In commemoration of its inaugural year, the Im/migrant Well-Being Scholar Collaborative proudly reflects on a year of impactful initiatives that advance immigrant well-being. Established following the first “Im/migrant Well-Being" conference, the Collaborative champions critical issues surrounding immigrant well-being through a multifaceted approach.
In the past year, the Collaborative achieved notable milestones:
Scholar Empowerment: In collaboration with the Scholars Strategy Network, the Collaborative facilitated five hands-on training sessions expending the toolkits of over 125 scholars. These workshops covered topics from "Connecting and Building Relationships with Policy Makers” to “Op-ed Writing and Pitching.”
Membership Expansion: Drawing interest from immigration scholars nationwide, the Collaborative expanded its membership base and grew its social media presence (follow us on X: @iwbcollab).
Academic Contributions: Noteworthy contributions include the publication of a two-part special issue on im/migrant well-being in the peer-reviewed journal American Behavioral Scientist. Additionally, Dr. Aranda’s Im/migrant Lives podcast disseminated cutting-edge research and grassroots initiatives to a broader audience, fostering informed discourse on immigrant issues.
Policy Fellowship: In February, with special guest speaker Rep. Linda Sanchez providing introductory remarks, the Collaborative spotlighted our policy fellows’ research at a briefing attended by over 100 Congressional staffers and community organization stakeholders.
Media Engagement: Our team published numerous op-eds in outlets like the San Diego Union Tribune, Dallas Morning News, El Paso Matters and Tampa Bay Times citing and elevating the empirical research of our scholar affiliates.
Sustainable Growth: In an effort to continue to sustain the efforts of the Collaborative, we hired, Thomas J. Rachko, Jr., who has worked with us for the past year as a research-to-policy implementation specialist and will serve the Collaborative and Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute as a Translational Research Manager beginning in July.
Looking ahead, the Collaborative hopes to expand its impact, forging new partnerships and advancing innovative evidence-informed policy to address the challenges faced by immigrant populations.
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