Subscribe to First Page and join our fight for human rightsSign Up
Home / About / Staff

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
Vinincia Dorsey
Vice President, Human Resources and Office Operations
Sharon Kelly McBride
Senior Vice President, Advocacy
Jennifer Mellen
Senior Vice President, Development

Experts

Eleanor Acer
Senior Director, Refugee Protection
Robyn Barnard
Senior Advocacy Counsel, Refugee Protection
Welton Chang
Chief Technology Officer
Brian Dooley
Senior Advisor
Ira Forman
Senior Advisor for Combating Antisemitism
Rebecca Gendelman
Pennoyer Fellow/Associate Attorney, Refugee Protection
Jenna Gilbert
Director, Refugee Representation
Ana Guzina
Senior Advisor
Scott Johnston
Staff Attorney for Human Rights Accountability
Vladimir Kara-Murza
Senior Advisor, Human Rights Accountability
Kennji Kizuka
Associate Director, Research & Analysis, Refugee Protection
Julia Neusner
Legal Fellow, Refugee Protection
Ana Ortega Villegas
Advocacy Strategist, Refugee Protection
Chris Purdy
Project Manager, Veterans for American Ideals
Jennifer Quigley
Senior Director, Government Affairs
Patricia Stottlemyer
Litigation Staff Attorney
Amanda Strayer
Associate Attorney for Human Rights Accountability/Joffe Fellow
Alysha Welsh
Managing Attorney (DC)

Advocacy and Policy

Eleanor Acer
Senior Director, Refugee Protection
Anika Ades
Masiyiwa-Bernstein Fellow, Refugee Protection
Robyn Barnard
Senior Advocacy Counsel, Refugee Protection
Cole Blum
Advocacy Associate
Welton Chang
Chief Technology Officer
Emilee Cutright
Program Analyst, Veterans for American Ideals
Rebecca Gendelman
Pennoyer Fellow/Associate Attorney, Refugee Protection
Scott Johnston
Staff Attorney for Human Rights Accountability
Sharon Kelly McBride
Senior Vice President, Advocacy
Kennji Kizuka
Associate Director, Research & Analysis, Refugee Protection
Julia Neusner
Legal Fellow, Refugee Protection
Ana Ortega Villegas
Advocacy Strategist, Refugee Protection
Allison Perlin
Legal Fellow
Chris Purdy
Project Manager, Veterans for American Ideals
Jennifer Quigley
Senior Director, Government Affairs
Patricia Stottlemyer
Litigation Staff Attorney
Amanda Strayer
Associate Attorney for Human Rights Accountability/Joffe Fellow

Communications

Jim Bernfield
Senior Vice President, Marketing & Communications
Alexandra Yellin
Communications Strategist

Development

Emily Finkelstein
Individual Giving Associate
Katie Langford
Grants Associate
Jennifer Mellen
Senior Vice President, Development
Kelly Mizuno
Development Coordinator
Laura Senkevitch
Major Gifts Officer

Operations

Diyerly “DJ” Duque
Human Resources Generalist
Brenda Balcarcel
Human Resources Assistant/Office Coordinator
Cynthia Burns
Vice President, Operations
Peter Chan
Director of Information Technology
Vlad Davydovych
Finance Accountant
Vinincia Dorsey
Vice President, Human Resources and Office Operations
Quentin Hines
Chief of Staff
Carla Medina
Office Coordinator/Receptionist
Kurt Pacquette
Vice President, Finance
Dennis Rosensteel
Systems Security Analyst

Refugee Representation

Martha Arreola
Legal Services Coordinator
Philip Chwee
Staff Attorney
Katie Czapanskiy
Staff Attorney
Diana Diaz
Social Worker
Maya El Cheikh
Legal Services Coordinator/DOJ Fully-Accredited Representative
Nancy Giesel
Legal Services Coordinator
Jenna Gilbert
Director, Refugee Representation
Ana Guzina
Senior Advisor
Anwen Hughes
Director of Legal Strategy, Refugee Programs
Piibe Jogi
Managing Attorney (NY)
Lesley Kirby
Operations Manager, Refugee Representation
Kaitlin Locascio
Staff Attorney
Miguel Pineda
Equal Justice Works Fellow, Sponsored by Greenberg Traurig
Lamisse Abdel Rahman
Legal Services Coordinator/DOJ-Accredited Representative
Rebecca Soroka
Staff Attorney
Rebecca Taylor
Immigrant Justice Corps Legal Fellow
Guadalupe Trejo
Legal Services Coordinator
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)
Protecting our Allies
Keeping the Door Closed on Torture