About the Collaborative
The Im/migrant Well-Being Scholar Collaborative is a network of researchers, centers, and institutes working together to translate research on the lived experiences of im/migrants and their communities for impact in national policymaking.
Why Well-Being?
Well-being has been identified by organizations such as the CDC, NIH, and UN as a critical concept for both creating public policies and analyzing their impact. Elevating research on the social, emotional, relational, economic, psychological, and physical well-being of im/migrants explicitly addresses the needs of peoples excluded in contemporary empirical and policy-making approaches and benefits everyone.
Steering Committee
Elizabeth Aranda
University of South Florida
Co-Chair
Elizabeth Vaquera
George Washington University
Co-Chair
Trey Johnston
George Washington University
Director
Organizers
Johanna Cajina
George Washington University
Communications Lead
Thomas J. Rachko, Jr.
George Washington University
Policy Lead
Liz Ventura Molina
University of South Florida
Research Development Lead
Annabelle Manzo
George Washington University
Policy Associate
Alexis Reynoso
George Washington University
Communications Associate
Marko Sánchez
George Washington University
Communications Intern
Mia Portillo
George Washington University
Communications Intern
Frequently Ask Questions
What do we mean by well-being?
We follow organizations such as the CDC, NIH, and UN in defining well-being broadly to encompass social,emotional, relational, economic, psychological, and physical aspects, and as a critical concept for both creating public policies and analyzing their impact. We see well-being as a global mission that explicitly addresses the needs of peoples excluded in contemporary empirical and policy-making approaches. Thus, any scholar who conducts empirical work that addresses some aspect of the well-being of im/migrants in the United States and that is relevant for public policy decision-making is an excellent candidate for membership in The Collaborative!
What are the requirements for membership?
To join the Collaborative, a scholar submit a piece that translates some aspect of their research that is relevant to im/migrant well-being into policy recommendations or presents their findings to the general public that can be published with the Collaborative. This can take the form of a policy brief, an op-ed, or some other type of short publication. Scholars will have the option of directly publishing their piece on the Collaborative website or, in the case of op-eds, working with our team to seek publication in another venue in concert with the Collaborative.
The steering committee is happy to consult with prospective members about which publication avenue to pursue and what aspect of their research they would like to focus on for their piece submission.
To maintain membership in good standing, scholar affiliates are expected to contribute at least one piece per year. We encourage members to collaborate with one another on pieces that bridge their research!
What are the benefits of membership?
-Opportunities like trainings are free of charge
-Support placing work
-Opportunities to have your work used on Capitol Hill
-Network of future collaborators and supporters
-Priority registration for the biannual Conference on Im/migrant Well-Being
Who can I contact to learn more?
We invite you to email us at admin@iwbcollab.org
Institutional Partners
The Collaborative is currently supported through resources from the GW Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute and the USF Im/migrant Well-Being Research Center. Additional organizations that are interested in becoming affiliates of the Collaborative can contact the team at admin@iwbcollab.org.
