Empowering Immigrant Neighbors Part II: Agenda for Action

Date
Thursday, March 31, 2011

Time
8:30 am-7:30pm

Location
St. John’s University, Queens Campus
D’Angelo Center, Rooms 416 A&B

Sponsored By:
St. John’s University’s Committee on Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS)

In conjunction with
Touro College and The Office of the Provost, St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, The School of Education, The Office of Multicultural Affairs, Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and Sigma Iota Alpha Sorority, Inc.

and

The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO)

Empowering our Immigrant Neighbors Part II: Agenda for Action
Thursday, March 31, 2011
8 -8:30    a.m. - Registration and Breakfast

8:30-9:10 a.m. - Welcoming Remarks

Diane S. Hergenrother, Ed.D.
Associate Provost for Academic Planning & Resource Management, St. John's University

Introduction to Conference
Alina Camacho-Gingerich, Ph.D.
Chair of St. John’s University’s CLACS

Distinguished Remarks
Hon. Felix Augustine
Consul General of Haiti in New York

Hon. Geneive Brown Metzger
Consul General of Jamaica in New York

Hon. Carol Delgado
Consul General of Venezuela in New York

A.M. Gondane, Ph.D.
Deputy Consul General of the Consulate of India

Maria Alejandra Costa
Vice Consul of the Consulate General of Uruguay

Isabel Padilla
Director of the Cultural Department of the Dominican Republic Consulate in New York

Adriana Ximena Belalcazar Peña
Business Affairs for the Consul General of Colombia in New York

9:10 - 10 a.m. - Keynote Speaker
Commissioner Fatima A. Shama
Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs

10 - 10:15 a.m. - Presentation
Clover Hall, Ed.D., St. John's University, Vice President of Institutional Research and Academic Planning
“Who are We? A Demographic Portrait of the Immigrant Population”

10:15 - 10:30 a.m. - Coffee Break

10:30 - 11:45 a.m. - Panel One
“Empowering Immigrant Students: Promising School Practices”
Organizer and Chair: Yvonne Pratt-Johnson, Ed.D., St. John's University, School of Education

  • Frank Le Veness, Ph.D., St. John’s University, Government and Politics: “Puerto Rican Immigration to New York City.”
  • Dolores Beckham, Ed.D., Principal of Joseph Pulitzer School, Jackson Heights, Queens, NY
  • Michelle Budion, Coordinator of English Languages Learners, Copiague School District, Copiague, NY
  • Sandra Ray, Parent Coordinator at Public School 33, Queens, NY

11:45 - 12:45 p.m. - Panel Two
“Press Coverage of National and Local Immigration Concerns”
Organizer and Chair: Natalie Byfield, Ph.D., St. John’s University, Sociology and Anthropology

  • Laura Wides-Muñoz, Associated Press, Hispanic Affairs Writer
  • Albor Ruiz, Columnist, New York Daily News
  • Julio Paredes, Lifestyle Editor, El Diario/La Prensa
  • Arun Venugopal, India Abroad

12:45 - 1:30 p.m. - Lunch Break

1:30 - 2:30 p.m. - Panel Three

“Psychological Strategies to Encourage Resilience in our Immigrants”
Organizer and Chair: Rafael Art. Javier, Ph.D., St. John's University, Department of Psychology, Director of Postgraduate Professional Programs

  • Frank R. Solano, Ph.D., Director, Puerto Rican Family Institute, New Jersey: “A Puerto Rican Immigrant and the Nuyoricans: Political Power for the Community”
  • Hawthorne Smith, Ph.D., Clinical Director- Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture: “Needed - Not Just Needy: Empowerment as a Tool in the Treatment of Survivors of Torture”
  • Grace Wong, Ph.D., Psychologist at South Beach Psychiatric Center: “Current Issues Working with Asian Patients: Childrearing Issues with Fuzhounese Patients from China”
  • Ernesto Mujica, Ph.D., Supervisor of Psychotherapy,William Alanson White Institute for Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis and Psychology:“Strengthening Resilience in Immigrants Who Present With Dissociative Features Related to Acculturation Stress and PTSD”

2:30 - 3:30 p.m. - Panel Four
“Immigrants’ Activism in Adversarial Times”
Organizer(s) and Chair(s): Roberta Villalón, Ph.D., Sociology and Anthropology; and Elaine Carey, Ph.D., History, St. John's University

  • Ashook Ramsaran, Executive Vice President, The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO International): “Challenges and Opportunities Facing Immigrants of Indian Origin from the Caribbean in the USA.”
  • Evelyn Schlatter, Southern Poverty Law Center: “Border Skirmishes: The Latest Surge in Anti-immigrant Activity”
  • Kathleen Coll, Stanford University: “Dignidad, respeto, reconocimiento: Latina Immigrant Activism and Cultural Citizenship in San Francisco, California”
  • Silvia Domínguez, Northeastern University: “Social Flow: How Immigrants Get Ahead”

3:30 - 3:45 p.m. - Coffee Break

3:45 - 4:45 p.m. - Panel Five

“The Experience of St. John’s University’s Immigrant Students”
Chair: Shirley P. Cisneros, Graduate Research Assistant, St. John’s University

  • Felipe Alfaya
  • Erez Bar-Levy
  • Shirley P. Cisneros
  • John Cruz
  • Miguel Valerio
  • Vivian Vescovacci
  • Brittany Wilkinson

4:45 - 6:30 p.m. - Documentary
“Abused: The Postville Raid”
Q & A with Director, Luis Argueta

6:30 - 6:45 p.m. - Special Remarks
Louis Primavera, Ph.D.
Dean of Graduate Psychology and Dean of Health Sciences at Touro College

6:45 p.m. - Closing Remarks
Michael Wolfe, Ph.D.
Associate Dean,
Graduate Division of Arts and Sciences, St. John’s University

7 p.m. - Wine and Cheese Reception

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