Local Discussion Group – Immigrant and Refugee Families

Since 2018, we have hosted a series of discussion groups devoted to:
1) processing issues related to the lived experiences of immigrant and refugee families in contemporary society,
2) sharing about current projects led by faculty and students in the department, and 3) building communal support to advance this important area of scholarship.

Discussion groups are open to everyone. No discussion groups are held during the summer. To join future discussion groups, please contact Dr. Cathy Solheim at csolheim@umn.edu or Dr. Jaime Ballard at jeballard@umn.edu.

2020-2021 Meeting Highlights:

Three immigrant community leaders shared their thoughts in a panel interview on wealth, resilience, relationships, and systemic stressors in immigrant families. Speakers included:

-Pamela Zeller of WISE,
-True Thao of True Thao Counseling, and
-Samira Sheikh of United Community Action Partnership – Marshall County

Each speaker shared their thoughts on the research team’s developing model and how they see these factors intersect in their community-based work with immigrants and refugees.

2019-2020 Meeting Highlights:

Michelle Rivero, Director of the Minneapolis Office of Immigrant & Refugee Affairs spoke to a crowded zoom room on the Legal System and Political Climate for Immigrant and Refugee Families.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Michelle-Rivero-1024x576.jpg

Photo of Michelle Rivero by David J. Turner,
https://www.macalester.edu/news/2020/01/welcome-to-minneapolis/

2018-2019 Meeting Highlights:

A heartfelt “thank you” to U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar who joined us in April 2019 to discuss immigration legislation and their effects on families in our local and national communities. As a member of Congress, Representative Omar discussed the landscape of policies at both state and federal levels, and the ways in which community-engaged research and practice can better support immigrant and refugee families today.

Dr. Jaime Ballard, Lekie Dwanyen, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Dr. Catherine Solheim, and Dr. Elizabeth Wieling after April 2019 event.

Lekie Dwanyen and Rep. Ilhan Omar discussing immigration legislation

We continue to be moved by this important conversation with Representative Ilhan Omar.

In addition,

We engaged in a rich discussion with Dr. Marina Aleixo and Dr. Nimo Abdi who both joined us in February 2019 to discuss their research on the school experiences of Somali immigrant and refugee youth in the European context.

We were also very fortunate to be joined by Dr. Jaime Ballard in November 2018 as she discussed her role as the Director of Community Engagement at Ramsey County Children’s Mental Health Collaborative, and her perspectives on engaging immigrant and refugee families in community-based initiatives.

Thank you to everyone who has and continues to join us for enriching conversations! We look forward to making more connections in the future.