Effective integration of foreign-born Americans in the labor market is a critical economic, social, and political policy objective. Programs, practices, and policies designed to advance this objective seek to dismantle barriers that foreign-born Americans face in their quest to become productive members of their adopted societies. As part of their fellowship, the 2023 Fellows on Immigrant Integration at the Institute on Immigrant Integration Research and Policy examined model programs that address challenges facing foreign-born Americans and that provide credential recognition, retraining, education, and access to capital to build thriving immigrant-owned businesses. They also examined the role of government, higher education institutions, and the nonprofit sector, as well as the role of cross-sector partnerships, in deepening and broadening the reach of these programs.
This webinar, held on Thursday, August 24, 2023, the fellows shared their findings and discussed the characteristics, structure, and gaps in the service system that exists to advance the economic integration of foreign-born Americans in the New York State labor market.
►[00:30] Introductions
🗣 Guillermo Martinez, Deputy Director & Intergovernmental Liaison, Institute on Immigrant Integration Research and Policy
🗣 Robert Megna, President, Rockefeller Institute of Government
🗣 Dina Refki, Executive Director, Institute on Immigrant Integration Research and Policy
► [9:50] Welcoming Address
🗣 Robert J. Rodriguez, Secretary of State, New York State
Panelists:
🗣[25:13] Ken Silverman, Immigrant Integration Fellow
🗣[34:19] Joaquin Sanchez Gomez, Immigrant Integration Fellow
🗣[39:20] Asha Venugopalan, Immigrant Integration Fellow
🗣[47:50] Soshee Shin, Immigrant Integration Fellow
🗣[55:58] Tsveta Dobreva, Immigrant Integration Fellow
► [1:04:18] Moderated Discussion
► [1:45:16] Closing Remarks
🗣 Dina Refki, Executive Director, Institute on Immigrant Integration Research and Policy
View the full speaker bios here.