President Barack Obama
Welcome to the largest coalition
in refugee resettlement history.
Welcome.US is a new national initiative built to inspire, mobilize, and empower Americans from all corners of the country to welcome and support those seeking refuge here. We began with our new Afghan neighbors and have expanded to those fleeing Ukraine, while also building a durable capacity and ability to welcome other newcomers. We operate on the evidence that direct participation with newcomers transforms both the welcomer and those being welcomed. Our ultimate ambition is for every American community – and the nation as a whole – to have the resources and willingness to welcome newcomers, now and in the future.
Honorary Co-Chairs
Resettling our newest neighbors requires a whole-country response. That’s why four former Presidents and four former First Ladies have joined us as leaders of this effort – above all, to lift up our collective efforts and remind us that this is our opportunity, in a time of too much division, for a common purpose.
Michelle Obama
President George W. Bush
Laura Bush
President Bill Clinton
Secretary Hillary Clinton
President Jimmy Carter
Rosalynn Carter
Welcome Launch Team
Welcome.US emerged from a non-partisan, non-profit incubator for projects that turn common pain into common purpose. A team of all-in collaborators, including the leaders below, helped bring it to life over the course of several weeks. But the long-term team is still in formation. If you are interested in joining, please write to jobs@welcome.us immediately.
Nazanin Ash
CEO
Anya McMurray
President & COO
Cecilia Muñoz
Co-Chair
John Bridgeland
Co-Chair
Denise Bell
Partnerships Director
Alan Khazei
Senior Advisor
Andrew Mangino
Senior Advisor & Head of Launch
Rachel Quint
VP Operations & Strategy
Sediqa Fahimi
Director Project Operations & Strategy
Kari McDonough
Fund Advisor
Lauren Gray
Chief Development & Partnerships Officer
Monna Kashfi
VP Content & Communications
Collin Director
Sr Manager Corporate Partnerships
Dianna Truong
Senior Director of Development
Kit Taintor
Vice President of Policy and Practice
Serina Khan (they/them)
Sr. Project Manager of Operations & Strategy
Xavier Castillo
Lead Developer
National Welcome Council
Our Welcome Council includes a small but diverse selection of the thousands of people contributing to the movement of welcome. While they might not agree on every specific issue, they share a common belief that welcoming newcomers is inherent to who we are at our best and a commitment to lifting up that message in their respective communities.
Ambassador Javid Ahmad
Atlantic Council
Mozhgan Wafiq Alokozai
Founder/CEO Of Eagle Online Academy
Basma Alawee
National Campaign Manager, National Partnership for New Americans
Douglas X. Alexander
LCIF Chairperson
Sharif Aly
CEO, Islamic Relief USA
Rina Amiri
Afghan Senior Advisor, Senior Fellow at NYU’s Center on International Cooperation
Shamail Amiri
Delegate for California. Refugee Congress
Greg Anderson
Senior Managing Director – Human Resources, Accenture
José Andrés
Chef & Founder, World Central Kitchen
Brother Luke Armour
Trappist Monk, Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, Trappist, KY
Bilal Askaryar
Influencer and Activist
Joseph Azam
Board Member, Afghan-American Foundation
Samadi Bahram
United States Country Director, Women for Afghan Women (WAW)
Rye Barcott
CEO, With Honor
Melody Barnes
Co-Director for Policy & Public Affairs, Democracy Initiative
Dan Bartlett
EVP, Corporate Affairs, Walmart
Jenna Ben-Yahuda
President & CEO, Truman National Security Project
Mayor R.J. Berry
Former Mayor, Albuquerque
Rich Besser
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Nate Blecharczyk
Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer, Airbnb
Rebecca Blumenstein
Deputy Managing Editor, The New York Times
Josh Bolten
President & CEO, Business Roundtable
Michael Breen
President & CEO, Human Rights First
John Bridgeland
Co-Chair, Welcome.Us
Connie Britton
Actor/Activist
Governor Sam Brownback
Former Governor and Senator, Kansas
Mary Beth Bruggeman
CEO, The Mission Continues
Governor Jeb Bush (R-FL)
Former Governor, Florida
Sophia Bush
Actress, Activist, Co-founder, I am a Voter
Caleb Campbell
Lead Pastor, Desert Springs Bible Church
Bill Canny
Executive Director, Migration and Refugee Services, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
Bonnie Carroll
President & Founder, TAPS
Maureen E. Casey
COO, Institute for Veterans and Military Families
Carolyn Cawley
President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation
Oscar Chacon
Executive Director, Alianza Americas
Ray Chambers
Ambassador for Global Strategy. WHO
Wendy Chan
Co-founder, One Journey
Sasha Chanoff
Founder & Executive Director, Refuge Point
Cher
Musician, Actor, and Activist
Brian Chesky
Co-Founder & CEO, Airbnb
Alexa Chopivsky
Executive Director, Ukraine House Davos; Ukraine Invest; Board, Teach for Ukraine
Deepak Chopra
Founder, The Chopra Foundation
John Culver
COO, Starbucks Coffee Company
Bishop Michael Curry
The Episcopal Church
His Eminence Archbishop Daniel
Mizgon Darby
Program Manager, Afghan Coalition
Farhad Darya
Afghan Singer
Sloane Davidson
Founder & CEO, Hello Neighbor
Mandana Dayani
Creator & Co-founder, I am a Voter
Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville
USCCB Committee on Migration
Margo Drakos
Co-Founder, Artist Year
Emal Dusst
Impact Investor, Sterling Partners
Allison Duvall
Church Relations and Engagement, Episcopal Migration Ministries
Gary Edson
President, COVID Collaborative
David S. Evangelista
President and Managing Director, Special Olympics Europe Eurasia; Senior Advisor, International Development, Special Olympics, Inc.
Eric Eversole
President, Hiring Our Heroes, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Elham Fanous
Musician
Geeta Farahmand
Refugee Congress
David French
Senior Editor, The Dispatch
Andrew Futey
President, Ukrainian Congress Committee of America; Vice President, Ukrainian World Congress
Tim Garvin
President and CEO, United Way of Central Massachusetts
Joe Gebbia
Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer, Airbnb
Michael Gerson
Columnist, The Washington Post
Azita Ghanizada
Actress, Founder MENA Arts Advocacy Coalition
Don Gips
CEO, Skoll Foundation
Tony Goldwyn
Actor, Director, and Activist
Metropolitan Archbishop Borys Gudziak
Metropolitan Archbishop of Philadelphia; Head of the Department of External Church Relations, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church; President, Ukrainian Catholic University
Reverend Cynthia Hale
Founder & Senior Pastor, Ray of Hope Christian Church
Cherie Harder
President, The Trinity Forum
Nadia Hashimi
Pediatrician and Novelist
Stephen Heintz
President, Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Becca Heller
Executive Director, IRAP
Wade Henderson
Interim President & CEO, The Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights
Gov. Gary Herbert (R-UT)
Former Governor, Utah
John E. Herbst
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine
Mark Hetfield
President & CEO, HIAS
John Hewko
General Secretary/CEO, Rotary International
Marielena Hincapie
Executive Director, National Immigration Law Center
Khaled Hosseini
Afghan-American novelist
Dave Isay
CEO, StoryCorps
Laleh Ispahani
Co-Director, Open Society Foundations
Natalie Jaresko
Former Minister of Finance for Ukraine; Aspen Institute Trustee, Chair, Aspen Kyiv
Irene Jarosewich
Ukrainian National Association
Laurene Powell Jobs
President, Emerson Collective
Secretary Jeh Johnson
Former Secretary, Department of Homeland Security
Guerline Jozef
Co-founder & Executive Director, Haitian Bridge Alliance
Miranda Kaiser
President, USAHello
Erol Kekic
Senior Vice President, CWS
Victoria Kulik
President, Ukrainian American Bar Association
Governor Dirk Kempthorne (R-ID)
Former Governor, Idaho, Former Secretary of Interior
Sean Kennedy
Executive Vice President, Public Affairs, National Restaurant Association
Alan Khazei
Co-Founder, City Year
Walter Kim
President, National Association of Evangelicals
Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum
Senior Rabbi, Congregation Beit Simchat Torah
Sarah Krause
Co-Founder & Executive Director, Community Sponsorship Hub
Jina Krause-Vilmar
President & CEO, Upwardly Global
Matthew La Corte
Government Affairs Manager, Niskanen Center
Padma Lakshmi
Activist
Nila Latif
Virginia Council Muslim Organization (VCMO) and Afghan Refugee Crisis Committee (ARCC)
Jack Leslie
Senior Advisor, Weber Shandwick
Mark B. Levin
Executive Vice-Chairman and CEO of NCSEJ: National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry
David Linde
CEO, Participant
Michael Linnington
CEO, Wounded Warrior Project
Eric Liu
CEO, Citizen University
Yo-Yo Ma
Musician
Imam Mohamed Magid
Board of Trustees, All Dulles Area Muslim Society
Katherine Maher
Former CEO, Wikimedia Foundation
Gregory Maniatis
Director, International Migration Initiative, Open Society Foundations
Ryan Manion
CEO, Travis Manion Foundation
Anita McBride
Fmr. Chief of Staff to Laura Bush & US-Afghan Women's Council
General Stan McChrystal
Commander, Joint Special Operations Command
Nadia McConnell
Co-Founder & CEO, U.S.-Ukraine Foundation
David McCraw
VP & Deputy General Counsel, New York Times
Nicole Melaku
Executive Director, National Partnership for New Americans
Debra Messing
Actress & Activist
David Miliband
President & CEO, International Rescue Committee
Rabbi Jack Moline
President, Interfaith Alliance
Cecilia Munoz
Co-Chair, Welcome.Us
Janet Murguia
President & CEO, UnidosUS
Dr. Kerry Murphy Healey
President, Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream
Zainab Nazary
Co-Founder, FreshStart Refugee Assistance Center
Eskinder Negash
President & CEO, USCRI
Ali Noorani
President & CEO, National Immigration Forum
Michelle Nunn
President & CEO, CARE
Nadia Nynka
Vice President, Ukrainian National Women’s League of America
Paul O'Brien
Executive Director, Amnesty International USA
Edafe Okporo
Activist & Author
David Paine
Co-Founder, 9/11 Day
Chris Palusky
President & CEO, Bethany
Farah Pandith
Former Special Representative to Muslim Communities, U.S. Department of State
Governor Deval Patrick (D-MA)
Former Governor, Massachusetts
Nillab Pazhwak
Co-founder, Board Member, Afghan-American Women Association
Rachel Perić
Executive Director of Welcoming America
Ai-jen Poo
Co-founder & Executive Director, National Domestic Workers Alliance
Farhat Popal
Advisor, Women's Initiative, George W. Bush Institute
Dina Powell McCormick
Global Head, Goldman Sachs
Secretary Steve Preston
President & CEO, Goodwill Industries International
Chris Purdy
Director, VFAI
Secretary Condoleezza Rice
Former Secretary of State
Jeremy Robbins
Executive Director, New American Economy
Kenneth Roth
Executive Director, Human Rights Watch
Kathy Roth-Douquet
CEO, Blue Star Families
Reverend Gabe Salguero
President & Founder, National Latino Evangelical Coalition
Rabbi David Saperstein
Former Ambassador for International Religious Freedom
Michael Sawkiw, Jr.
Executive Vice President, Ukrainian Congress Committee of America; Director, Ukrainian National Information Service
Eric & Wendy Schmidt
Co-founders, The Schmidt Family Foundation
Liz Schrayer
President & CEO, US Global Leadership Coalition
Sheri Kersch Schultz
Co-founder & Chair, Schultz Family Foundation
Howard Schultz
Former CEO & Chairman Emeritus, Starbucks Coffee Company
Steve Schwab
CEO, The Elizabeth Dole Foundation
Eric Schwartz
President, Refugees International
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS)
Former Governor, Kansas
Ed Shapiro
Trustee, Shapiro Family Foundation
Brian Sheehan
International President, Lions Club International
Sarah Sheffer
Interim Director, Refugee Advocacy Lab
Lisa Sherman
President & CEO, Ad Council
Billy Shore
Founder & CEO, Share our Strength
Maria Shriver
Journalist & Author
Tim Shriver
OAP, Special Olympics, UNITE
Michael Singh
Managing Director and Senior Fellow, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Anne-Marie Slaughter
CEO, New America
John Slocum
Interim Executive Director, RCUSA
Brad Smith
President, Microsoft
Jay Snyder
Founder & Chairman, Open Hands Initiative
David Solomon
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Goldman Sachs
Patricia de Stacy Harrison
President & CEO, Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Stephanie Summers
CEO, Center for Public Justice
Yuriy Symczyk
COO, Ukrainian National Association
William B. Taylor
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine
Tsehaye Teferra
President & CEO, ECDC
Cardinal Joseph Tobin
Archdiocese of Newark
Natalie Tran
Executive Director, Creative Artists Agency Foundation
Hamdi Ulukaya
CEO, Chobani
Ambassador Melanne Verveer
Executive Director, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security
Krish O'Mara Vignarajah
President & CEO, LIRS
U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Alexander Vindman
Former Director, European & Russian Affairs, White House National Security Council
Bradley Whitford
Actor, Producer, & Activist
Hon. Doug Wilson
Co-Founder & Board Chair, Vets’ Community Connections
Heather Wilson
President, The University of Texas at El Paso, former U.S. Secretary of the Air Force
Jim Winkler
President & General Secretary, National Council of Churches
Jay Winuk
Co-Founder, 9/11 Day
Jake Wood
Co-Founder & Executive Chairman, Team Rubicon
Jocelyn Wyatt
CEO, Alight
Jenny Yang
SVP of Advocacy & Policy, World Relief
Nili Sarit Yossinger
Executive Director, Refugee Congress
Wendy Young
President, KIND
Marie Yovanovitch
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine
Marianna Zajac
First Vice-President, World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations (WFUWO) and Honorary President, Ukrainian National Women’s League of America (UNWLA)