David Lubell- Executive Director

David Lubell is the founder of Welcoming America and has been Executive Director since October of 2009. David is former Executive Director and founder of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC). TIRRC is now considered a model for emerging immigrant’s rights coalitions forming across the U.S., and was named “Advocacy Affiliate of the Year” in 2008 by the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest Latino civil rights organization in the U.S. While at TIRRC, David helped found Welcoming Tennessee, the model for all subsequent Welcoming projects. Before TIRRC, David was Advocacy and Organizing Director of Latino Memphis, a non-profit in Memphis, where he helped lead a successful organizing campaign to increase access to healthcare for Memphis’ growing LEP (Limited English Proficient) population.

David received a Masters in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where he was a Reynolds Social Entrepreneurship Fellow. David also has a B.A. in history from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, and received a Certificate in non-profit management from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. David is a recipient of the Cornerstone Social Justice award from Jewish Funds for Social Justice and the Community Change-Champion Award from the Center for Community Change. He is currently a Draper Richards Kaplan Social Entrepreneurship Fellow. David is based in Atlanta, GA.

Contact David by email or by phone at 404-592-5621.

Ellen Gallagher- Director of Programs

As the Director of Programs, Ellen’s primary responsibilities include supporting current affiliates and reaching out to new affiliates. Prior to becoming the first staff person of Welcoming America, Ellen coordinated Welcoming Massachusetts for the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA). In this role, she worked extensively on the initiative and helped create several tools and approaches which are now used across the Welcoming movement. Ellen joined MIRA after working for a member organization, the International Institute of Rhode Island (IIRI) for three years. At the International Institute and as the coordinator of a state-wide immigrant rights advocacy group, Ellen experienced first-hand how immigrants can become scapegoats when proactive steps are not taken to welcome immigrants and refugees. In the face of rhetoric that was intended to blame (the relatively small) immigrant communities for the mounting fiscal woes of the state, Ellen began to call for unity and recognition that a community is stronger when it works together and neighbors trust each other. Before working at IIRI, Ellen was a case worker for low-income elderly in Pawtucket, RI and an ESOL teacher in Cuenca, Ecuador. Ellen holds a bachelors degree in Sociology from Grinnell College and lives in the Boston area.

Contact Ellen by email or by phone at 617-249-3526.

Todd Pittman – National Director, Foundation and Corporate Relations

Todd Pittman joined Welcoming America after more than 17 years with NeighborWorks America, where he most recently served as the National Director of Partnership Development. In that capacity, Todd served as the agency’s senior team member responsible for leading an organization-wide effort to secure financial and in-kind support from the public and private sector and the on-going development, management, and implementation of sponsorship, philanthropic giving and programmatic partnerships designed to involve the public and private sector. Prior to NeighborWorks America, Pittman was with Prudential Insurance Company in New Jersey, during which time he worked in corporate underwriting and was part of a national effort that successfully recruited minority college graduates to the insurance industry. Mr. Pittman studied Business Management at Syracuse University and is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. He is also active in community activities, having served on various boards, including the Executive Board of Directors for the Scottdale Child Development Center. In addition, Todd also served as mentor and advisor in the development of an African-American male mentoring program. He has been featured and quoted in various media, including Black Enterprise, The New York Times, and Spotlight On broadcasts, and has written numerous papers and articles including those published in the Journal of Urban Affairs. Todd and his wife, Sonji, are the proud parents of three daughters and one son.

Contact Todd by email or by phone at 678-516-6899

Jessy Molina – Outreach Director

Jessy Molina graduated from Harvard College in 1999 and Yale Law School in 2002. After graduating from law school, Jessy received a Soros Justice fellowship to work at the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in San Francisco, where she worked for the Books not Bars project. After her fellowship, Jessy worked for the John Gardner Center for Youth and their Communities at Stanford, directing a youth-led research and community organizing project at a West Oakland high school. In 2006, Jessy and her husband, Michael, became the National Coordinators of Quality Education as a Constitutional Right, a national organization working to pass a Constitutional Amendment guaranteeing all children the right to a high quality public education. Jessy lives in Decatur, Georgia, with her husband and children.

Jessy’s parents immigrated to the United States from India. She has experienced firsthand what it is like to be both welcome and unwelcome on the basis of language, culture, and national origin. She is passionate about working to make our country truly a nation of neighbors, where all are welcome and appreciated. Jessy’s responsibilities include new affiliate recruitment and support, launching Welcoming America’s exciting online project “Friends of Welcoming”, and building alliances with regional and national partners.

Contact Jessy by email or by phone at 404-592-5621.

Rachel Steinhardt – Director of Strategic Partnerships and Communications

As the Director of Strategic Partnerships and Communications, Rachel works to engage individuals and organizations around the country who share Welcoming America’s passion for building understanding and positive interactions between US and foreign born individuals.  Prior to Welcoming America, she served as Executive Director of the Montgomery Coalition for Adult English Literacy (MCAEL), a capacity building and advocacy organization supporting adult ESOL and literacy programs in suburban Washington, DC.  Her career includes work spanning a number of social justice and community building issues at the local and international level, including serving as a regional director with the United Way of the National Capital Area and managing international development programs with a private consulting firm, MSI. The granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, Rachel also serves on the board of Art and Remembrance, a nonprofit devoted to using the power of personal narrative in various forms of art to illuminate the effects of war and intolerance.

Ms. Steinhardt holds a BA in International Studies from Johns Hopkins University and a Masters in Public Management from the University of Maryland.

Contact Rachel by email or by phone at 404-592-5621.

Keiron Bone – Administrative Coordinator

Keiron Bone is Administrative Coordinator for Welcoming America’s National Desk.  He has spent over 15 years in educational and artistic administration for programs focused on youth of diverse national, ethnic, and socio-economic origins.  These organizations include U.C. Berkeley’s Center for Underrepresented Engineering Students, Oakland’s Savage Jazz Dance Company, and Atlanta’s National Black Arts Festival.   As the Administrative Coordinator for Welcoming America, he maintains office procedures for the National Desk, schedules Affiliate and Board meetings, coordinates conference logistics, and manages vendor contracts.

Keiron is a graduate from Swarthmore College, Stanford University and the Universite d’Aix-Marseille, with a M.A. in Administration of Cultural Institutions.  He lives in Atlanta, Georgia and is passionate about art as a motor for personal and community transformation.

Contact Keiron by email or by phone at 404-592-5621.