Immigrants / Refugees

Our work with refugees began with Jo Anne’s award winning PhD dissertation on refugee resettlement for Eastern European and Soviet Jewish refugees.  The research found that using connections to find work and strategies to help refugees both learn the culture of their new society while maintaining their home culture worked best to integrate refugees into the U.S.  Focusing on highly educated professionals (lawyers. doctors, engineers, etc.) and skilled workers (carpenters, electricians, etc.), our work identified strategies that helped individuals and families use their skills in a new land.  This research was translated into designs for refugee resettlement programs in Philadelphia and workforce development programs for refugees at Institute for the Study of Civic Values (ISCV). In December 2015, we participated in a consultative session on the European refugee crisis sponsored by the Global Young Academy called Fresh Eyes on the Refugee Crisis, sharing practical and research insights to develop policy documents and model programs.