On Sunday, December 11th, 2016, the Cities & Counties for Citizenship (CC4C) initiative hosted a powerful CC4C Municipal Gathering in Nashville, Tennessee that brought together 75 municipal and national leaders representing 42 cities and counties ranging geographically from Anchorage, Alaska to Atlanta, Georgia.
The CC4C Municipal Gathering, scheduled immediately prior to the kick-off of NPNA’s National Immigrant Integration Conference (NIIC), focused on the topics of naturalization, financial empowerment and immigrant integration. Cities and counties left the gathering feeling energized by new relationships built, grateful for the space to share ideas, and eager for 2017.
The CC4C Municipal Gathering included the following breakout discussions and speakers:
Breakout 1: “Integrating Financial Inclusion and Empowerment in Naturalization”
Speakers:
Pablo DeFilippi, Vice President of Membership and Business Development, National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions
Jessica Caloza, Policy Analyst, Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs
Eileen Auld, Citi Community Development
Madeline Cruz, Senior Financial Coach, The Resurrection Project
Breakout 2: “Naturalization and Immigrant Integration Practice and Policy at the Municipal and State Level”
Speakers:
Nisha Agarwal, Commissioner, New York City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs
Andrew Friedman, Co-Executive Director, Center for Popular Democracy
Mette Brogden, Deputy Director, Seattle’s Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs
Rich Stolz, Executive Director, OneAmerica, Seattle
Break Out 3: “Scaling Up: Strategies for Ramping Up Your City or County Naturalization Efforts”
Speakers:
Carol Leon, Outreach and Engagement Coordinator, Boston Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Advancement
Richard Whipple, Deputy Director, San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs
Liza Ryan, Director of Organizing, Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA)
Monica Fuentes, Director of Washington, D.C. Office, Welcoming America
Break Out 4: “Building Capacity: Training of Community Navigators and Partnerships with Legal Services”
Speakers:
Eréndira Rendón, Director of National Partnerships, The Resurrection Project
Richard André, NYCitizenship Program Manager, NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs
Diego Bonesatti, Director of Legal Services, Michigan United
Laura Tuell, Firmwide Pro Bono Counsel, Jones Day
CC4C Municipal Gathering Lunch Plenary
Speakers:
Laura Patching, Chief of the Office of Citizenship, U.S. Citizenship and Immigrant Services (USCIS)
Alejandro Celorio Alcántara, Head of Section – Hispanic and Migration Affairs, Embassy of Mexico
Rich Stolz, Executive Director, OneAmerica
Thank you to our sponsors and partners!
The CC4C Municipal Gathering was made possible by generous support from Citi Community Development and Jones Day. The funding support allowed 40 participants to receive the CC4C Municipal Scholarship valued at $800. The scholarship provided much needed support to participants who would not have been able to attend if it was not for the scholarship.
Additionally, the CC4C Municipal Gathering was successful due to the work of the CC4C Executive Committee and the CC4C Municipal Gathering Planning Committee which includes the offices of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Welcoming America, Local Progress, Cities for Action, National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions, Center for Popular Democracy (CPD), National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA), and Citi Community Development.