Four former Presidents and four former First Ladies have joined us as partners in this effort, bringing Americans together in the common purpose of offering safety to those in need of refuge from war, violence, and persecution.
Our Leadership
Our mission is to unleash the desire and capacity of people across America to welcome newcomers and help them thrive.
Honorary Co-chairs
President Barack Obama
Michelle Obama
President George W. Bush
Laura Bush
President Bill Clinton
Secretary Hillary Clinton
President Jimmy Carter
(2021-2024)
Rosalynn Carter
(2021-2023)
Welcome.US Leaders
Our mission is to unleash the desire and capacity of people across America to welcome newcomers and help them thrive.
Nazanin Ash
Chief Executive Officer
Anya McMurray
President & COO
Cecilia Muñoz
Co-Chair
John Bridgeland
Co-Chair
Brian Widuch
Chief of Staff
Krista Kartson
Senior Director, Sponsorship Initiatives
Monna Kashfi
VP Content & Communications
Kari McDonough
VP, Partnerships and Senior Advisor of Welcome Fund
Rachel Quint
VP Strategy & Director, CEO Council
Jenny Raymond
VP, Technology and Innovation
National Welcome Council
Javid Ahmad
Former Afghanistan's Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates
Douglas X. Alexander
Former International LCIF President
Rina Amiri
Former U.S. Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls, and Human Rights
José Andrés
Chef & Founder, World Central Kitchen
Brother Luke Armour
Trappist Monk, Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, Trappist, KY
Joseph Azam
Board Chair, Afghan-American Foundation
Samadi Bahram
United States Country Director, Women for Afghan Women (WAW)
Rye Barcott
CEO, With Honor
Melody Barnes
Executive Director, Karsh Institute of Democracy, University of Virginia
Jenna Ben-Yahuda
Executive Vice President, Atlantic Council
R.J. Berry
Former Mayor, Albuquerque
Rich Besser
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Rebecca Blumenstein
President of Editorial, NBC News
Connie Britton
Actor & Activist
Governor Sam Brownback
Former Governor and Senator, Kansas
Mary Beth Bruggeman
Founder & Principal, Angels 10 Advisors
Governor Jeb Bush
Former Governor, Florida
Sophia Bush
Actress, Activist, Co-founder, I am a Voter
Caleb Campbell
Lead Pastor, Desert Springs Bible Church
Carolyn Cawley
Former President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation
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
Ray Chambers
Ambassador for Global Strategy. WHO
Sasha Chanoff
Founder & Executive Director, Refuge Point
Deepak Chopra
Founder, The Chopra Foundation
Alexa Chopivsky
Executive Director, Ukraine House Davos; Ukraine Invest; Board, Teach for Ukraine
Farhad Darya
Afghan Singer
Sloane Davidson
Founder & CEO, Hello Neighbor
Mandana Dayani
Creator & Co-founder, I am a Voter
Patricia de Stacy Harrison
President & CEO, Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky
Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville
In Memorium
Margo Drakos
Trustee Chair, Artist Year
Emal Dusst
Impact Investor, Sterling Partners
Gary Edson
President, COVID Collaborative
David S. Evangelista
Regional 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
David French
Columnist, The New York Times
Andrew Futey
Vice President of Ukrainian World Congress
Tim Garvin
President and CEO, United Way of Central Massachusetts
Michael Gerson
In Memorium
Azita Ghanizada
Actress, Founder MENA Arts Advocacy Coalition
Don Gips
CEO, Skoll Foundation
Tony Goldwyn
Actor, Director, and Activist
Borys Gudziak
Metropolitan-Archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia
Cynthia Hale
Reverend, 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
Founder, IRAP
Governor Gary Herbert
Former Governor, Utah
Ambassador John E. Herbst
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine
Mark Hetfield
President & CEO, HIAS
John Hewko
General Secretary/CEO, Rotary International
Dr. Patti Hill
International President, Lions Club International
Marielena Hincapie
Executive Director, National Immigration Law Center
Khaled Hosseini
Afghan-American Novelist
Dave Isay
Founder and Producer of StoryCorps
Natalie Jaresko
Former Minister of Finance for Ukraine; Aspen Institute Trustee, Chair, Aspen Kyiv
Secretary Jeh Johnson
Former Secretary, Department of Homeland Security
Guerline Jozef
Co-founder & Executive Director, Haitian Bridge Alliance
Miranda Kaiser
President, USAHello
Governor Dirk Kempthorne
Former Governor, Idaho, Former Secretary of Interior
Sheri Kersch Schultz
Co-founder & Chair, Schultz Family Foundation
Alan Khazei
Co-Founder, City Year
Walter Kim
President, National Association of Evangelicals
Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum
Senior Rabbi Emerita, Congregation Beit Simchat Torah
Jina Krause-Vilmar
President & CEO, Upwardly Global
Victoria Kulik
President, Ukrainian American Bar Association
Matthew La Corte
Deputy Director of Immigration, Niskanen Center
Padma Lakshmi
Emmy-nominated producer, television host, food expert, and a New York Times best-selling author
Jack Leslie
Former Chairman of Weber Shandwick
Mark B. Levin
Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry
David Linde
CEO, Participant
Michael Linnington
CEO, Wounded Warrior Project
Eric Liu
CEO, Citizen University
Yo-Yo Ma
Cellist
Imam Mohamed Magid
Executive Imam of All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center
Katherine Maher
CEO and President of National Public Radio
Ryan Manion
CEO, Travis Manion Foundation
Anita McBride
Former Chief of Staff to Laura Bush
General Stan McChrystal
Former 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
Former President, Interfaith Alliance
Janet Murguia
President & CEO, UnidosUS
Dr. Kerry Murphy Healey
President, Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream
Eskinder Negash
President & CEO, USCRI
Michelle Nunn
President & CEO, CARE
Nadia Nynka
Vice President, Ukrainian National Women’s League of America
Krish O'Mara Vignarajah
President and CEO, Global Refuge
Edafe Okporo
Activist & Author
David Paine
Co-Founder, 9/11 Day
Chris Palusky
President & CEO, Bethany Christian Services
Farah Pandith
Former Special Representative to Muslim Communities, U.S. Department of State
Governor Deval Patrick
Former Governor, Massachusetts
Nillab Pazhwak
Co-Founder & Executive Director, Afghan-American Women Association
Rachel Perić
Executive Director of Welcoming America
Ai-jen Poo
Co-founder & Executive Director, National Domestic Workers Alliance
Laurene Powell Jobs
President, Emerson Collective
Dina Powell McCormick
Vice Chairman & President of Global Client Services and a Partner of BDT-MSD
Secretary Condoleezza Rice
Former Secretary of State
Jeremy Robbins
Executive Director, American Immigration Council
Kathy Roth-Douquet
Co-Founder & CEO, Blue Star Families
Reverend Gabe Salguero
President & Founder, National Latino Evangelical Coalition
Rabbi David Saperstein
Former Ambassador for International Religious Freedom
Nili Sarit Yossinger
Executive Director, Refugee Congress
Michael Sawkiw, Jr.
President of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America
Eric & Wendy Schmidt
Co-founders, The Schmidt Family Foundation
Liz Schrayer
US Global Leadership Coalition
Howard Schultz
Former CEO & Chairman Emeritus, Starbucks Coffee Company
Steve Schwab
CEO, The Elizabeth Dole Foundation
Governor Kathleen Sebelius
Former Governor, Kansas and Former Secretary of Health and Human Services
Ed Shapiro
Trustee, Shapiro Family Foundation
Lisa Sherman
President & CEO, Ad Council
Billy Shore
Founder & CEO, Share our Strength
Maria Shriver
Journalist and former First Lady of California
Timothy Shriver
Chairman, Special Olympics
Michael Singh
Managing Director and Senior Fellow, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Anne-Marie Slaughter
CEO, New America
John Slocum
Executive Director, Refugee Council USA
Jay Snyder
Founder and Chairman, The Open Hands Initiative
Stephanie Summers
CEO, Center for Public Justice
Yuriy Symczyk
COO & National Secretary, Ukrainian National Association
Ambassador William B. Taylor
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine
Tsehaye Teferra
President & CEO, Ethiopian Community Development Council
Ambassador Randall L. Tobias
Former CEO of Eli Lilly and Company, First U.S. Global AIDS Ambassador
Deborah Flanigan Tobias
Co-founder of the Tobias Center for International Development at Indiana University
Cardinal Joseph Tobin
Archdiocese of Newark
Natalie Tran
Executive Director of the Creative Artists Agency Foundation
Shawn VanDiver
President and Board Chairman, #AfghanEvac
Ambassador Melanne Verveer
Executive Director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security
Mozhgan Wafiq Alokozai
Founder & CEO, Eagle Online Academy
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
Wendy Young
President, Kids in Need of Defense
Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch
Former United States Ambassador to Ukraine
Marianna Zajac
Honorary President at Ukrainian National Women's League of America
