Executive Team

Gladis Molina Alt, Executive Director (Phoenix) Read More

Gladis Molina Alt is the Executive Director of the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights. Before that, she served as the Child Advocate Program Director at the organization for four years. Gladis came to the Young Center with a decade of experience in working with unaccompanied immigrant children. She has worked in Harlingen, TX for the South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project (ProBAR); in Los Angeles, CA for Kids in Need of Defense (KIND); and in Phoenix, AZ for The Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project. She has represented children in Immigration Court and Juvenile Court, as well as before the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Office of Refugee Resettlement. Gladis is a native of El Salvador and grew up in Long Beach, CA. She received her B.A. from the California State University in Long Beach (CSULB) and her J.D. from the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA). Before attending law school, Gladis worked at the U.S. House of Representatives as a Policy Fellow for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI).

Jennifer Nagda, Chief Programs Officer (Philadelphia) Read More

Jennifer Nagda is the Chief Programs Officer for the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights. For more than a decade, her work at the Young Center has focused on protecting the rights of immigrant children in government custody—in particular, their right to have their best interests considered in every decision. In 2015, Jennifer was appointed by then-DHS Secretary Johnson to the ICE Advisory Committee on Family Residential Centers. From 2012-2015, she staffed the federal Interagency Working Group on Unaccompanied and Separated Children, which published its Framework for Considering the Best Interests of Unaccompanied Children in 2016. Jennifer is a lecturer in law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School’s Interdisciplinary Child Advocacy Clinic and previously taught at the University of Chicago Law School. Before joining the Young Center, Jennifer was an attorney at the Midwest Regional Office of MALDEF, where she litigated immigration, education and employment discrimination cases. She clerked for the Honorable James B. Zagel of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Prior to law school, Jennifer was the Associate Director of what is now the CityBridge Foundation in Washington DC. Jennifer received her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School and her undergraduate degree from Duke University.

Dani Doucette, Chief Operating Officer (New York) Read More

Dani Doucette (pronouns e/em/eir) is the Chief Operating Officer of the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, where e supports the entire team to maintain efficient systems and a compassionate work environment. Dani previously served as CFO/COO for the Rainforest Alliance, EngenderHealth, and the Hetrick-Martin Institute, where e also served as Interim CEO. E has sat on the boards of Big Apple Performing Arts (chair), American Cancer Society-Brooklyn (chair), El Centro de Conocimiento Compartido, DanceNYC (treasurer), and Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island (treasurer). As a volunteer, Dani taught English to newly arrived immigrants with Ayuda in Washington, DC, facilitated suicide awareness workshops for youth with the Trevor Project, and mentored an unaccompanied minor with Dorcas International. For four years Dani owned and operated BraveShift, a leadership and culture change practice, and currently e produces and hosts two podcasts, “The Workplace Healer,” and “A Healing Being.” A healing artist, Dani recently founded Healeology, a resource teaching modern meditation practices. Dani holds masters degrees in both international development and organizational development, as well as a professional certification in leadership and life coaching.

Meghan Jorgensen, Chief Development Officer (Chicago) Read More

Meghan Jorgensen is the Chief Development Officer for the Young Center. She comes to organization with 20 years’ experience in development, with a primary focus fundraising for healthcare and human service organizations. Her experiences have shaped her expertise in fundraising, staff development, financial and operational management, and community engagement. For the last four years, Meghan was the Chief Development Officer at Heartland Alliance. Meghan oversaw all aspects of fundraising within Heartland Alliance, fostering a culture of philanthropy to realize the organization’s mission of finding equity and opportunity for all. Meghan received her master’s in Social Work and Health Administration from The University of Chicago.