Our Board of Directors

As a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, our Board of Directors includes 17 individuals with extensive experience in advocacy, fundraising, finance, communications, and international development. The board oversees Jesuit Refugee Service/USA’s work and helps to ensure we make progress in service of our mission to accompany, serve, and advocate for the rights of refugees and other forcibly displaced persons around the world.

Current members:

  • Robert H. Niehaus (Chair of the Board)

    Mr. Niehaus is the Chairman and Founder of GCP Capital Partners LLC, an independent private equity investment firm founded in 2009, which currently manages several private successor firms to Greenhill Capital Partners LLC.

  • Austin Fragomen Jr. (Vice Chair of the Board)

    Mr. Fragomen Jr. is the Chairman of the Executive Committee for Fragomen Worldwide and has served as staff counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on immigration, citizenship, and international law.

  • Molly Cashin

    Mrs. Cashin has long experience as a writer, editor, development officer, policy analyst, and administrator for nonprofit organizations based in both the United States and Africa.

  • Lynn Gordon

    Ms. Gordon is the Founder and CEO of Madonna Mission, a not-for-profit organization that provides educational support programs for refugees in the Chicago area.

  • Kate Howe

    Kate Howe has extensive experience in the nonprofit world. She has held a myriad of roles in local and regional schools, religious organizations, and social service agencies in her hometown of Pleasantville, NY and in the greater New York City area. Her primary efforts have focused on literacy and educational empowerment.

  • Rosemary Kilkenny

    Rosemary Kilkenny is Georgetown University’s first Vice President for Institutional Diversity and Equity. Before this appointment, Rosemary held the position of Special Assistant to the President for Affirmative Action Programs at Georgetown and served as Director of Affirmative Action at SUNY Albany.

  • Hiroko Kusuda

    Hiroko Kusuda is Clinic Professor and Director of Immigration Law Section of Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic and Center for Center for Social Justice. Under her supervision, student practitioners represent clients before the U.S. Department of Justice Immigration Courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and federal courts.

  • Thomas Loughlin

    Mr. Loughlin is a Managing Director with Promontory Financial Group LLC, a leading strategy, risk management, and regulatory compliance consulting firm focusing primarily on the financial services industry.

  • Susan Martin

    Ms. Martin is the Donald G. Herzberg Professor Emeritus of International Migration and the Founder of the Institute for the Study of International Migration in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

  • Frank Mueller

    Mr. Mueller a Medical Director of Palliative Medicine at Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital in Santa Rosa, California.

  • Mark Palmer

    Mark Palmer is a financial executive with experience in both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. He served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Catholic Relief Services for 19 years and is currently on the steering committee of the Catholic Impact Investing Collaborative and the investment committee of CRS’ “Closing the Opportunity Gap” investment vehicle. He lives in Baltimore, MD and is the head of the Finance Committee at his parish, St. Vincent de Paul.

  • Rev. Brian Paulson, S.J.

    Fr. Brian Paulson, S.J. is President of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Prior to his current position, he served as provincial of the USA Midwest Province, president of Saint Ignatius College Prep in Chicago, and as rector of the Loyola University Chicago Jesuit Community. Fr. Paulson earned a bachelor’s degree in international economics from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in Washington, D.C. before joining the Jesuits in 1981, and he later earned a master’s degree in education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

  • Tim Reidy

    Timothy Reidy is Deputy Editor in Chief of America Media. He is a graduate of Fordham Preparatory School, Princeton University and the Columbia University School of Journalism. He previously worked as a staff writer for the Hartford Courant and as an associate editor at Commonweal magazine. He serves on the editorial board at America, oversees digital production and works as the news editor of the weekly radio show “America This Week” on The Catholic Channel on SiriusXM. He also writes on television, books and film as a contributor to the magazine’s “Of Other Things” column. Tim’s writing has also been published in Commonweal, The New York Times and the Columbia Journalism Review. He has appeared on Bloomberg TV, Al Jazeera America and ABC News Digital to discuss the pontificate of Pope Francis. Prior to joining the JRS board, he served on the board of the Center of Concern in Washington, D.C. He lives in Bronxville, New York, with his wife and daughter.

  • Fr. Thomas Greene, S.J.

    Fr. Thomas Greene, S.J. is the provincial superior of the Jesuits USA Central and Southern Province. Previously, he served as provincial assistant for international ministries and as Jesuit superior of the Jesuit Community of Belize, Central America. From 2014 to 2017 he served as the rector (superior) of Bellarmine House of First Studies at Saint Louis University and from 2010 to 2014, Fr. Greene was Secretary for Social and International Ministries at the Jesuit Conference of the United States in Washington, D.C. A native of New Orleans, Fr. Greene graduated from Jesuit High School, Loyola University and Loyola University School of Law. Prior to entering the Jesuits in 1997, he practiced law in New Orleans. He was a founding member of the Jesuit Social Research Institute of Loyola University New Orleans in 2007. He has graduate degrees in philosophy (M.A., Loyola University Chicago) and conflict resolution (M.S., Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska). He completed his Master of Divinity degree at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley, California.

  • Stephanie Russell, Ed.D

    Ms. Russell serves as the Vice President for Mission Integration for the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.  Her duties include designing and implementing programs to help Jesuit colleges and universities enhance their mission effectiveness, and supporting linkages among the schools in the Jesuit higher education network.

  • British Robinson

    British Robinson was most recently the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. British oversaw the strategic direction and all operations of the public charity, which was established by former First Lady Barbara Bush in 1989.

  • Kristen Watson

    Kristin Watson is a sales and marketing professional with experience in small businesses and non-profit leadership, excellent financial and analytical skills, and a track record of identifying potential problem areas and working through solutions. She has been a supporter of JRS/USA for several years. From March 2013 to July 2019, Watson served as Director of Development for the Cristo Rey St. Martin school in Waukegan, IL. In this capacity, she oversaw the Development department for a 400-student school and raised $40M over 6+ years including the successful completion of two capital campaigns to finance the move to the school’s permanent campus as well as the fundraising needed for school operations. Watson managed a team of people responsible for major gifts, grants, the annual appeal, and fundraising events for the school. Together with the Director of the Corporate Work Study Program and the President, she successfully recruited new business partners for the school’s Corporate Work Study Program. She also oversaw all external communications for the school.

  • Jason Zenk

    Jason Zenk is a senior managing director at EnTrustGlobal, an alternative investment firm based in New York City. He has extensive experience in higher education leadership. He currently serves on the Santa Clara University Board of Regents and previously served as a member of the university’s Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education Advisory Board. He is also a trustee of the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies a globally-focused research center located at University of Southern California.  Additionally, Jason was appointed to serve on the advisory council of Hekima University College in Nairobi, Kenya. In 2022, Jason became an Ignatian Legacy Fellow affiliated with Loyola University of Chicago; a yearlong program sponsored by a collection of world-wide Jesuit universities.  The program is designed to help participants better understand where they might be called to use their gifts in service of others.

  • Fadi Samman

    Fadi Samman is partner at the international law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP where he focuses on the representation of domestic and international fund sponsors in connection with organizing, structuring and operating private investment funds, including private equity funds, real estate funds, venture capital funds, fund of funds, secondary funds, and hedge funds. He has been recognized by Chambers and Legal 500 as a leading lawyer in his field.  Fadi joined Akin Gump as an associate in 2001. Fadi also serves as the Chairman of the firm’s Retirement Committee which oversees the management of the firm employee benefit and pension plans. Prior to Akin Gump, Fadi was an associate at two other international law firms. Fadi received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University in 1996 and his JD from the University of Michigan Law School in 1999. Fadi was born and grew up in the Washington, DC area.  He currently resides in Bethesda, Maryland with his wife (Amy) and his two children, Alice and George.  Fadi is a product of Jesuit education having attended Georgetown Preparatory School and Georgetown University. In addition to spending time with his family, Fadi enjoys playing golf and is an avid fan of Washington, DC sports teams.  He also enjoys curating his music collection and exploring and discovering new music acts