Anita Alexander
Anita is a member of Camphor Memorial United Methodist Church in St. Paul. She has been on the ISAIAH board for three years and has participated in many ISAIAH forums, trainings and initiatives. She is a retired Assistant Warden with 30 years of Department of Corrections experience. She takes advantage of numerous volunteer activities related to helping people. She works to keep the Camphor congregation aware of ISAIAH and how the church members can actively participate. Her goal is to fight for fairness and equality whether in criminal justice, immigration or legislative issues.
James Alberts
Pastor Alberts has led Higher Ground Church of God in Christ for 14 years; and has been the Jurisdictional Secretary of the Minnesota Churches of God in Christ for 9 years. He is a board member of the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical Studies. He has great experience with strategic planning and organizational management aspects of board work.
Ahmed Anshur
Ahmed is a leader in ISAIAH’s Muslim Caucus and worships at Il Hasan mosque in St. Paul. He has played an integral role on the Imam Steering Committee of the Muslim Caucus. He is the Executive Director of Al-Ihsan Islamic Center and has served on boards at New Century School, Humanitarian African Relief Organization and Islamic Association of North America. Ahmed is a finance professional and has worked in the fields of management, accounting and finance. He has strong experience in delivering service to new immigrant communities, developing youth programs, helping refugee families, and connecting communities to schools, faith centers and relevant government offices. He attended ISAIAH’s weeklong training in 2018.
Rocio Cordova
Rocio is part of our ISAIAH Latino Immigrant leaders in Ascension Catholic Church in North Minneapolis. She has been leading our immigration work in ISAIAH for the last four years. She began the work when we were still fighting for immigration reform and has led through the last two years on the Driver’s License Campaign. Rocio, has shown great leadership and growth throughout the years, always stepping up and leading in new ways for the Latino community. She attended Weeklong Leadership Training in 2017. Her goal is to always fight for her and her community’s rights as is the mission of ISAIAH and lead as a woman of color that is an immigrant during these difficult times in our country.
Kathleen Doran-Norton
Kathleen is a member of the Church of St. Dominic in Northfield, where she serves on the parish council and started an Environmental Care group. She has participated in local and regional ISAIAH forums and initiatives over the last few years. Kathleen served on the board of League of Women Voters – Minnesota at a time when it collapsed a dual 501c3 and 501c4 organization into a 501c3, reserving the c4 for specific campaigns. She has served as a township supervisor for Bridgewater Township in Rice County for the last 12 years. Before becoming a “full-time volunteer”, Kathleen worked as a business and data analyst and demand forecasting manager.
Kim Houle
Kim Houle is a member of House of Prayer Lutheran Church in Richfield. Motivated by her mom's health struggles, resilience and faith, Kim has been a core leader on our campaign for Paid Family Leave since 2014. In 2015, she co-chaired a public meeting about caring for our families with more than 200 ISAIAH leaders from across Minnesota and legislative leadership. Kim has also been a champion for immigrant rights in her congregation and throughout her community. Kim works as the office Manager at SEIU Local 26, one of ISAIAH's core ally organizations.
Rev. Paula Haywood
Rev. Paula Haywood is an ordained minister and serves as an associate minister at New Creation Church in Minneapolis. She is currently employed at Hennepin County Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation as a Community Based Array of Services Manager in Juvenile Probation. Rev. Haywood is a Board Committee Member with Urban Home Works. She also served as the Emergency Preparedness Lead for Human Services in the Tornado/35W Bridge collapse.
Sarah Gleason
Ms. Gleason has 16 years of experience for and/or with nonprofit organizations as a program director or manager; as a neighborhood organizer and as an organizational consultant. She has been a leader with ISAIAH for 16 years, and sees herself as a co-owner with a significant stake in the organization’s future. She is also the co-chair of the St. Joan of Arc core team.
Maria Huerta
Maria has been a leader in ISAIAH’s Sanctuary and Rapid Response organizing since the election. She attends St. Odilia in Shoreview. Maria as a Latina immigrant woman has had to work hard to be able to exist in this country and has always kept a strong faith that God is always with her and her family. Maria believes in the ISAIAH mission and has been working to push our community and our clergy in Catholic congregations to support the work we do in ISAIAH. She has been part of making sure Sanctuary leadership understand the struggles of immigrants and how the system works in this country against people like her.
Dan Quillan
Mr. Quillin was a State of Minnesota employee for 38 years and a supervisor for 25, with experience in managing, hiring and maintaining a staff. He served in public office (1975 Minneapolis City Council) and has several years of experience working with many community organizations. He is an active leader on the ISAIAH Health Equity Team.
Michael Resman
Michael is a member of the Rochester MN Quaker Meeting. A retired pediatric Occupational Therapist, he now spends time with church tasks and has written 11 books, most with spiritual themes. He has been a volunteer leader with Habitat for Humanity and a board member with PossAbilities, a nonprofit organization serving adults with disabilities. Michael supports ISAIAH’s work with the Rochester Interfaith Immigration Rights Coalition and helps recruit sanctuary churches in South East Minnesota.
Adam Whitten
Adam is an adjunct professor at the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University. He is an active member of the First United Methodist Church of the Saint Cloud Region and serves on the Social Justice Team, Lay Leadership Committee, Ministry Support Team, and Land Stewardship Committee. Most recently, Adam worked on the Caring Conversations, Claiming Our Voices, and Faith in Minnesota campaigns. He lives in St. Cloud with his wife, Chris, of 24 years and their cats Serena and Sammy.