Ella is an asylee originally from Kyrgyzstan, where they were a journalist who advocated for the rights of women and queer people, but were forced to flee due queerphobic violence and escalating threats against them. Also a part of the conversation: Gabriela is a respiratory therapist living and working in northwest Indiana. She is from El Salvador, but has been in the United States since she was a teen. Samer grew up in Chicago, became student government president at the community college he attended, and later received a full-ride scholarship to Columbia University. He now works at a national policy and advocacy organization to advance the rights of undocumented and formerly undocumented students like himself. Maria Hinojosa is founder and president of Futuro Media, an independent, nonprofit newsroom based in Harlem, NYC with the mission to create multimedia content from a POC perspective. She is the author of Once I Was You: A Memoir of Love and Hate in a Torn America. You can hear more from Ella, Gabriela, Samer, and Maria during the Human Rights Awards on Tuesday, June 8 at 5:00 p.m. CT! Register now to join us at the virtual Human Rights Awards: www.immigrantjustice.org/HumanRightsAwards See you next week! -Mayon Yen
NIJC Director of Development | 
