Maridarlyn “Mari” Gonzalez is a research officer with Pew’s Philadelphia Research and Policy Initiative, where she focuses on immigration, equitable infrastructure, and economic development. Her work sits at the intersection of data, place, and people. Beyond her research, she serves as Philadelphia’s League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)’s first-ever State Director for Pennsylvania. Previously as President of the Board for LULAC, she launched impactful programming through the Café Con Leche Series, expanded the annual scholarship program to the trades, and led the creation of a language access map used by poll workers to better deploy interpreters. She serves on the boards of We Love Philly, Xiente, and Riverfront North Partnership. She is also a member of the 250th Philadelphia Women’s Committee and the Pennsylvania Society, reflecting her commitment to civic life, leadership, and regional stewardship. Mari holds a bachelor’s degree in geoscience, energy, and policy from Penn State University and a master’s degree in geospatial technology and geodesign from Thomas Jefferson University. Of all her accomplishments, she is most proud of her roots, growing up between the Dominican Republic and North Philadelphia, experiences that shaped her resilience, creativity, and enduring commitment to equity-driven work.

Rezwan is a seasoned service coordinator specializing in health care access and advocacy for refugee and immigrant populations. In his current role as Service Coordinator on the Long-Term Support Service team at AmeriHealth Caritas, he helps members navigate complex health care systems and connect with essential resources. Prior to joining AmeriHealth Caritas, he coordinated health access at Nationalities Service Center and provided case management services at Maternity Care Coalition. His professional work is deeply informed by his personal journey. In 2019, Rezwan migrated from Afghanistan to the United States with his family in search of safety. This experience has shaped his commitment to advancing equitable health care access and supporting refugee and immigrant communities.

Beyond his professional responsibilities, Rezwan serves on the Center for Climate, Health & Equity Advisory Board of the American Public Health Association. He has also lectured to medical students at Drexel University and helped organize health screening events for refugees and immigrants in Philadelphia. Rezwan has contributed to local immigrant inclusion efforts through his work with the Philadelphia Office of Immigrant Affairs. As a founding member of the Welcoming Network task force, he helped advance initiatives supporting immigrant communities and currently co-chairs the network’s Steering Committee.

He holds a master’s degree in accounting and finance from the Indian Institute of Business Management Studies and a bachelor’s degree in information technology.

Steven is an experienced nonprofit director and immigration law attorney. Currently, he serves as the Director of Employee Relations and Operations at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia. Previously, for two decades, he worked at Nationalities Service Center, representing clients in immigration matters and serving in various management roles from Legal Director to Deputy Director. He led programs to make legal and social services more accessible to immigrants, and engaged in policy advocacy at the local, state, and national levels.

Steven also serves on the Stakeholder Advisory Committee for the Welcoming Caucus of the Pennsylvania General Assembly to advise on initiatives impacting the well-being and safety of immigrant families. As a Board Member of the Scattergood Foundation, he champions funding for behavioral health services in Philadelphia. He has also served as a commissioner of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations and an Adjunct Professor for the Immigration Law Clinic at Temple University – Beasley School of Law and for the Political Science Department at La Salle University. He is a graduate of Swarthmore College and Loyola Law School – Los Angeles.

Miranda Alexander is a change agent, progressive thought leader and social entrepreneur with diasporic connections to her birthplace of Trinidad and Tobago. She is the Founding President and Strategic Project Director of Caribbean Community in Philadelphia, an arts and humanities non-profit organization. A mother of one who enjoys working within intersectional spaces, leveraging placemaking and belonging spaces for immigrants, refugees, asylees and minority, non-immigrant, marginalized populations.

Miranda has served for 10 years on the Mayor’s Commission on African and Caribbean Immigrant Affairs in various roles. Since 2022, Miranda has been a founding member of the Welcoming Network Taskforce and later a Welcoming Network Steering Committee member. Miranda is a strategic, visionary, multitasker at heart who has extensive childcare experiences as an Early Childhood Education Montessori Pre-Kindergarten Teacher and a Career Nanny for an accumulation of 35 years. Today, she still maintains her work with kids from Kindergarten through 2nd grade in the public school system. She was the past president of the United Nations Association of Greater Philadelphia, a former USCIS Citizenship Ambassador, a 2023 City of Philadelphia Welcoming Award recipient, Philadelphia 250 neighborhood advisor and awarded the United States Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023.

Clara Jerez has served as a Department of Justice Accredited Representative at Catholic Charities of Philadelphia since 2023, where she provides legal representation for immigrants throughout the Philadelphia area. Her work includes representation before USCIS, rapid-response advocacy, and detention support for members of the immigrant community. Previously, Clara worked for more than nine years as a Pastoral Associate at Saint Thomas Aquinas Parish in South Philadelphia, where she advocated for and provided direct social services to the migrant community. For over 14 years, Clara has held various leadership and advocacy roles dedicated to empowering immigrant communities in South Philadelphia, with a strong emphasis on women’s empowerment. Many of the programs she has coordinated respond directly to on-the-ground needs, reaching the most vulnerable populations. Her work focuses on Latina women’s leadership development, financial education, family management, access to healthcare and education, parenting support, and other essential areas that strengthen families and communities.

For many newly arrived African immigrants in Philadelphia, Ousmane Ndiaye is often the first person who makes a complex system feel navigable. As Founder and CEO of Community Support Center PHL, a West Philadelphia community-based business, he helps immigrants and families access vital resources, navigate immigration, government, and administrative systems, start businesses, and build successful lives in their communities. Services include tax preparation, immigration assistance, translation and interpretation, business incorporation, and administrative support. A multilingual professional fluent in Fulani, Wolof, French, and English, Ousmane brings deep expertise in interpretation across medical, immigration, and social settings. He previously served as a trusted Fulani, Wolof, and French Interpreter with Language Services Associates and Nationalities Service Center and holds a certification in complex medical terminology interpretation through Bridging the Gap & The National Institute for Coordinated Healthcare at Penn State University. As a member of the Welcoming Network Steering Committee, he brings both his knowledge and experience serving Philadelphia’s African immigrant communities. His academic foundation in English Language and Literature — with both a Bachelor’s and Master’s from Université Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD) in Dakar, Senegal — informs his work bridging language and culture every day. He is also a proud graduate of The Welcoming Center’s International Professionals Program.

Wendpanga Sawadego is proud business owner, consultant, and first-generation immigrant from Burkina Faso deeply committed to fostering inclusive communities that empower immigrants and refugees to thrive. Since 2018, he has served as President of the Burkina Faso Community Association cultivating skills in community engagement, leadership, and program development which align closely with the Welcoming Network’s mission. His work is not limited to specific groups but is inclusive and open to all who seek support.  Wendpanga currently runs a business assisting immigrants & asylees navigating the US immigration system, with translation services, document preparation, and tax preparation. He is no stranger to strategic partnerships, frequently collaborating with other community leaders and organizations, like African Cultural Alliance of North America (ACANA), for equitable access to education, employment, and healthcare for immigrants and refugees. Under his leadership, he notably brought the Burkina Faso Department of State Commission to travel to Philadelphia and deliver administrative documents (passports, national IDs & consular IDs) to Burkinabes living in Philadelphia. Wendpanga holds a master’s degree in applied leadership and global management from Arizona State University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Drexel University.

Sarun Chan is the Executive Director at the Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia. Sarun was born in a refugee camp in Thailand during the aftermath of the Cambodian genocide led by the Khmer Rouge regime. Raised in low-income neighborhoods throughout South Philadelphia, he has an innate reflective nature on the American, immigrant, and refugee experience. Sarun is a former child laborer working in agriculture and packing factories since the age of nine. In his adult professional career, he has worked in various community-based organizations and large nonprofits for nearly two decades. Sarun has directed social service initiatives, cultivated community building, developed intergenerational and intercultural programs, and advocacy on various social issues and disparities including education, health, and community development. From witnessing, experiencing, and living his life in poverty-stricken neighborhoods, it has inspired Sarun to further his life’s work to help bring visibility to the under-represented and bridge resource gaps to improve the quality of life for the underserved. Serving diverse communities has enriched Sarun’s spirit as an individual and he continues to grow and translate these experiences to make an impact in our homes, community, and environment.

Tanya Dhingra, MPH, is a public health practitioner who brings people together to build healthier, more welcoming communities. Having immigrated to the United States at 16, she brings a personal understanding of finding belonging in a new place to her work with Philadelphia’s immigrant communities.

Tanya is a Senior Consultant at Coral Health Advisors, where she helps local governments and community partners turn public health priorities into action. She also supports Coral’s work on Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH), a model that helps participating state Medicaid programs improve care during pregnancy, childbirth, and after birth. This work reflects her commitment to helping mothers and babies get the care and community support they need to thrive. Before joining Coral, she spent seven years at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, where she built and led the COVID-19 Pediatric Partnerships Program. Working with a large team, she supported more than 300 schools and 1,800 early childhood sites, helping immigrant families access testing, vaccines, and information through multilingual outreach and culturally responsive communication. She also led a citywide HEPA air purifier initiative reaching more than 880 education sites. Through research and evaluation with SEAMAAC and the Health Care Improvement Foundation, Tanya helped bring immigrant and refugee clients’ perspectives into health literacy efforts, language access priorities, and the design of the Wyss Wellness Center.

Outside work, you’ll often find Tanya around a table. In graduate school, she began teaching Indian street food and parantha classes as a creative outlet and a way to stay connected to the family chefs back home. She recently served as a trained table facilitator for The Welcoming Center’s Breaking Bread, Breaking Barriers dinner series, helping neighbors explore belonging, community, and a distinctly Philadelphia recipe for citizenship over shared meals. Whether she’s facilitating a conversation or feeding friends, food is one of her favorite ways to build community.