Molly Hilligoss

Molly Hilligoss is the Senior Director of the Welcoming Network at Welcoming America, and lately her role has been expanding; she’s stepping into People & Culture work too, focused on organizational health, staff development, and making sure the workplace actually reflects the values Welcoming America champions externally. As the Network team navigates a period of transition, she continues to lead the Welcoming Network on an interim basis while also building the kind of systems and structures that help people do their best work.

Immigrant inclusion has been the throughline of Molly’s career for more than twenty years — not as a program or a project, but as a genuine commitment to building communities where people belong. She’s done that work through capacity building, equity initiatives, and technical assistance, but what really drives her is the moment when values stop being words on a wall and start being something people actually feel.

Molly studied Social and Global Studies at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and has worked in nonprofits across Michigan, Colorado, and Wisconsin. These days she’s based in La Crosse, Wisconsin, where she lives with her wife and sons. Most weekends you’ll find the family at a school concert or a sports game — and whenever they can swing it, a real concert too.