By Steve Gilliam , University Relations
Contact: (336) 334-5371
Posted 4-23-07
GREENSBORO, NC - The Second Biennial Conference on New Immigrant Realities is set for April 27-28 at the UNCG Associated Campus Ministries Building.
Sponsored by UNCG’s Center for New North Carolinians, the event includes presentations and seminars by UNCG faculty members and community-based professionals who are experts on current research and on-the-ground realities concerning North Carolina’s immigrants.
One conference highlight is the April 27 presentation of the Sister Gretchen Award by Dr. Laura Sims, dean of UNCG’s School of Human Environmental Sciences. The award honors Sister Gretchen Reintjes, its first recipient. Reintjes, a human services advocate for Triad area refugees and immigrants, was lauded in 2001 for obtaining health and dental services for Montagnard children.
The 2002-03 award went to Phramaha Somsak Sambimb, the Greensboro Buddhist Center’s senior abbot; the 2004-05 award went to Omer Omer, director of the African Services Coalition , recognized for using his diplomatic abilities with diverse African immigrant communities and American service providers. Omer, Sambimb and Reintjes all were AmeriCorps Cross-Cultural Education Service System (ACCESS) members in the late1990s.
CNNC is a vital cross-cultural community resource that builds bridges among North Carolina’s immigrants and existing communities by providing outreach and educational programming, research and evaluation, information services, technical support and immigrant and refugee leadership development.
The event is free and open to the public, but its organizers ask that you register in advance for Friday’s lunch.
Dr. Raleigh Bailey, UNCG CNNC director, launches the event at 9 a.m. April 27, followed by presentations by AmeriCorps ACCESS members who’ll speak on “More Than Words: Serving North Carolina’s Immigrants and Refugees.”
Morning concurrent sessions, which run from 10:45 until 12:30 p.m., include “Critical Issues and Immigrant Research: Tensions and Possibilities.” That session’s presenters are CNNC research fellows and UNCG faculty members Drs. Cinthya Saavedra, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Sharon Morrison, Department of Public Health and José Villalba, School of Education.
The simultaneous session, “Politics of Interpretation,” includes Andrea Arias Soto, representing the Center for Participatory Change in Asheville and Abdullahi Sheikh Abdullahi, director of Cross Cultural Resources in Charlotte. Both presenters are CNNC professional corps research fellows.
Friday’s panel discussion topic is “Social Networks and Immigrant Research.” Presenters include CNNC board member and research fellow Omer Omer, who also directs Greensboro’s African Services Coalition. His topic is “The Africans: They are Here!”
Also presenting from UNCG are Drs. Lauren Haldeman, Department of Nutrition, who will address “Nutrition in Transition: How Immigrants and Communities Culturally Adapt” and Kittichai (Tu) Watchravesringkan, Department of Consumer Apparel and Retail Studies, whose topic is "Exploring Characteristics of Immigrant Small Business Entrepreneurs." Both are CNNC research fellows.
Saturday’s session, which runs from 9:45 a.m. to noon is “Emerging Leaders Can Empower and Improve Their Community” by Andrea Arias Soto and Dr. H. Nolo Martinez, CNNC assistant director.
CNNC research fellows are academics and community professionals whose community-based projects study, analyze and disseminate social science research related to immigrants’ integration process in North Carolina.
Research fellows also provide peer critiques and participate in planning, feedback sessions and conferences, as well as disseminate their research results through additional publications and presentations. Most fellows are Professional Corps participants in CNNC’s AmeriCorps ACCESS Project, which provides sustainability consultation to its community partner organizations.
2006-07 Research Fellows (• indicates a Professional Corps appointee).
Haldeman, Lauren, faculty, UNCG Department of Nutrition, Greensboro, lahaldem@uncg.edu
Sandercock, Tara, vice president, Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro, Tsandercock@cfgg.org
Watchravesringkan, Kittichai (“Tu”), faculty, UNCG Department of Consumer Apparel and Retail Studies, Greensboro, k_watchr@uncg.edu
• Benton, Jehan, community investment specialist, United Way, Greensboro, jehan.benton@unitedwaygso.org
• Latham, Art, editor, NC Cooperative Extension, NC State University, Raleigh, tecolotl@gmail.com
• Martínez, Karen, family literacy coordinator, United Child Development Services, Greensboro, karen@GuilfordChildDev.org
• Morrison, Sharon, faculty, UNCG Department of Public Health Education, Greensboro, sdmorri2@uncg.edu
• Nsonwu, Maura, faculty, UNCG Department of Social Work, Greensboro, mbnsonwu@uncg.edu
• Omer, Omer, director, African Services Coalition, Greensboro, omeromer@bellsouth.net
• Saavedra, Cynthia, professor, UNCG Department of Human Development and Families, Greensboro, CMSAAVED@uncg.edu
• Sheikh, Abdullahi, director, Cross Cultural Resources, Charlotte, abdullahsheikh@hotmail.com
• Soto, Yaira Andrea Arias, staff, Center for Participatory Change, Asheville, andrea@cpcwnc.org
• Villalba, José, faculty, UNCG School of Education, Greensboro, javillal@uncg.edu.
