob Berschinski
Senior Vice President, Policy
Sharon Kelly McBride
Senior Vice President, Advocacy
Jennifer Mellen
Senior Vice President, Development
Hardy Vieux
Senior Vice President, Legal

Experts

Ira Forman
Senior Advisor for Combating Antisemitism
Eleanor Acer
Senior Director, Refugee Protection
Rob Berschinski
Senior Vice President, Policy
Welton Chang
Chief Technology Officer
Brian Dooley
Senior Advisor
Bishop Garrison
Director, National Security Outreach
Jenna Gilbert
Managing Attorney (LA)
Ana Guzina
Senior Advisor
Benjamin Haas
Advocacy Counsel & Pennoyer Fellow
Melissa Hooper
Director, Foreign Policy Advocacy
Jennifer Quigley
Director, Refugee Advocacy
Rita Siemion
Director, National Security Advocacy
Patricia Stottlemyer
Litigation Staff Attorney
Hardy Vieux
Senior Vice President, Legal
Raha Wala
Senior Director, Government Relations
Alysha Welsh
Managing Attorney (DC)

Staff

Eleanor Acer
Senior Director, Refugee Protection
Rob Berschinski
Senior Vice President, Policy
Cole Blum
Advocacy Assistant
Emilee Cutright
Program Analyst, Veterans for American Ideals
Rebecca Gendelman
Legal Fellow
Benjamin Haas
Advocacy Counsel & Pennoyer Fellow
Melissa Hooper
Director, Foreign Policy Advocacy
Scott Johnston
Associate Attorney for Human Rights Accountability
Sharon Kelly McBride
Senior Vice President, Advocacy
Kennji Kizuka
Senior Researcher and Policy Analyst, Refugee Protection
Ana Ortega Villegas
Advocacy Strategist, Refugee Protection
Reece Pelley
Tolan Foreign Policy Legal Fellow
Chris Purdy
Project Manager, Veterans for American Ideals
Jennifer Quigley
Director, Refugee Advocacy
Rita Siemion
Director, National Security Advocacy
Raha Wala
Senior Director, Government Relations

Communications

Jim Bernfield
Senior Vice President, Marketing & Communications
David Mizner
Senior Writer/Editor
Ashley Panzera
Senior Video Producer

Development

Emily Finkelstein
Development Coordinator
Eric Helms
Director of Foundations
Katie Langford
Grants Associate
Paul LeGendre
Senior Advisor
Jennifer Mellen
Senior Vice President, Development
Laura Senkevitch
Major Gifts Officer

Operations

Diyerly “DJ” Duque
Human Resources and Office Coordinator
Cynthia Burns
Director of Operations
Peter Chan
Director of Information Technology
Vlad Davydovych
Finance Coordinator
Vinincia Dorsey
Director, Human Resources and Office Operations
Sara Hoffmann
Human Resources Manager
Carla Medina
Office Coordinator/Receptionist
Kurt Pacquette
Director, Finance
Dennis Rosensteel
Technical Support Associate
Meghan Valle
Special Assistant to the President and CEO

Refugee Representation

Robyn Barnard
Senior Staff Attorney
Katie Czapanskiy
Staff Attorney
Diana Diaz
Social Worker
Maya El Cheikh
Legal Services Coordinator
Sugeily Fernandez
Senior Legal Services Coordinator
Rebecca Gendelman
Legal Fellow
Jenna Gilbert
Managing Attorney (LA)
Ana Guzina
Senior Advisor
Anwen Hughes
Deputy Legal Director (NY)
Piibe Jogi
Managing Attorney (NY)
Lesley Kirby
Operations Manager
Kaitlin Locascio
Staff Attorney
Miguel Pineda
Equal Justice Works Fellow, Sponsored by Greenberg Traurig
Lamisse Abdel Rahman
Legal Services Coordinator
Jacqueline Rojas
Legal Services Coordinator
Laura Salter
Legal Services Coordinator
Rebecca Soroka
Staff Attorney
Rebecca Stewart
Staff Attorney
Rebecca Taylor
Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow
Guadalupe Trejo
Legal Services Coordinator
Hardy Vieux
Senior Vice President, Legal
Alysha Welsh
Managing Attorney (DC)

Our Impact

“

Human Rights First is a premier institution devoted to the noblest of all causes.

” — Senator John McCain (R-AZ)
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