Cohort 9 - Fall 2025 Immigration Forum
“How should North Carolinians respond to the opportunities and challenges of immigration?"
Over the course of five months, NCLF will explore a critically important topic for the future of our state: “How should North Carolinians respond to the opportunities and challenges of immigration?”
NCLF brings together a distinguished bipartisan group of North Carolina leaders to discuss major issues facing our state, to understand different points of view about how to address those issues, and to discuss solutions that improve the lives of North Carolinians. Our goal is to facilitate substantive and meaningful dialogue among people positioned to help shape the future.
Participants from Cohort
Woodson Bradley – Senator, NC General Assembly
Kyshia Brassington – Community Preschool of Huntersville, Owner and RNC National Committeewoman
Allen Buansi— State House Representative, North Carolina General Assembly
Celeste Cairns – NC Representative, NC General Assembly
Jose “Pepe” Calderon – Sales Manager, Farm Pak Products Inc
Michale Chen – Counsel, Parker Poe
Joe Coletti – Director, House Majority Oversight Staff, NC General Assembly
Carly Cooke – Commissioner, Guilford County
Elizabeth Forte – Manager of Community Health Services & Community Health Education, Novant Health
Lariza Garzon – Director of NC and Midsouth Operations, Hispanic Federation
Yaselin Gonzalez – WNC Business Lender II, Partner Community Capital
Beth Helfrich – Representative, NC General Assembly
Chadwick Howard – Commissioner, Craven County
David Kaiser – Senior Director of Policy, Advocacy and Innovation, NC Rural Center
Thomas Luckadoo – Honorary Consul, Republic of Estonia
Isabela Luján – Realtor/Broker; Co-chair Coldwell Banker ; Latin American Business Council
Nicole Marin Baena – Co-Director Siembra NC
Melissa Merrell – Chair, Union County Board of Commissioners
Natalie Murdock – Senator, NC Senate
Eliazar Posada-Orozco – Executive Director and Councilmen, Equality North Carolina and Town of Carrboro
Mitchell Prosser – Vice President North Carolina Family Policy Council
Linda Pryor – Farmer, Hilltop Farm WNC, LLC
Federico Rios – Community Leader, Self employed
Pilar Rocha- Goldberg – President & CEO, El Centro Hispano, Inc
Caitlin Ryland – Project Director, Farmworker Unit, Legal Aid of North Carolina
Michael Schietzelt – NC Representative, NC General Assembly
Keith Stone – Sheriff, Nash County Sheriff’s Office
Jonathan White – City Council Member, City of Mebane
Melinda Wiggins – Director, Labor South
Kenneth Wortman – Commissioner, Cabarrus County
