After the Fall

Camille J. Mackler is founder and executive director of the Immigrant Advocates Response Collaborative (I-ARC), a collaborative of over 80 legal service providers in New York state. In that role, she works with community leaders, legal service providers, state and local governments, law enforcement agencies, and federal agencies and policy makers to ensure immigrants have access to a fair and efficient immigration system.

Ms. Mackler is also a senior visiting fellow at the Truman Center for National Policy, where she is researching and highlighting intersections among immigration policy, national security, and foreign relations. A graduate of Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service and New York Law School, Ms. Mackler is a frequent lecturer on topics of immigration law and policy and the author of numerous reports on federal immigration policy.

Chris Purdy is the director of Veterans for American Ideals and Outreach, a nonpartisan initiative launched by Human Rights First focused on raising the voices of veterans to continue their service by challenging America to live up to its ideals. Mr. Purdy served eight years in the Army National Guard and was deployed to Iraq in 2011 as part of a convoy escort team. Before becoming a staff member in 2016, he worked as a teacher and educational professional in New York state; Washington, D.C.; Barcelona, Spain; and Atlanta, GA. Mr. Purdy is a member of the Truman National Security Project, Georgia Forward, LEAD Atlanta, and the Welcome Council on Welcome.us. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Fredonia as well as two Master’s degrees — one in Education from Nazareth College and one in Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin.

Joel Kelsey has served as Senator Richard Blumenthal’s (D-CT) Chief of Staff since October, 2017; before that, he served as Senator Blumenthal’s legislative director. Prior to joining Senator Blumenthal’s office, Mr. Kelsey worked as the legislative director of Free Press and as a federal and international affairs policy analyst for Consumer Reports. At Consumer Reports, he managed the organization’s advocacy efforts on internet and telecommunications issues, working closely with federal and international policy makers on communications and technology policy. Mr. Kelsey is a 2005 graduate of State University of New York at New Paltz, where he received a B.A. in Political Science and Government.

Katie Rahmlow is a second-year student at Cornell Law School and a member of its Afghanistan Assistance Law Clinic. A former analyst in Washington, D.C., Ms. Rahmlow’s legal work includes the Empire Justice Center, the Cornell Farmworker Legal Assistance Clinic, immigration assistance to Afghan citizens, and an internship in the New York State Office of the Attorney General. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Hamilton College as well as graduate degrees from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

Nell Cady-Kruse is an independent, non-executive member of the board of Barclays US LLC (the Intermediate Holding Company [IHC] board) and of Barclays Bank Delaware (BBD). She is chair of the IHC Board Risk Committee and of the BBD Board Enterprise Risk Committee. Ms. Cady-Kruse is also an advisory board member of No One Left Behind, a nonprofit assisting special immigrant visa holders who worked alongside U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. In August 2021, she joined the Evacuate Our Allies Coalition and helped establish the Evacuate Our Allies Operations Center, which acts as a central information and coordination hub to assist with cases and connect coalition members to trusted resources. Ms. Cady-Kruse has over 35 years of investment banking experience and, prior to her retirement in 2014, specialized in leveraged finance, M&A, private equity, and risk management. She holds a Bachelor’s degree and MBA from Cornell University.

Stephen Yale-Loehr is Professor of Immigration Practice at Cornell Law School and of counsel at Miller Mayer in Ithaca, New York. He also directs the Immigration Law and Policy Center at Cornell Law and is a faculty fellow for the Cornell Migrations initiative as well as a non-resident fellow at the Migration Policy Institute. Professor Yale-Loehr has practiced immigration law for over 35 years and is co-author of the leading immigration law treatise “Immigration Law and Procedure,” published by LexisNexis, as well as the co-author or editor of many other books. He is a national expert on immigration law and has often testified before Congress. Professor Yale-Loehr received his Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and his Juris Doctor degree from Cornell Law School.