Speakers and Sessions
PDF of the Conference Program, Speakers Bios, and Session Descriptions
Speakers’ Bios
Alphabetized by last name
Working Draft – Subject to Updates
Blanca Angulo, Leader, Inmigrantes con Disacapacidades (Immigrants with Disabilities)
Blanca Angulo is a founding member of the Immigrants with Disabilities, a coalitional group of immigrants with disabilities that formed in 2018 in Los Angeles that meets biweekly to create community, share stories, and advocate for resources and policies.
Ana Portnoy Brimmer, poet-performer, writer, ARTivist
Ana Portnoy Brimmer is a Puerto Rican poet-performer, writer and ARTivist. She holds a BA and an MA in English from the University of Puerto Rico, and is an MFA candidate in Creative Writing at Rutgers University-Newark. She is the inaugural recipient of the Sandra Cisneros Fellowship, a Pushcart Prize nominee, and a co-organizer of the #PoetsForPuertoRico movement. Ana is also a Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation fellow, an Under The Volcano fellow, a Las Dos Brujas Writing Workshop alumna, and an inaugural Moko Writers’ Workshop alumna. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in Gulf Coast, Foundry Journal, Sx Salon, Huizache, Kweli Journal, Centro Journal, among others.
Gina Carmona, Member, Inmigrantes con Disacapacidades (Immigrants with Disabilities)
Gina Carmona is a founding member of the Immigrants with Disabilities, a coalitional group of immigrants with disabilities that formed in 2018 in Los Angeles that meets biweekly to create community, share stories, and advocate for resources and policies.
David Conrad-Pérez, he/him, research director, Center for Media and Social Impact, American University
David Conrad-Pérez is research director at the Center for Media & Social Impact at American University. His work focuses on the intersection of journalism, social justice, community organizing, and media history. Before joining CMSI, he worked as a producer for WNYC’s On the Media and he has reported stories for news outlets that include the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Reuters, San Francisco Chronicle, and PRI’s The World. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication (2018), with a critical focus on the history and influence of charity and philanthropy in the field of journalism. His research has appeared in several of the country’s leading academic journals on the media, and he has served as an invited judge for the Peabody Awards, in the documentary category, since 2018.
Katharine Gordan, Staff Attorney, Capital Area Immigrant Rights (CAIR) Coalition
Katherine Gordon is a staff attorney with the Immigrant Children’s Protection Project at NIJC’s Indianapolis office. Prior to joining NIJC, Katherine practiced employment law at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP in Indianapolis, where she worked with NIJC and The Advocates for Human Rights on a variety of pro bono immigration cases. Katherine graduated from the University of Michigan Law School, where she participated in the Child Advocacy Law Clinic, Human Trafficking Clinic, and the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP). Before law school, Katherine completed a service year with Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest/AmeriCorps and then worked in case management at a Kansas City refugee resettlement agency. She earned her B.A. from the University of Notre Dame. Katherine is licensed to practice law in Indiana.
Rooshey Hasnain, Clinical Associate Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago
Dr. Rooshey Hasnain is a clinical assistant professor and community-engaged researcher with the Department of Disability and Human Development and the Undergraduate Rehabilitation Sciences Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). She also serves as an Honors College Faculty Fellow, LEND faculty mentor to graduate and post graduate students, and the Capstone Coordinator for DHD’s Service Learning program for undergraduate students. In addition to her work at UIC, she has been affiliated with the Association of University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) in Oregon, Massachusetts, and Chicago for over 20 years. In all these roles, Dr. Hasnain initiates new disability-focused research agendas, new academic curricula, training programs, and service delivery models with multi-sector partners and groups. Her primary professional interest is addressing rights-based interventions through a cross-cultural lens and in partnership with people with disabilities and mental health conditions, especially from intersecting identity groups and in particular those from Asian, refugee, immigrant, and limited English proficiency backgrounds. She has a long history of engaging in community–university partnerships that focus on cultural stigmas, advocacy and access, and quality-of-life agendas pertaining to disability and mental health across all age groups.
Jose Luis Hernandez, Member, Inmigrantes con Disacapacidades (Immigrants with Disabilities)
Jose Luis Hernandez is a founding member of the Immigrants with Disabilities, a coalitional group of immigrants with disabilities that formed in 2018 in Los Angeles that meets biweekly to create community, share stories, and advocate for resources and policies.
Bob Hurteau, Director, Center for Religion and Spirituality, Loyola Marymount University
Robert A. Hurteau, Ph.D. is director of the Center for Religion and Spirituality and a former missionary who has continued right on since with a multitude of service-oriented roles in pastoral and theological fields with a keen focus on diversity. Since becoming director in 2005, Dr. Hurteau has greatly expanded offerings in Hispanic theology and ministry, and worked in partnership with the Los Angeles African American Catholic Center for Evangelization to bring into existence a program in African American Ministry. He has been heavily involved in constructive dialogue between various religions and peoples, standing firmly in partnership with the Los Angeles Hindu-Catholic Dialogue, the Los Angeles Buddhist-Catholic Dialogue, and local initiatives for Jewish-Catholic relations.
Jose Luis Jimenez, Member, Inmigrantes con Disacapacidades (Immigrants with Disabilities)
Jose Luis Jimenez is a founding member of the Immigrants with Disabilities, a coalitional group of immigrants with disabilities that formed in 2018 in Los Angeles that meets biweekly to create community, share stories, and advocate for resources and policies.
Set Hernandez, they/she/he, director/producer, UNSEEN
Set Hernandez is a filmmaker, poet, and community organizer whose roots come from Bicol, Philippines. Unapologetically queer and undocumented, their filmmaking uplifts and complicates the stories of their communities onscreen. Winner of an Independent Spirit Award, Set’s feature documentary “unseen” (POV/PBS, PRX, 2024) is noted for its groundbreaking use of accessibility to center blind/disabled and undocumented audiences.
Guerline Jozef, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Haitian Bridge Alliance
Guerline M. Jozef is a prominent human rights advocate and strategist, best known as the Founder and Executive Director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance—the only Black womynx-Haitian-American-led organization supporting migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, with a focus on people of African descent. She co-founded the Black Immigrants Bail Fund and the Cameroon Advocacy Network and created Tales from the Borderlands and Beyond. Recognized globally, Jozef was named one of POLITICO's most influential ppl on race and police in the U.S, the BBC’s 100 Women of 2024, WASHINGTONIANS' 500 People changing policies in the U.S. and has received numerous honors including the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award and the AFL-CIO’s 2024 GMLK Human Rights Award. She has testified at the United Nations, U.S. Congress, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Featured in CNN, BCC, MSNBC, ABC, Forbes, The New York Times, Al Jazeera, Politico, the Griot, DemocracyNow and more. She is a powerful voice for racial, social justice, human rights and immigrants.
Anne Kelsey, she/her, Senior Policy Analyst for Disability Rights Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights
Anne Kelsey is currently working as a Disability Rights Policy Analyst at the Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights. Prior to this, Anne held positions such as Adjunct Lecturer at CUNY School of Professional Studies, Staff Attorney at The Center for HIV Law and Policy, Supervising Attorney at Community Service Society of New York, and DRA Fellowship Attorney at Disability Rights Advocates. Anne is a Fordham University School of Law graduate with a J.D. degree and also holds a B.A. in History and Foreign Affairs (Latin American Concentration) from the University of Virginia.
Conchita Legorreta Hernandez, she/her/ella, Impact Producer Unseen, Conchita Consulting
Conchita Hernandez Legorreta was born in Mexico and grew up in California. She advocates for the rights of blind children and their parents in the public-school setting in the United States and abroad through a lens of intersectionality focusing on social justice. Conchita is the founder and Chair of METAS (Mentoring Engaging and Teaching All Students) a non-profit organization that trains educators in Latin America that work with blind/low vision students and other disabilities.
Judy Mark, President, Disability Voices United
Judy Mark has an adult son with autism, which led her to become co-founder and President of Disability Voices United. Judy leads DVU’s advocacy and programmatic efforts. Judy was instrumental in the passage of the Self-Determination Law and has been active in its implementation. Judy has written and edited two books on the Self-Determination Program and has spoken extensively throughout California and trained thousands of individuals and families. Judy also leads DVU’s legislative and advocacy efforts and has frequently testified before California’s legislature. Judy has appeared frequently in the media advocating for people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic and on other major issues such as police violence, access to voting, and the problems with conservatorship.
Helena Marissa Montes, Visiting Associate Clinical Professor and Clinical Director, Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic, Loyola Law School
Marissa Montes is the Director and Co-Founder of LIJC. She built LIJC while in law school in response to an unmet need for free immigration legal services on the Eastside of Los Angeles. She was then jointly awarded Loyola’s Public Interest Fellowship, to establish the clinic and develop its immigration-lawyering curriculum for law students. In addition to the clinic, Marissa teaches courses in regard to Cross-Cultural Competency and Trauma-Informed Lawyering, as well as spearheaded Loyola’s Immigration Law and Border Practicum, which includes an alternative spring break trip to El Paso, TX. Marissa serves as a visiting professor at the ITESO in Guadalajara, Mexico, where she teaches U.S. asylum law and serves migrant shelters.
Laura Murchie, Staff Attorney, Disability Law United
Laura Murchie (she/her) is a Disability Law United Staff Attorney who works at the intersection of disability and immigrant justice. She previously worked as a Litigation Staff Attorney at Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta, working on impact litigation in both voting rights and immigrant justice, and as a Direct Services Attorney with the Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative at the Southern Poverty Law Center, providing legal representation to immigrants detained throughout Louisiana and Mississippi. She earned her B.A. from the University of Miami and her J.D. from The George Washington University Law School.
Qudsiya Naqui, Creator and Host, Down to the Struts Podcast
Qudsiya Naqui is the creator and host of Down to the Struts. She is a lawyer and disability justice activist based in Washington DC. Qudsiya’s work on disability has been featured in Vox, Oxford University Press, the Disability Visibility Project, and Forbes Magazine. She has also lectured on disability and its intersections with policy areas including healthcare and immigration. When she’s not podcasting, Qudsiya enjoys organizing adaptive sports programming in her local disability community, traveling, and eating all the good things.
Katherine Perez, she/they, Director, The Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy, and Innovation
Katherine Perez is the inaugural Director of The Coelho Center at Loyola Marymount University and Visiting Professor of Law at Loyola Law School. She holds a JD from UCLA School of Law and a PhD in Disability Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her lived experience as a neurodiverse queer Latina woman with psychiatric Disabilities informs her scholarly and advocacy work. Katherine is a proud granddaughter of immigrants from Mexico.
César Rodriguez, Coordinador del Área de Atención Jurídica en FM4 PASO LIBRE
Rodriquez is the legal coordinator of FM4 Paso Libre, a non-governmental organization in Mexico dedicated to the defense and promotion of the human rights of migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees. He is a lawyer from the University of Guadalajara with a master's degree in Human Rights and Peace from ITESO Jesuit University of Guadalajara, a Specialist in International Migration, and a graduate of the Colegio de la Frontera Norte. Rodriquez completed a specialization in Migration and Asylum with a Human Rights Perspective at the National University of Lanús and the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He's currently a PhD student in Peace Management and Violence Prevention at the University of Guadalajara.
Eric Rosenthal, Executive Director, Disability Rights International
Rosenthal is founder and Executive Director of Disability Rights International (DRI), one of the first and leading international human rights organizations for children and adults with disabilities. He has investigated conditions and trained activists in three-dozen countries. DRI has won groundbreaking disability cases before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights against Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, and the United States. Rosenthal teaches international human rights practitioners through the Academy on International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at American University’s Washington College of Law. He has been recognized for “pioneering the field of international human rights advocacy for people with disabilities” by the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD).
Cynthia Rice, Legal Director, Disability Law United
Cynthia L. Rice has represented hundreds of workers in administrative and court proceedings involving labor and employment rights. Her work in education focuses on advocacy on behalf of English Learners, Migrant students and students of color, and has resulted in landmark settlements compelling school districts to affirmatively address discriminatory discipline policies. Additionally, she has successfully litigated cases against a variety of state agencies, including the California Department of Education, California’s Unemployment Insurance agencies: the California Employment Development Department and the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, and the California Labor Commissioner. Rice has been actively involved in developing litigation strategies under state and federal laws for the enforcement of education, labor and employment and civil rights for California low wage families since 1979.
Workshop, Panel, and Plenary Session Descriptions
Working Draft - Subject to Updates
Workshops
Workshop Group 1: Healthcare, Social Services, and Mental Health
Join us for a timely and vital workshop bringing together disability rights and immigration attorneys and advocates to explore the intersection of federal policy, healthcare, mental healthcare, and social service delivery. As national conversations around access, equity, and eligibility continue to shift in today’s complex political and policy landscape, this session will examine how federal laws, regulations, and funding priorities are shaping the experiences of disabled and immigrant communities. Participants will discuss current challenges in accessing services, including barriers rooted in systemic ableism, xenophobia, and the erosion of public benefits, while also highlighting advocacy strategies that center dignity, intersectionality, and community empowerment. Together, we’ll unpack how legal and policy tools can be leveraged to protect rights, advance inclusive service models, and support cross-movement collaboration. Whether you’re working on the front lines or in policy development, this workshop will explore critical insights and practical approaches for navigating and challenging the systems that impact our clients and communities.
Workshop Group 2: Education, DACA, Childhood, and Family Separation
This workshop brings together disability rights and immigration attorneys and advocates to examine the intersection of education, DACA, childhood, and family separation within the current federal policy and political climate. As shifting priorities and enforcement practices impact access to education and stability for immigrant and disabled youth, we will explore how policies—from school discipline and special education to immigration enforcement and DACA eligibility—shape the lived experiences of children and families. Participants will engage in dialogue around the legal, developmental, and social implications of ongoing family separation, the exclusion of undocumented and disabled students from key educational supports, and the ways in which advocacy can center healing, inclusion, and justice. Through a cross-disciplinary lens, we’ll identify opportunities for collaboration and resistance, highlighting strategies that protect rights, challenge discriminatory practices, and promote systems that affirm the dignity and potential of every child, regardless of status or ability.
Workshop Group 3: Employment, Housing, and Economic Challenges
This workshop convenes disability rights and immigration attorneys and advocates to examine the critical intersections of employment, housing, and economic justice in today’s shifting political and policy environment. As federal priorities evolve, immigrant and disabled communities continue to face systemic barriers to stable housing, fair employment, and economic security. Participants will explore how exclusionary policies, discriminatory practices, and gaps in enforcement disproportionately impact individuals at the margins—particularly those navigating multiple forms of oppression. We will discuss current legal frameworks and service delivery models, as well as innovative advocacy strategies that challenge ableism, xenophobia, and economic disenfranchisement. From wage theft and inaccessible workplaces to housing insecurity and benefits eligibility, this session will provide a cross-sector analysis of how policy decisions shape lived realities—and how advocates can work together to build more inclusive, equitable systems.
Workshop Group 4: Refugees, Asylum, Withholding of Removal, and Convention Against Torture
This workshop brings together disability rights and immigration attorneys and advocates to explore the complex legal and humanitarian landscape surrounding refugees, asylum seekers, withholding of removal, and protections under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). As federal policies and adjudication trends grow increasingly restrictive, individuals fleeing violence, persecution, and inhumane conditions face mounting obstacles to safety and protection. Participants will examine how asylum law intersects with disability, trauma, and systemic barriers, including access to legal representation, medical evaluations, and supportive services. We will discuss emerging challenges in asylum adjudications, limitations on CAT protections, and the implications of recent administrative and judicial decisions. Through an interdisciplinary lens, this session will highlight strategies to advocate for more humane, trauma-informed, and disability-inclusive approaches to relief, while centering the resilience and rights of those most impacted. Whether working on individual cases or broader policy reform, attendees will leave with practical tools and shared insights to support those seeking refuge and dignity in the face of escalating adversity.
Workshop Group 5: Community, Public Discourse, Self-Advocacy, and Coalitions
This workshop brings together disability rights and immigration attorneys and advocates to explore the power of building community, shaping public discourse, fostering self-advocacy, and strengthening coalitions. In an era marked by political polarization and attacks on marginalized communities, the need for unified, intersectional movements has never been more urgent. Participants will examine how storytelling, community organizing, and public education can challenge dominant narratives, uplift lived experience, and shift policy conversations toward equity and justice. We will explore how self-advocates, directly impacted individuals, and allies can work together to dismantle ableism, xenophobia, and systemic exclusion—while building movements rooted in care, solidarity, and mutual support. The session will highlight successful coalition-building efforts and provide tools for sustaining cross-movement collaboration that centers dignity, accessibility, and shared power.
Plenary Sessions Day 1
The Rights of Disabled Migrants in US Deportation Proceedings and Reintegration in Mexico (César Rodriguez and Helena Marissa Montes)
The purpose of this binational and bilingual plenary session is to inform the public as to the rights of disabled migrants in US deportation proceedings and how to prepare themselves for reintegration in home country, with a particular lens on Mexico. Given the current attacks by the Trump administration, it is important that all migrant communities prepare themselves in the event of facing deportation at the hands of the government or opting to self-return. The first part of this presentation will explain the US deportation process and the health rights of deportees, while the second portion will focus on the rights of disabled deportees in refugees when integrating into Mexico.
Intersections Behind-the-Scenes: A Fireside Chat on Cinema, Accessibility, and Solidarity (Conchita Legorreta Hernandez and Set Hernandez)
To our knowledge, the award-winning documentary, UNSEEN, is one of the first films in cinema history to be led by an intersectional team of disabled, queer/trans, and undocumented artists – communities that are often overlooked as primary creators in the cultural sector. In this intimate conversation between friends and collaborators, the film’s director and impact producer will provide an insider’s look into their values-driven process from film production to distribution, leveraging cinema as a meaningful tool for social impact and movement building. With today’s political climate as the backdrop, Set and Conchita will explore allyship, ways to expand our circles of solidarity, and the stake we all have in each others’ liberation.
Panels Day 1
Panel #1: When Cinema Prioritizes Disabled and Undocumented Audiences: Learnings from Groundbreaking Research (Conchita Legorreta Hernandez, Ana Portnoy Brimmer, Qudsiya Naqui, David Conrad Perez, Set Hernandez)
This discussion features learnings around the film UNSEEN, as it interweaves disability, immigration, healing, and narrative change. Foregrounded by the film’s social impact campaign, the panel serves as the launch of an independent audience study conducted by the Center for Media and Social Impact. Centering audiences with disabilities and undocumented audiences, the study involved an unprecedented survey of more than 350 audience members who attended a screening of the film UNSEEN in communities across the country, and in-depth interviews with 12 partners who screened the film. The panel will include a presentation of the learnings from both impact initiatives, and a discussion around the unique influence and importance of films like UNSEEN for/to a range of diverse audiences and issues today.
Panel #2: [Research and Advocacy Efforts at UIC] (Rooshey Hasnain, colleagues)
[description forthcoming]
Panel #3: [Immigration work at CAIR Coalition] (Katharine Gordan, colleagues)
[description forthcoming]
Panel #4: [Immigration policy and service delivery for people with disabilities in mixed status families in CA] (Judy Mark, colleagues)
[description forthcoming]
Plenary Sessions Day 2
Individualized fear of persecution: segregation and abuse faced by people with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities deported to Mexico and other countries (Eric Rosenthal)
Throughout the world, people with disabilities are segregated from society and subjected to torture and life-threatening conditions in psychiatric institutions, social care facilities, and other detention centers. Children are particularly at risk of being placed in orphanages and adult facilities when they are unaccompanied or separated from parents. Based on DRI’s global findings, DRI regularly provides country conditions expertise to immigration and asylum attorneys protecting people with disabilities facing deportation from the United States. With the expansion of US deportations, DRI is documenting the impact of the deportation of people with disabilities to Mexico, Central, and South America. Rosenthal’s keynote will describe opportunities for increased collaboration between international human rights activists, immigration attorneys, and disability groups working to influence US immigration policy.
“Hablando de Corazon a Corazon” (“Speaking Heart to Heart”) (Blanca Angulo, Jose Luis Jimenez, Jose Luis Hernandez, Gina Carmona)
Founders of "Inmigrantes con Discapacidades" ("Immigrants with Disabilities"), a grassroots coalition of disabled immigrants that formed in 2018 to share their stories, develop community, and advocate for resources and policies affecting immigrants with disabilities in Los Angeles. Their plenary session will feature a discussion on the formation of their coalition and individual stories of four of their founders.
Panels Day 2
Panel #1: [Kids with disabilities in the immigration legal system] (Anne Kelsey)
[description forthcoming]
Panel #2: [Addressing the intersection of ableism and racism in immigration law, policies, and practices] (Guerline Jozef)
[description forthcoming]
Panel #3: [Immigration Practice area at DLU/formerly CREEC] (Cynthia Rice and Laura Murchie)
[description forthcoming]
Panel #4: [Immigration, Spirituality, and Identity] (Bob Hurteau)
[description forthcoming]