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.