New on the Job: Jessy Molina, Outreach Director, Welcoming America

New job: Ms. Molina, 33, who joined Welcoming America last month, is the third employee of the Decatur, Ga., charity, which seeks to build mutual respect between new immigrants and people born in the United States.

Past jobs: Ms. Molina served as a national coordinator of Quality Education as a Constitutional Right, a project that seeks to pass a Constitutional amendment guaranteeing quality public education for all children. Before that, she directed a community-organizing program at a West Oakland, Calif., high school for Stanford University’s John Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities. Previously, she served as a Soros Justice Fellow at the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, in Oakland, Calif.

Education: She holds a bachelor’s degree in African-American studies from Harvard College and a law degree from Yale University.

Her task: Helping Welcoming America expand its influence. The national group now works with 14 local charities; Ms. Molina will try to recruit new affiliates. David Lubell, executive director, says Ms. Molina is the ideal person to help expand Welcoming America. “She has a lot of experience fostering challenging conversations around controversial issues,” he says.

Why the job interested her: She says she’s driven by the organization’s mission. Her parents immigrated to Somerville, Mass., from India before she was born. Some neighbors reacted with hostility, throwing rocks at the house and slashing their car tires. Others invited them over for dinner. “It’s a basic need for people to feel welcome and like they belong,” says Ms. Molina.

Salary: $60,000

Other activities: Ms. Molina and her husband, who have two small children, formed a group called the Mamas and Papas Village, which brings parents together to share their experiences.