Nazanin Ash

Nazanin Ash is CEO of Welcome.US, a national initiative that is remaking how the United States welcomes and resettles refugee newcomers. In a little over two years, Welcome.US has helped mobilize and empower over 500,000 Americans in 11,000 zip codes to serve as sponsors for refugee newcomers seeking safety in the United States. In partnership with the corporate, philanthropic, arts and civic sectors and hundreds of community organizations, Welcome.US is demonstrating whole new possibilities for addressing the global displacement challenge in ways that are healing divides in communities across the United States. Ms. Ash has decades of experience in the areas of refugee and migration challenges, humanitarian response, coalition building, and innovative policy development, having served previously as the Vice President of Global Policy and Advocacy at the International Rescue Committee, Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the Department of State during the Obama Administration, and as a member of the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning staff. Ms. Ash also served as principal advisor and Chief of Staff to the first Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources and Administrator of USAID, designing strategies and policies for U.S. foreign assistance reform in support of inclusive political and economic development. One of Washingtonian Magazine's "Most Influential People Shaping Policy," she's described as "a crucial liaison among corporations, service organizations, and government . . . to resettle those escaping crises in countries around the world."