Catherine Ceniza Choy

Vice- Chair

Catherine Ceniza Choy is professor of ethnic studies and associate dean of diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice in the Division of Computing, Data Science, and Society at the University of California, Berkeley. Before that, she was an assistant professor of American studies at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. She is the author of the books Asian American Histories of the United States, Global Families: A History of Asian International Adoption in America, and Empire of Care: Nursing and Migration in Filipino American History, and the co-editor of the anthology Gendering the Trans-Pacific World. An engaged public scholar, she has been interviewed in many media outlets, including ABC 20/20, The Atlantic, CNN, the Los Angeles Times, NBC News, the New York Times, ProPublica, the San Francisco Chronicle, Time, and Vox.

Alen Amini

Treasurer

Alen Amini is currently a management consultant at Boston Consulting Group, and is a term member on the Council of Foreign Relations. A former Fulbright scholar, he previously served as a high school math teacher and vice principal in Southeast Arkansas through Teach For America. Alen is a recent graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where he served as the editor-in-chief of the newspaper and was the student body president, and the Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business.

Allison Homes

Secretary

Coming Soon!

Susan Jacobs

Former Chair of ISS Governing Board

Susan Jacobs joined the Board in May of 2017. Ms. Jacobs has decades of experience in child protection, child welfare, and international affairs. She most recently held the role of Special Advisor at the U.S. State Department Office of Children’s Issues. Before that, she was a Senior Policy Advisor in the Bureau of Consular Affairs and previously served as the Bureau’s liaison to the Department of Homeland Security.

In the early 2000s, she acted as the United States Ambassador to Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. Prior to that, she was the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Global Issues in the State Department’s Bureau of Legislative Affairs. Ms. Jacobs graduated from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and later studied at Georgetown University Law School and George Washington University.

Stacey Floam

Stacey Floam joined the board in September, 2018. She currently works for Capital One as a Manager, Enterprise Risk Management and focuses on managing the enterprise risk framework, assessment methodologies, and supporting business units as risk assessments are completed.

Prior to Capital One, she was a management consultant at Guidehouse, working with public and private sector clients to enhance their risk management capabilities. She also held numerous risk management and compliance positions at T. Rowe Price and E*TRADE Financial Corporation. Stacey has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Stevenson University and a Master of Business Administration from University of Baltimore.

Vicki Politis

Vicki Politis is the founder and CEO of DoubleP Consulting LLC, providing M&A advisory and business growth services to mid-market companies. Previously, Vicki was the Chief Executive Officer and an executive member of the Board of Directors of Eltrak S.A., a company listed in the Athens Stock Exchange. Prior to Eltrak, she was an M&A consultant in Houston and London and an investment and fundraising manager at Emporiki Venture Capital, a Southern European VC fund. Early in her career, Vicki assisted with the formation and launch of Burren Energy – later listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Vicki holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Yale University as well as an MBA from the University of Strathclyde in the UK. She serves as a member of the Yale Alumni Schools Committee, interviewing prospective students applying to Yale College. A fierce advocate of women entrepreneurs, Vicki is Managing Director of Golden Seeds Angel Network and a member of 37 angels, investing groups focused on investing in and empowering women-owned startups. She is also a mentor at the Dallas Entrepreneur Center.

Hyacinth Miller

Hyacinth Miller is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Rutgers University – Newark School of Arts and Sciences African American and African Studies and Political Science Departments. She has also worked as a Lecturer in the Department of Latino and Caribbean Studies Rutgers University – New Brunswick. Her research focuses on Caribbean immigrants in the Diaspora, immigrant women and women of color in elected leadership, immigrant political incorporation and comparative politics.  Hyacinth has conducted original research and presented conference papers on the subject of West Indians in the US, West Indians in elected office in New Jersey, Haitian Americans in the United States and on multiple citizenship policies in the Caribbean.

Prior to working for Rutgers University, Hyacinth spent more than 10 years working as a government affairs analyst and lobbyist and staffer to elected officials on the city and federal levels. She has also served as a criminal justice program associate and fundraising professional.

 

Robert Keith

Robert Keith joined the Board in 2022.  He previously served for twenty-four years as the Associate General Counsel for the Children, Families and Aging Division of the Office of the General Counsel in the United States Department of Health and Human Services. His portfolio included the programs of the Administration for Children and Families and the Administration for Community Living.  Mr. Keith began his legal career as a trial and appellate attorney for the Iowa Attorney General where he pioneered advances in paternity litigation.  In 1982 he was hired as counsel for the HHS’ Office of Child Support Enforcement.  He has argued cases before the Supreme Courts of Iowa and California and in the 6^th, 8^th, 9^th, and 11^th Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals.  From 2003-2007 Mr. Keith was a Member of the U.S. Delegation negotiating the 2007 Convention on Child and Family Maintenance and also served on the Drafting Committee.

Brett Barfield

Brett Barfield spent two decades honing the craft of litigation at an AmLaw 100 law firm.

He represents domestic and international businesses and individuals in a wide variety of disputes. He partners with his clients to formulate the most effective and efficient strategy for their individual case, including consideration of informal negotiations, mediation, arbitration, litigation, and trial, often involving multiple U.S. and foreign forums. Brett’s clients operate in industries such as technology, health care, real estate, manufacturing and distribution, and numerous service industries and professions.

Brett has also represented more than 100 clients seeking the return of their children abducted into the U.S. from abroad, using the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

Very active with the Federal Bar Association, Brett has held both local and national officer roles. He has been recognized numerous years by Florida Super Lawyers and Florida Trend magazines as a leading business litigation attorney in Florida, and he is a past recipient of the Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award.

Brett frequently lectures, including recently as a professor teaching federal court civil procedure and legal writing at the St. Thomas University College of Law.

Following law school, Brett served as a law clerk to the Honorable Edward B. Davis, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Jenny Wang

A three-time PRNEWS “Top Women in PR” award recipient, Jenny Wang is an agile and dynamic communications expert who has helped companies and organizations in the healthcare, technology, nonprofit and energy sectors gain greater recognition in the media, increase thought leadership visibility, navigate DE&I communications, and mitigate crises.

As a Senior Vice President at Clyde Group, Jenny currently works with clients in the DEI and healthcare spaces, including leading the firm’s largest account (driving patient advocacy and health equity for a Fortune 150 biopharma company).

Prior to Clyde Group, she was a Vice President at kglobal, where she led integrated communications campaigns on behalf of clients across various industries, provided crisis communications and issues management counsel and developed new business leads and opportunities. She has also worked at Raffetto Herman Strategic Communications, Ketchum, and The Harbour Group.

Jenny received her master’s degree in Strategic Communication from American University’s School of Communication and bachelor’s degree in Communication and Management from Juniata College.

Jerry Milner

Jerry Milner is Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Family Justice Group. He began his career as a front-line social worker in Alabama, working primarily with teenagers in foster care and in prevention services for families. Prior work includes serving as state child welfare director in Alabama. From 2017–2021, he led the U.S. Children’s Bureau, Department of Health and Human Services and, for most of that time, was Acting Commissioner, Administration on Children, Youth and Families.

Kristina Arakelyan

Kristina Arakelyan is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Public Service at NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. She is a long-time New Yorker who has worked for over a decade in the public and nonprofit sectors on immigration, social service, domestic violence, human trafficking, and labor policies and programs. She holds graduate degrees in Eastern European studies, criminology, and public health.