At the Conference

Justin Gest is a professor of policy and government at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government. He studies immigration and the politics of demographic change. He also serves as the CEO of ARENA Media. He is the author of six books:

• Apart: Alienated and Engaged Muslims in the West (Oxford University Press/Hurst 2010)
• The New Minority: White Working Class Politics in an Age of Immigration and Inequality (Oxford University Press 2016)
• The White Working Class: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press 2018)
• Crossroads: Comparative Immigration Regimes in a World of Demographic Change (Cambridge University Press 2018)
• A textbook, Mass Appeal: Communicating Policy Ideas in Multiple Media (Oxford University Press 2020)
• Majority Minority (Oxford University Press 2022)

He also coedits the Oxford University Press book series, Oxford Studies in Migration and Citizenship. He has authored peer-reviewed articles in journals including Comparative Political Studies, Ethnic and Racial Studies, the International Migration Review, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and has edited special issues of Citizenship Studies and Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.

He has provided reporting or commentary for ABC, BBC, CBC, CNN, the Guardian, the Los Angeles Times, NPR, the New York Times, Politico, Reuters, Vox, and the Washington Post.

In 2014 and 2020, Gest received Harvard University’s Joseph R. Levenson Memorial Teaching Prize and the George Mason University Teaching Excellence Award, respectively each university’s highest award for faculty teaching. In 2013, he received the 2013 Star Family Prize for Student Advising, Harvard’s highest award for student advising. In 2007, he cofounded the Migration Studies Unit at the London School of Economics (LSE).

Source: https://schar.gmu.edu/profiles/jgest

Jarrett James Lash is proud to serve at the 14th UNA-USA Youth Observer to the United Nations. He is a community planner and housing strategist working at the intersection of public service, land use, and sustainability. He currently serves as the Township Planner for Upper Merion Township, one of Pennsylvania’s fastest-growing municipalities, where he leads long-range planning and land development for a township Fortune ranked the second best place in the nation for families, home to the third largest mall in America.

A dedicated advocate for youth engagement and housing, Jarrett serves on the Board of the HealthSpark Foundation and as a Youth Advisor to the Youth Housing Coalition, where he has supported community-led initiatives in Atlanta and Detroit. His previous experience includes shaping modular housing strategies at RSL Homes, contributing as a member of the Montgomery County, PA Homeless Task Force, and furthering his academic pursuits as a Lincoln Institute of Land Policy Vibrant Communities Fellow and a Manhattan Institute State and Local Policy Collegiate Associate.

Jarrett’s work with the United Nations Association of the United States of America included serving as Lead Ambassador for a Sustainable Future and co-organizing the inaugural Sustainable Communities Summit, which brought together stakeholders from across the country to discuss the future of our cities. He holds a B.A. in Global Liberal Studies from New York University, where he concentrated in Politics, Rights, and Development and studied in New York City, Paris, Shanghai, and Abu Dhabi. His senior thesis examined the political economy of housing affordability in the United States.

The son of a former UN Peacekeeper, Jarrett brings a commitment to building trust in civic institutions, a belief in practical problem-solving, and a vision for communities where everyone can build a future.

Source: https://unausa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Jarrett-James-Lash-UNA-USA-YO-1-Pager.pdf