Lynn Maxcy, Chair of the Board

Lynn is a storyteller with a deep love of strategic problem-solving and dreaming up solutions to all that life throws at us. Lynn writes for TV + film, with a focus in sci-fi, spies and speculative fiction, where no matter how dark it seems, there is always hope. She's known for her work on the Emmy Award-winning TV series The Handmaid's Tale. You can find Lynn on Instagram and Twitter.

Naomi Seligman, Secretary of the Board

Naomi is a nationally-recognized strategic communications leader and social innovator and president of Tower26 Agency, a strategic communications and public affairs agency. Previously, Naomi served as the director of communications for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and is currently a Senior Fellow with the Brittingham Social Enterprise Lab, USC Marshall School of Business. Naomi has led local, state, and national campaigns for advocacy organizations, elected officials, mission-driven corporations, tech innovators and entertainment industry luminaries.

Krysta Masciale, Vice Chair of the Board

Krysta Masciale has used strategy and storytelling to shape brands through organizational leadership, strategic planning and passionate, consistent messaging - all driven by a belief that internal communication and external messaging must be aligned.  After working primarily in entertainment and tech spaces, Masciale turned her professional attention to the worlds of politics and advocacy. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children.

Jon Rees, Board Member

A lifelong believer in the power of connectivity, Jon is motivated to fundamentally change how we operate as individuals and businesses to help everyone find their community. In his role at Participant Media, he oversees the Information Technology group, the Media operations team and the Facility Operations staff. Jon says about his position on our board: "This is an opportunity for me to do what I love doing, helping to construct an amazing organization that connects people. Find Jon on LinkedIn.

Marc Bernstein, Treasurer of the Board

Marc has spent over 15 years in Equity Capital Markets helping private and public companies raise capital with extensive transactional experience across industries in the U.S., Latin America, Asia Pacific and European markets. Marc is Managing Director, Equity Capital Markets at Credit Suisse and he holds Bachelor of Arts in Economics from New York University. Marc lived in Florida with his wife and two daughters. Find Marc on LinkedIn.

Daniel Phan, Board Member

Daniel carries a passion for building community, and began working with Miry’s List in 2020 to help shape the organization’s long term vision and growth strategy. He is determined to help us build a scalable future, inspired by his family’s own journey as resettling refugees in California. Daniel provides a unique leadership perspective, with career accomplishments in law, corporate strategy, business operations, and product marketing. Today, he works at Google, leading global product go-to-market strategy for emerging video advertising products. Find Daniel on LinkedIn.

Jenna Fischer, Founding Board Member

Jenna is an Emmy-nominated actor, known for playing the character of receptionist Pam Beesley in The Office (2005), Raised in St. Louis, Missouri, she studied theater arts at Truman State University. Jenna got involved with Miry's List in 2017 as a volunteer when she became inspired to help resettling kids get new shoes, backpacks and school supplies for school. Jenna served on the founding Miry's List Board of Directors and has rallied her friends, family, community and fans to follow her lead and support resettling families. You can listen to Jenna weekly on her podcast Office Ladies, which she cohosts with Angela Kinsley.

Josh Goldstein, Esq., Board Member

Josh is an expert in U.S. immigration law and has been a practicing immigration lawyer for more than 17 years. Josh has been passionate about helping immigrants, their loved ones, and the businesses that want to hire them since he began his career. Josh runs an award-winning, immigration law firm, Goldstein Immigration Lawyers, with offices in Los Angeles and Boston.

Caroline Moss, Board Member

Caroline Moss is a Brooklyn-based writer and has been the host of Gee Thanks!, a community-driven product recommendation hub, since 2019. She's the author of Hey Ladies! and the Work It kids books and has 15+ years of robust experience in digital media and journalism. She has been using social media as a tool to drive micro-fundraising efforts since 2016, which is how she learned of Miry's List in 2023. Caroline is beyond thrilled to be joining the board of this fantastic organization. 

Josh Kun

Josh Kun is an author, curator, and cultural historian. He is a Professor of Communication and Journalism at the USC Annenberg School, where he holds the Chair in Cross-Cultural Communication and directs The Popular Music Project of the Norman Lear Center. Author and editor of several books, he is a MacArthur Fellow and the winner of a Berlin Prize and an American Book Award. Find Josh on LinkedIn.

Amarjit (Amar) Dass

Amar is a Project Consultant and Founder of Moonlight Hubb Consulting, working with institutions and organizations in San Diego on research projects with vulnerable populations. Passionate about social causes, such as gender equality, social inclusion of refugees and remedying juvenile justice systems, Amar works to formulate strategies and implement solutions that generate lasting social benefits.

Brian Femminella

Brian Femminella is a TEDx Speaker, United States Army Officer and current CEO of SoundMind. Along with his work in technology space, he is also a United States Army Military Intelligence Officer. Brian has a strong digital forensics and political policy background, where he previously worked for White Sands Missile Range and the U.S. House of Representatives. Over the years, he has risen to an influential LGBTQIA+ and mental health advocate through his time in the entrepreneurial and military space as a Gen-Z changemaker.

Brian Stefan

Brian Stefan is a therapist and social worker with Therapy Heals and San Gabriel Valley Grief Resource and Training Center working with adults and teens grieving the death of a loved one. He also works at Didi Hirsch Suicide Prevention Center, and serves with the LA Mayor’s Office Crisis Response Team. As the Wellbeing Coach for Miry’s List staff, he offers emotional support & practical tools. Find Brian on LinkedIn.

MacKenzie Kessab

MacKenzie Kassab is a writer whose work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, The Cut, Glamour, Kinfolk, Jezebel and more. She spent eight years in Lebanon, where she learned to drive in Beirut traffic and order pizza in Arabic. She never found the cure for homesickness but now hopes to lessen it in families new to the U.S. She lives in Los Angeles, with her husband and daughter.

Ghulam Kehar

Ghulam is a results-driven professional with proven entrepreneurial, fund development, communication, program management, and operational skills. His expertise is focused on scaling social services programs and operations and leading innovative projects from conception to implementation. Ghulam’s entrepreneurial approach and relentless desire to bring positive change drives him. Ghulam joined the board of Miry’s List in 2020. Find Ghulam on LinkedIn.

Loren Rochelle

Loren is a passionate leader with a vision who has dedicated her career to finding better, more transparent ways to achieve success for startups, brands and agencies. In 2016 Loren was named in Forbes 30 Under 30 and is vehement about diversity and creating a more inclusive workplace in the tech industry, particularly advocating for minority and female leadership. Find Loren on LinkedIn.

Basil Hakmeh

Basil is a Healthcare Consultant specializing in clinical and non-clinical business development and performance improvement, to improve patient outcomes and cost-cutting initiatives. Basil co-founded an organization providing dental care for uninsured patients. Basil also serves on the Board of Directors at a healthcare non-profit in Detroit, providing free care to the under-insured and uninsured community.

Evan Kleiman, New Arrival Supper Club Ambassador

Evan Kleiman is a true culinary multitasker. Chef, author, radio host of KCRW Good Food, restaurateur and sought after speaker, she has been called "the fairy Godmother of the LA food scene" for her central role in bringing a community of food people together through her radio show, Good Food. As host of Good Food on KCRW since 1997, Evan has interviewed more than 6000 guests ranging from celebrated chefs to local farmers, enabling her to explore every aspect of food and how it intersects with human life. As proprietor and chef of Angeli Caffe for 28 years before its close, Kleiman's improvisational style, while rooted in the Cucina Povera of Italy, showed her reliance on simple ingredients and economical ingenuity to produce delicious and satisfying food with a fresh, honest, pared down aesthetic that people intuitively understand and appreciate. Evan has been an ambassador for Miry’s List since first discovering she was able to send professional-grade meat grinders and food processors to resettling refugees through our wishlists in 2017.

Miry Whitehill, Founder and Executive Director

Miry Whitehill is an author, nonprofit founder, and executive director of Miry's List. Miry oversees mission delivery, often by helping people learn how the refugee resettlement system in the United States works, how it feels for new arrival families, and how they can help. Miry's Ted Talk "How To Be A Good Neighbor" has been watched by thousands of people. Miry is deeply passionate about creating impact through community engagement and technology, helping people of all ages and abilities to get involved to improve the experience of resettling refugee families in the U.S. Miry's first book, Our World Is A Family, was published in March 2022 by Sourcebooks.

Rabia Ahmadi, Chief of Staff

Rabia is a founding member of Miry's List. She manages business systems with the leadership team and the broader organization to create and enforce policy and oversees productivity in organizational operations. For six years, she worked as Miry’s List Family Services Director, utilizing her experience as an assistant professor at Kabul University and a grant management and programs manager for American organizations in Afghanistan. She lives in California with her husband and three children. Find Rabia on Linkedin.

Christina Carasis, Chief Communications Officer

Raised by her immigrant grandfather from Greece, Christina has always embraced the spirit of philotimo, a Greek word with no English translation but often described as a sense of open-armed hospitality and unconditional generosity, as her guiding light in her life and work. She manages internal and external communications for the organization. Christina is passionate about advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, disability justice, and inclusion. She is based in the Bay Area with her wife, three children, and their two dogs. Find Christina on LinkedIn.

Andrea Miller, Creative Director

Andrea is the creator of the iconic Miry's List logo and the creative force behind the brand's visual expression since our founding in 2016. Andrea owns Go As If, a production company and creative agency offering consulting, development, art direction, event, and film production. Her work in partnership with public and private-sector organizations is focused on providing high-quality, inter-generational arts and culture experiences. Her productions and programming are a reflection of and in service to healthy and diverse communities. 

Mona Caro, CRM Director

Mona is a hands-on global CRM (Customer Relationship Management) Administrator with a background in technical implementation, marketing automation, project management, and system evangelizing to people who use an end product. Responsibilities include executing day-to-day configuration, training, maintenance, and providing support for improving user experience. Mona oversees our database of donors and volunteers to ensure we are tracking and managing these important relationships. Mona works at SAP as a Global Nurture Expert for the EMEA South region. Find Mona on LinkedIn.

Humna Ali, FATIMEH Program Director

Humna Ali oversees our mental health support program, FATIMEH. Humna is an Associate Social Worker with a Masters in Social Work from California State University, Northridge. Her experience includes working with women experiencing co-occurring substance use and mental health challenges at Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services. She also worked with LA Family Housing and provided assistance to people experiencing homelessness and worked with them to address issues surrounding family, depression, anxiety, financial stress, and much more.

Hana Dinh, Web Manager

Hana comes from a family of Vietnamese refugees who arrived in Australia with little more than a suitcase, and the mission of Miry's List immediately resonated with her. In her professional life, Hana is responsible for tackling toxicity in one of the world's most popular games, League of Legends. She believes that with intentionality, we can build technology that reaches billions of people while making it a safe place where everyone can feel welcome. She resides in Los Angeles where you'll find her outdoors in her free time, with her head in a book or with a pen in her hand. Find Hana on LinkedIn

Nilofar Amaniar, Volunteer Experience Manager

Nilofar started her career with the Canadian Embassy in Afghanistan, working there for over eight years. She received her B.A. in business Administration from Sacramento State University in 2023. She is a doting mom to her three children. Always willing to help people around her in the community, she started volunteering with Miry's List to help families in her community of Sacramento. She became an advocate in our Family Services department working alongside our families in Sacramento. Before long, Nilofar discovered her passion for working with all of the wonderful volunteers in our community and joined our outreach team as our volunteer coordinator.

Christy Anderson, Director, New Arrival Supper Club

Christy serves as the Director of the New Arrival Supper Club, a Miry’s List program that uses the universal language of food to bring local communities and refugee families together through a social-impact culinary experience. She is also Founder and executive director of Claremont Canopy, a sister organization that serves new arrival refugee families in the Inland Empire. Christy feels our duty is to welcome our new arrival neighbors and help them thrive in their new homes. Christy has received recognition from local and district government offices and local groups for her work with Claremont Canopy. Christy has been a resident of Claremont, California since 2014. She and her husband are active in the community raising their four children.

Sara Gommaa, SANAH Director/Welcome Workshop Manager 

Sara Gomaa operates the Miry's List Welcome Workshop in Los Angeles, as well as our SANAH ESL program, and is the first point of welcome for all families enrolled in our program. Sara has always been passionate about helping people who feel forgotten. She started her journey in 2011 in the poorest state in India, where she was part of a medical team in a campaign to end senile blindness. After arriving as a resettled refugee from Egypt to California in January 2017, she met Miry. Her experience with Miry's List proved that America could be more loving and welcoming than anyone might expect. Giving back the love she received when she resettled in America is a source of joy and inspiration for her, and imagining the smiles on the faces of the families.

Diana Farias Heinrich, Development Associate

Diana brings nearly a decade of nonprofit expertise in development, communications, and marketing. Inspired by her immigrant parents' resilience, Diana is passionate about helping others build new lives in unfamiliar environments. Her background as a Project Manager in software development and business education honed her efficiency and technical skills, which she now applies to optimize nonprofit fundraising. Diana's diverse experience, coupled with her enthusiasm and proven success, makes her an effective advocate for new arrivals at Miry's List, supporting them in creating the lives they envision for their families.

Ayman Issa

Ahmed Abedy

Rafid Albawi