Alex has more than a decade of experience as an attorney and public advocate. After graduating from St. Mary’s School of Law in San Antonio, Texas, he served as a law clerk to Sr. United States District Judge David Briones. At St. Mary’s he served as Editor-in-chief of The Scholar, the school’s specialty law journal. He completed his bachelors in Public Policy at Stanford University.

Msgr. Arturo J. Bañuelas is the founding chair of the Hope Border Institute. Bañuelas has founded a number of initiatives in theology, ministries and border activism He is the founder and past president of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS) as well as the founder of the Tepeyac Institute, a diocesan ministry formation center. Msgr. Bañuelas earned a doctorate in Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy.

J. Kevin Appleby is the former senior director of international migration policy for the Center for Migration Studies of New York and the Scalabrini International Migration Network. He also previously served as director of migration and public affairs in the Office of Migration and Refugee Policy at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Appleby holds a law degree from the University of Maryland and a master's degree in international affairs from George Washington University.

Ms. Lorena Andrade is the executive director of La Mujer Obrera, an internationally acclaimed & award-winning, 30-year-old grassroots organization dedicated to development and advocacy in defense and recognition of Mexican migrant women workers’ heritage, rights and contributions. La Mujer Obrera’s community development model is ecological, community-led, and leading to full community empowerment and self-sufficiency.

Dr. Milton Javier Bravo is an adjunct assistant professor of theology at Saint John’s University in New York as well as director of audience development at Commonweal Magazine. He holds a Doctorate from Fordham University. Dr. Bravo’s dissertation, entitled “Una Comunidad Católica: Assessment of U.S. Hispanic popular Catholicism among college students,” explores the beliefs, rituals, and symbols embedded in the cultural and religious practices of young Hispanic Catholics living in the United States. His research interests include contextual theology, ecclesiology, and U.S. Hispanic Catholicism. In his role with Commonweal Magazine, he elevates narratives and voices that reflect the current and emerging demographics in the American society.

Melissa Cedillo attended Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles where she earned a BA in Theological Studies. Currently, she is a graduate student at Harvard Divinity School studying religion, ethics, and politics through a public policy lens. Melissa is a member of the Harvard Prison Divestment campaign and HDS Catholics. She is dedicated to advocating for preventative domestic violence policy, immigration advocacy, pushing for prison divestment, and decarceration work.

Dylan Corbett is the founding executive director of HOPE. Dylan formerly worked as a staffer to the bishops of the United States at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Department of Justice, Peace, and Human Development as well as with the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), the national anti-poverty and social justice program of the USCCB. He has worked in the international development and nonprofit sectors in Washington, DC, Central America and South Asia, and has studied at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. Dylan is also the regional coordinator for the work of the Vatican's Migrants & Refugees Section in Mexico, Central America, and the French and Spanish speaking Caribbean. 

Kenneth Ferrone is the current Executive Director of Catholic Charities of Southern New Mexico.  His 25-year academic career includes serving in leadership positions at the University of Chicago, the University of California at Los Angeles, the University of Southern California, Loyola Marymount University, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and Chapman University.  Kenneth received his Bachelor's degree from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and his Masters degree from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington.

Dr. Luis Ricardo Fraga is the Rev. Donald P. McNeill, C.S.C., Professor of Transformative Latino Leadership, Joseph and Elizabeth Robbie Professor of Political Science, Director of the Institute for Latino Studies, and Fellow at the Institute for Educational Initiatives at the University of Notre Dame. He has been on the faculty at the University of Washington, Stanford University, and the University of Oklahoma. He is a native of Corpus Christi, Texas. He received his A.B., cum laude, from Harvard University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Rice University. 

Dr. Nicholas D. Natividad is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at New Mexico State University. His teaching and research interests focus on civil and human rights. His scholarship focuses on transnational and local community practices of human rights informed by indigenous and post-colonial methodologies that address inequality, crime, and violence. Dr. Natividad is an  advocate for community engagement initiatives and believes education should offer outlets for students to learn from and give back to their communities.

Crystal Martin is an Assistant Vice President and Trust Officer with WestStar Wealth Management.  In this role, she manages trusts, foundations, nonprofits, estates, individual retirement accounts, and personal/business investment accounts in a fiduciary capacity.  A native El Pasoan, Crystal received her Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas with a focus on International Conflict, Cooperation and Security in Latin America and also studied at the International College of Seville, in Seville, Spain. Crystal received a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Texas El Paso.