Immigration in Crisis, On Both Sides of the Atlantic
Jessica Hart
Director, Finance and Operations
Ms. Jessica Hart is a nonprofit management professional with more than eighteen years of experience leading finance, operations, and strategic communications at the American-German Institute, where she currently serves as Director of Finance and Operations. She is a key advisor to the President and guides organizational strategy, financial stewardship, and long-term sustainability.
Jessica oversees all financial operations, including budgeting, audits, and regulatory compliance, while managing a $2 million annual budget. She partners closely with the President and the Board of Trustees to align financial planning with institutional goals and drive effective fundraising strategies. Jessica also leads organizational operations, including human resources, internal systems, and cross-departmental coordination, ensuring efficiency and accountability across the Institute.
Prior to her current position, Jessica led communications at AGI, where she developed and implemented the organization’s first comprehensive content strategy. She oversaw publications, media relations, and digital engagement, including launching a successful podcast and executing major branding and website initiatives. She has held roles spanning editorial leadership, financial management, and program coordination, producing policy publications and managing international conferences across the United States and Europe.
Jessica holds a Master of Arts in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which included a year of study in Berlin. She holds a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Political Science and International Studies from The Ohio State University. She is proficient in German and brings a strong background in transatlantic relations to her work.
In addition to her professional responsibilities, Jessica is an active community leader, serving on the Executive Committee of Families for Safe Streets and the Steering Committee of DC Families for Safe Streets.
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As waves of refugees continue to enter Europe, they are being greeted with various reactions by EU member states. Many migrants are headed for Germany, perceived by many as the safest and most welcoming European country, prompting other EU leaders to describe this as “a German problem.” Chancellor Angela Merkel has rejected other member states’ unwillingness to act, calling the crisis a Europe-wide obligation. And indeed, as trains are shut down in Hungary and to the UK, and as the number of casualties grows, Europe—led by Germany—will need to act. Germans have mixed opinions about their chancellor’s open doors policy, but a highly visible league is stepping up with money, aid, and support: the German Bundesliga.
In the U.S., immigration has become an increasingly hot-button issue as the 2016 presidential campaign heats up. Yet even as they draw attention to the issue, some presidential candidates are getting it wrong: illegal immigration from Mexico is down, and demographic shifts suggest it is unlikely to increase. When Pope Francis visits the U.S. later this month, it is hoped that he will address the issue of immigration reform, a topic of particular importance to U.S. Catholic churches, with their growing number of Latino parishioners. Still, studies show that immigrants are more likely to receive welfare benefits due to working in lower-paid jobs—even as they are more likely than their native counterparts to be working.
