Anika Forrest leads FCNL’s domestic policy team. In this role, she guides the team’s legislative and policy strategy and directs the migration policy program. Previously she served as FCNL’s legislative manager for migration policy.
Before coming to FCNL, Anika was a legislative aide for former Philadelphia Councilmember Helen Gym. There, she worked on immigrant detention, deportation, racial economic disparities, and housing insecurity. Her foreign policy background includes experiences with USAID, the Organization of American States’ Inter-American Juridical Committee, and the Embassy of Jamaica in Washington, D.C.
Anika is an adjunct professor at Temple University Beasley School of Law. She holds a J.D. from Temple Law and a B.A. in Sociology from Davidson College. Her writing has appeared in The Hill, Just Security, The AFRO, and Religion Unplugged.
Anika’s experiences with Quakerism as a Westtown School alumna and former admission counselor at Haverford College profoundly anchor her resolution to seek dignity, justice, and protection for vulnerable communities. As the daughter of immigrants, Anika is unapologetically committed to advancing community-engaged movements to cultivate an equitable, humane, and inclusive future.
She is a governance member of the Haverford College Corporation.