National Leading from the Inside Out Yearlong 2012-2013 Fellows

Cristóbal Alex | Program Officer, Electoral Reform and Democratic Participation, Ford Foundation

Cristóbal oversees the Foundation’s Promoting Electoral Reform and Democratic Participation Initiative, which employs a range of strategies including voter registration and mobilization, litigation, advocacy and public policy reform. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2011, he worked at the Open Society Foundations. Previously, he served as Director of the National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights. Among Cristóbal’s achievements, he played a key leadership role in passing Washington’s in-state tuition bill; led voter registration drives; advocated on various rights issues before the United Nations Human Rights Commission and federal and state governmental bodies; and served as the youngest president in the history of the Latino Bar Association. He also co-founded and chaired the Latino Political Action Committee. Cristóbal received his J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law.



Margie Alt | Executive Director, Environment America

Margie oversees all aspects of the organization, including policy and strategy development for major campaigns; building the organization’s membership, visibility and field power; and recruiting and training hundreds of staff and activists. Under Margie’s direction, the Environment America federation has grown to include 29 state-based groups, nearly 100 professional staff, and more than 1 million members, donors, activists and allies in all 50 states and has become one of the leading ‘outside game’ players in the U.S. environmental movement.


Nan Aron | President, Alliance for Justice

Nan is the president and founder of Alliance for Justice, a national association of over 100 public interest and civil rights organizations. A leading voice in public interest law for over 30 years, she founded AFJ in 1979 and guides the organization in its mission to ensure that all Americans have the right and opportunity to secure justice in the courts and to have their voices heard when government makes decisions that affect their lives. Nan is nationally recognized for her expertise in public interest law, the federal judiciary, and citizen participation in public policy. She has taught at Georgetown and George Washington University Law Schools, and serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council at American University’s Washington College of Law. Nan is also the author of “Liberty and Justice for All: Public Interest Law in the 1980s and Beyond” and has appeared as an expert in numerous media outlets.



Denise Collazo | Director of Development and Southeast Expansion, PICO National Network

Denise leads a 20-member team that is building out PICO’s work in Florida, Louisiana and Alabama and directs PICO’s Fund Development Team--raising funds for PICO, its 52 affiliates and 10 state networks. In 2012, she is working to integrate data-driven voter engagement tools into the organizing foundation of PICO’s Southeast affiliates as part of a broader 9-state Land of Opportunity initiative to engage one million faith voters around a pro-family economic fairness agenda. She began her organizing career with PICO in Oakland, California (1992) and then in San Francisco where she launched a successful “Yes in My Back Yard” campaign, resulting in the development of hundreds of units of affordable housing. Denise has a BA from Harvard College and has worked for the National Puerto Rican Coalition and the Center for Community Change.


Masen Davis | Executive Director, Transgender Law Center

Masen is the Executive Director of the Transgender Law Center, a civil rights organization advocating for transgender communities. Under his leadership, the Transgender Law Center has won significant legal and policy victories helping transgender people claim and uphold their fundamental civil rights, including a landmark EEOC ruling that transgender people are covered by Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act; leveraged over $1 million of public funds for transgender employment programs; and launched innovative programs promoting economic empowerment, healthcare access and leadership development. Masen has been an activist in the movement for LGBT equality since 1990, when he started his career as a Civil Court Advocate at Chicago’s gay and lesbian center. He has served in leadership roles for many organizations, including United Way of Greater Los Angeles (where he worked as a program officer and development director from 2000-2007); FTM Alliance of Los Angeles; the National Center for Transgender Equality; and Funders for LGBTQ Issues.


Ejim Dike | Executive Director, US Human Rights Network

Ejim is Executive Director of the US Human Rights Network. She has worked on social policy issues for over fifteen years and in the domestic human rights arena for ten years. Her work focuses on addressing poverty and discrimination using a human rights framework. Previously, she was Director of the Human Rights Project (HRP) at the Urban Justice Center. Under her leadership, the HRP launched an annual report card on the human rights record of New York City Council members, coordinated a shadow report on racial discrimination with thirty local groups for submission to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, organized a New York City visit by the UN Special Expert on Racism, and developed a toolkit on and coordinated participation for activists in the Universal Periodic Review process. Ejim received her undergraduate degree from Berea College and a Masters of Urban Planning from New York University.


Cindy Estrada | Vice President, International Union, UAW

Cindy is a vice president of the International Union, UAW (United Auto Workers). She is the first Latina to serve as a UAW vice president. Cindy directs the union’s Independents, Parts and Suppliers Department, the Public Employee and Health Care Servicing Department, and the Women’s Department. A longtime union organizer and activist, she led the charge in bringing about one of the largest organizing victories of Spanish-speaking workers at an auto parts manufacturer in 1999. She participates in a number of community-based activities and sits on the boards of Mi Familia Vota, the National Advisory Committee for Labor Provisions of Free Trade Agreements, the Economic Alliance of Michigan, and the Advisory Board of Labor at Wayne State University. Cindy is a lifelong Democrat and an active member of the Coalition of Labor Union Women and the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement. She is involved in numerous charitable organizations.



Andrew D. Gillum | Director, Youth Leadership Programs, People for the American Way

Andrew, a Florida A&M University graduate, former F AMU student government president and Board Trustee was elected to the Tallahassee City Commission February 2003. He currently serves as Mayor Pro Tempore, lead commissioner for the Financial Viability Target Issue Committee; co-commissioner, Health and Human Services Target Issue Committee; and chair, Joint Planning Board for Human Services Partnership. Major community initiatives include Nims Middle School Digital Harmony, Landlord Tenant Mediation; Code Enforcement Amnesty, Palmer Munroe Teen Center, and commercial utility deposit rebates. He’s the National Director of Youth Leadership Programs and the Young Elected Officials (YEO) Network with People For the American Way Foundation offering elected officials age 35 and under leadership, personal development training, and public policy support. Andrew is a Board Director for the Schott Foundation for Public Education and a Board Trustee for the Florida League of Cities - Florida Municipal Investment Trust.



Michael Green | Executive Director, Center for Environmental Health

Michael is Executive Director of the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) which he founded in 1996. As Director of CEH, he has been a leader in national efforts to protect children and families from lead and other toxic chemicals in consumer products, and from illnesses related to pollution in our air, water and food. Michael has done two stints in Washington DC at the US Dept of Energy and US EPA and two in India where he designed a solid waste management plan for the Tibetan refugee community in Dharamsala, and cared for the sick at Mother Teresa’s mission in Calcutta. He is a recipient of The California Wellness Foundation’s Leadership Award, as well as the Compassion in Action Award, presented jointly by the Dalai Lama Foundation and Committee of 100 for Tibet. He reports directly to his two direct supervisors: Dylan Green, born in 2007 and Juliette Green, born in 2008.



Mary Anne Hitt | Director, Beyond Coal Campaign, Sierra Club

Mary Anne is director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign, which is working to eliminate the pollution caused by coal throughout its life cycle, and repower the nation with clean energy. In 2012, Mother Jones described the campaign as “a grassroots rebellion [that] is winning the biggest victory yet on climate change.” Mary Anne previously served as executive director of Appalachian Voices (where she was one of the creators of the award-winning campaign iLoveMountains.org), the Ecology Center, and the Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project. She received her Master’s of Science from the University of Montana, where she received the Len and Sandy Sargent Environmental Advocacy Award, and her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee, where she was a Whittle Scholar and where she later received the 2008 Notable UT Woman Award. She grew up in the mountains of east Tennessee and now lives in West Virginia with her family.



Farhana Khera | President & Executive Director, Muslim Advocates

Farhana is the president and executive director of Muslim Advocates, a national legal advocacy and educational organization dedicated to promoting freedom, justice and equality for all, regardless of faith. Prior to joining Muslim Advocates in 2005, she was counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on the Constitution. She advised Senator Russell D. Feingold (D-WI), the Chairman of the Constitution Subcommittee, on civil rights and civil liberties issues. Prior to the Senate, Farhana was a litigation associate with the law firm of Hogan & Hartson, LLP, and the law firm of Ross, Dixon & Masback, LLP. She has received numerous honors, including the Lives of Commitment Award by the Auburn Theological Seminary, the Unity Award by the Minority Bar Coalition of San Francisco, and the Dr. Betty Shabazz Recognition Award by Women In Islam. Farhana received her B.A. from Wellesley College and her J.D. from Cornell Law School. In 2009, she completed the Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders at Stanford Graduate School of Business.



Tuyet Le | Executive Director, Asian American Institute

Tuyet has been the executive director of the Asian American Institute (AAI) since 1999. AAI is the Midwest’s premiere pan-Asian multi-issue organization committed to empowering Asian Americans through advocacy by utilizing research, education and coalition-building. As Executive Director, She has focused on improving cooperation among diverse Asian American communities, raising their visibility and highlighting their concerns to policy makers and the public at large. In addition to her work for AAI Tuyet, who came to the United States as a refugee from Vietnam, serves on the board of the Asian American Justice Center and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrants and Refugees.



Eva A. Millona | Executive Director, Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition

Eva has been executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) since 2008. She is also the co-chair of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Refugees and Immigrants, serves on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and is co-chair of the National Partnership for New Americans, comprising 12 immigrant rights state coalitions. In her native Albania, Eva practiced civil and criminal law, serving as a judge in Tirana’s District Court. She holds a master’s degree from Clark University, is co-chair of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Refugees and Immigrants, serves on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and is co-chair of the National Partnership for New Americans.



Rashad Robinson | Executive Director, Color of Change

Rashad serves as executive director of ColorOfChange, the nation’s largest online civil rights organization. Under his leadership, the organization has been at the forefront on issues ranging from fighting for justice for Trayvon Martin to battling attempts to suppress the Black vote – all the while utilizing the power of storytelling and the media to amplify the voices of the over 800,000 Black Americans and their allies that make up ColorOfChange’s membership. Rashad has served as a thought leader, widely sought-out speaker and strategist on utilizing media to shift public opinion concerning civil rights issues and on holding political, corporate, and media figures and institutions accountable. He has previously held leadership roles at GLAAD, Right to Vote Campaign, and FairVote. Rashad currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Applied Research Center and ALL OUT, the Global Campaign for LGBT Equality.




Julien Ross | Executive Director, Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition

Julien is founding executive director of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC), a statewide membership based coalition working to advance justice for immigrants and refugees. He also serves on the Executive Committees of the Fair Immigration Reform Movement and the National Partnership for New Americans, two national organizations working for immigration reform and immigrant integration. Prior to joining CIRC, Julien co-founded the Houston Interfaith Worker Justice Center and the Workers Defense Project in Austin. He served on the inaugural Board of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, five years on the Austin Commission on Immigrant Affairs, an advisory board to City Council, and earned his Master’s in Public Affairs at the LBJ School, University of Texas at Austin. Julien is a native of Santa Fe, and was a proud restaurant worker for ten years growing up; he has family and lifelong roots in Colorado, New York and New Mexico.



Thomas A. Saenz | President & General Council, MALDEF

Thomas is the president and general counsel of MALDEF, where he leads the civil rights organization’s five offices in pursuing litigation, policy advocacy, and community education to promote the civil rights of Latinos living in the United States. He re-joined MALDEF in August 2009, after spending four years on Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s executive team as Counsel to the Mayor. Thomas previously spent 12 years at MALDEF practicing civil rights law as a staff attorney, regional counsel, and vice president of litigation. He served as MALDEF’s lead counsel in successfully challenging California’s anti-immigrant Proposition 187. Thomas graduated from Yale College and Yale Law School, and he clerked for two federal judges before initially joining MALDEF in 1993.



Hector E. Sanchez | Executive Director, The Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA)

Hector is the executive director of LCLAA (Labor Council for Latin American Advancement) and the Chair of NHLA (National Hispanic Leadership Agenda). He has worked in Labor, education and non-profit organizations, and has 15 years of policy, advocacy research and community outreach experience. He has become an indefatigable voice, highlighting systematic injustices against Latinos. Hector frequently debates Latino issues on national and international media networks. He plays a central role in the national Latino leadership: he was recently elected chair of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), which is comprised of the 30 leading national Latino organizations. He is also the vice-chair of the National Latino Coalition on Climate Change (NLCCC) and sits on the board of directors of the U.S. Labor Education in the Americas Project (USLEAP). Hector holds a Bachelors and Masters degree in Political Science from the University of Texas.



Pamela Shifman | Director, Initiatives for Girls and Women, NoVo Foundation

Pamela serves as the director of initiatives for girls and women at the NoVo Foundation, directing its work on empowering adolescent girls and ending violence against girls and women. She spent 6 years spearheading UNICEF’s efforts to end gender-based violence in conflict-affected settings, including Darfur, Eastern Congo, Uganda, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Pamela has also served as the Co-Executive Director of Equality Now, where she focused extensively on trafficking of girls and women. From 1996-1998, Pamela served as legal advisor for the ANC Parliamentary Women’s Caucus in South Africa, where she led a joint civil society/Parliamentary Campaign to End Violence against Women and Girls and supported development of legislation addressing domestic violence.



Veda Shook | International President, Association of Flight Attendants – CWA

Veda is proud to be a flight attendant. As the top AFA officer, she is responsible for the overall leadership and direction of the union. Veda is the chief spokesperson for the union, primary liaison with other unions and labor organizations, airlines, industry groups and governmental agencies. Veda is also a member of the AFLCIO Executive Council, a Vice President on the CWA Executive Board, Vice Chair of the Cabin Crew Committee for the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), and serves on the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Labor Advisory Board. She continues flying and sounding out members as president of the world’s largest union representing only Flight Attendants. In 1991, after earning her bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of Colorado-Boulder, with fluency in French, Veda moved to Portland, Ore. She was hired with Alaska Airlines as a Flight Attendant on June 7, 1991.



Elizabeth (Liz) Shuler | Secretary-Treasurer, AFL-CIO

Liz is the current secretary-treasurer/chief financial officer of the AFL-CIO, one of three top-level officers for the Federation. The first ever woman elected to the position in 2009, she also holds the distinction of being the youngest officer ever to sit on the federation’s Executive Council. Liz worked her way up through the ranks of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), from Local Union 125 in Portland, OR, to the Executive leadership at the International headquarters in Washington, DC. During her tenure at the IBEW international, she specialized in government affairs, oversaw 11 major departments, and advised the International President on key policy issues. Today, as chief financial officer of the federation, Liz oversees six administrative departments and is leading the federation’s young worker outreach initiative and repositioning efforts. She also represents the AFL-CIO on various boards and committees, such as the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust and the Women’s Committee of the International Trade Union Confederation.



Greg Speed | Executive Director, America Votes

Greg has a broad range of experience leading successful organizations, winning campaigns and advancing progressive causes. America Votes (AV) provides a permanent advocacy and campaign infrastructure for progressives nationally and in 18 states. Greg has led AV for the past five years, directing AV’s operations and coordination of independent programs throughout the 2008, 2010 and 2012 election cycles. Previously, he served as communications director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He worked as press secretary for Congressman Martin Frost during his tenure as Democratic Caucus Chair and directed communications for IMPAC 2000, the national Democratic redistricting project in 2001-2002. Greg currently serves on the boards of Priorities USA, ProgressNow, Democratic GAIN, and BISC. He received a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He and his wife, Lona Valmoro, reside on Capitol Hill with their two children.



Kelley Weigel | Executive Director, Western States Center

Kelley brings a passion for justice to her decades of community organizing – a plus when looking at her resume of front line efforts to fight the right in the Pacific Northwest. Kelley serves as director of Western States Center, a unique regional hub supporting community organizing and collaborative approaches to social justice. She started with the Center in 2002 and has been instrumental in the Center’s intersectional and multi-issue approach. Organizations credit the Center’s support in advancing their own wins and success. She is a graduate of the Center’s first intensive leadership program now known as Western Institute for Leadership Development. WILD clinched Kelley’s commitment to organizing. She developed skills with Community Alliance of Lane County and then the Rural Organizing Project. Kelley is a lifelong learner and that keeps her feeling fresh in this work. Having a seven-year-old son also keeps her on her toes.



Cindy Wiesner | National Coordinator, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance

Cindy is a queer working class Latina born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. She has been a community organizer and activist for more than 20 years. Cindy has organized with HERE Local 2850, POWER, GenerationFIVE, and the Miami Workers Center. Since 2007, she worked as the political coordinator for Grassroots Global Justice Alliance (GGJ). Recently, Cindy became the National Coordinator of GGJ. She represents the alliance on the National Planning Committee of the US Social Forum, UNITY, the Hemispheric Council of the Americas Social Forum, and the International Council of the World Social Forum. She lives in Miami, FL with her partner.



Mellor C. Willie | Executive Director, National American Indian Housing Council

Mellor is the Executive Director of the National American Indian Housing Council (NAIHC). NAIHC advances a national housing policy agenda for American Indians, Alaska Natives and native Hawaiians, and operates one of the largest training and technical assistance programs in Indian Country. Mellor is a member of the Navajo Nation, born and raised on the reservation in Window Rock, Ariz. With extensive experience at the tribal, state and national level, he has held positions with a variety of organizations, including The Navajo Nation, National Congress of American Indians, Harvard University and the New Mexico State Senate. Mellor was recognized in 2010 as one of 40 emerging American Indian leaders under the age of 40 by the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development. As a proud alumnus, he actively serves on the advisory board for the Washington Internships for Native Students at American University. In May 2009, Mellor graduated from The George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management.