Berkley Center

Ali Al Sudani is the vice president for Refugee Services at Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston. In conjunction with the U.S. State Department and many other faith-based organizations, Sudani helps lead the greater Houston area in resettling legal refugees fleeing from political, social, or religious persecution in their homelands.

Sonia Lin is the general counsel and policy director for the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs in New York City. Lin’s efforts include providing equal access to the resources available in New York City for immigrant communities and connecting them with important information and services to enhance their economic, civic, and social integration into New York City.

Linda Lopez is the former chief of the Office of Immigrant Affairs at the mayor's office in Los Angeles. Appointed to her position in September 2013, Lopez was responsible for providing overall strategic advice to Mayor Eric Garcetti on his immigration policy agenda and creating innovative programs to successfully integrate immigrants into Los Angeles’ social, economic, and political environments.

Denis McDonough was the twenty-sixth White House Chief of Staff during former U.S. president Barack Obama's second term. Before serving as Obama’s chief of staff, he was White House deputy national security adviser from September 2010 to February 2013.

Mike Mitchell is the associate vice president of U.S. programs at Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS). He serves as a strategic advisor on HIAS’ efforts to expand its resettlement network, fully integrate refugees into our communities, and enable these refugees to achieve greater success in their lives.

Rachel Peric is the executive director of Welcoming America. Since joining this organization in 2011, Peric has worked to create communities where current residents, immigrants, and refugees can thrive and belong and assisted the growth of Welcoming America from a startup to global entity.

Joan Rosenhauer is the president of Jesuit Refugee Service USA (JRS). She is a member of JRS’s global leadership team advancing JRS’s mission to accompany, serve, and advocate for displaced people in 58 countries. This includes supporting global education, livelihoods, reconciliation, and psychosocial support programming. She also leads JRS’s work in the United States, providing chaplains in five centers where people are detained by the U.S. government and providing legal and psychosocial support in El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, in collaboration with JRS Mexico. JRS USA also sponsors a network of volunteers to support newcomers in cities across the United States. Rosenhauer served as executive vice president for U.S. operations of Catholic Relief Services and was associate director of the Department of Justice, Peace, and Human Development at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Rosenhauer has a bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Iowa and a master’s degree in public policy management from the University of Maryland. Rosenhauer is a member of the Working Group on Displaced Persons and Hospitality to the Stranger, part of the Culture of Encounter Project.

Hans Van de Weerd is the vice president of International Rescue Committee, leading U.S. programs in aiding those struggling and enduring through the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Van de Weerd has also has expertise in international business, crisis management, cross-cultural management and communications, and diplomacy.