CAN Structure & Leadership
CAN Staff
Elias Johnson, Executive Director, info@congregationactionnetwork.org
Eli Johnson joined the CAN staff as its first Executive Director in June 2022. A lifelong activist
and organizer, Eli has held positions with the Guatemala Human Rights Commission, Public
Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, and the American Friends Service Committee, leading federal
advocacy on immigration, trade and US policy toward Latin America.
A founding member of Sanctuary DMV, Eli has trained thousands of people in the DC region
and planned dozens of protests and other actions. They hold a masters in public
administration from the University of Washington and a BA in international trade from
Western Washington University.
Diana Fula, Community Organizer
An activist and organizer, Diana Fula has a master's degree in social intervention and public policy and
more than 10 years of experience in work related to social justice and human rights, including
immigrant rights advocacy.
For 15 years, Diana has been very active visiting, guiding, and educating adults and children impacted
by the immigration detention system about their rights. She has worked directly with undocumented
women and children survivors of violence, organizing them so that they learn to navigate the justice
system so they can defend themselves in court and claim their rights. At the same time, she has created
safe spaces to transform trauma into power and break cycles of violence. Since April 2022, Diana has been organizing the community of immigrants who have arrived in DC on buses from Texas and Arizona who are living in shelters and seeking asylum in the US.
CAN Cluster Structure
The Washington, DC, Metro region spans the District as well as the Maryland and Virginia suburbs. Each of these jurisdictions has its own government and community structures. Because much of CAN's work is local - within each of these communities - the Network has formed four congregational clusters to most effectively act in solidarity with immigrant communities and individuals.
The four clusters and cluster leaders are as follows:
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Washington, DC - Rev. Sharon Stanley-Rea
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Montgomery County (MoCo), MD - Jerry Kickenson
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Prince George's County (PG), MD - Martha Wells
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Northern Virginia (NOVA) - Mary Lareau
Photo by Brian Barger
CAN Board of Directors
CAN's Board of Directors is made up of CAN cluster leaders and other faith leaders dedicated to CAN's mission. :
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Pastor Julio Hernandez, president, Dir. of Family Ministries, Christ Crossman United Methodist Church, Falls Church, VA
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Mary Lareau, vice-president, Dir. of Communications, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax, VA
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Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea, secretary, former Dir. of Refugee & Immigration Ministries, Disciples of Christ Refugee and Immigration Ministries
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Jerry Kickenson, treasurer, congregant at Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation and Principal Engineer at SWIFT
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Omar Angel Perez, former CAN leader organizer, and member of Faith in Action's national staff
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Martha Wells, member of Iglesia San Mateo; and Ward 6 Council member, Town of University Park, MD
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Rev. Alexis Kassim, Dir. of Racial Equity Initiatives, Interfaith America
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Claudia Quinonez, States Organizing Director at United We Dream
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Mayra Mejia, Office Coordinator at Catholic Community of Langley Park, Mission of St. Camillus