Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees - GCIR

English language proficiency is fundamental to immigrant integration, yet the current demand for English instruction far exceeds the existing supply in virtually every community across the country. How can immigrant advocates and funders effectively communicate newcomers' desire to learn English and the need for increased investment in language instruction? Does the general public think immigrants want to learn English? Would they support increased funding for ESL?

Join grantmaking colleagues for a one-hour teleconference briefing with pollster, Celinda Lake, to learn about her latest poll findings. Hear from Karen Narasaki of the Asian American Justice Center about how these poll findings can inform efforts to expand ESL instruction. Discuss the implications of these findings and what the philanthropic sector can do to promote increased investment in English language instruction as a vehicle for successful integration. This poll was funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Kindly RSVP for this teleconference with Amanda Graves of GCIR via email at amanda@gcir.org or by phone at 707.824.4374 by Friday, July 18th to receive the call-in information. When confirming your participation, please provide your email address. We will be sending meeting materials to you one day prior to the call.

Speakers:

• Celinda Lake, president of Lake Research Partners, is a pollster and political strategist for Democrats and progressives. Recently, she worked for Senator Joe Biden's presidential bid and has helped lead several candidates, including Jon Tester and Jerry McNerney, to victories over incumbents. She has also focused on women candidates, working for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Governor Janet Napolitano, and Senator Debbie Stabenow. With Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway, Celinda co-authored What Women Really Want, an examination of the way women are changing the political landscape in America.
• Karen Narasaki is executive director and president of the Asian American Justice Center, whose mission is to advance the human and civil rights of Asian-Americans through advocacy, public policy, public education, and litigation. One of the nation's experts on voting rights, immigration and immigrant rights, and race relations, Karen serves in a number of leadership positions in the civil rights and immigrant rights communities. Before joining AAJC, she was the Washington, D.C. Representative for the Japanese American Citizens League; a corporate attorney at Perkins Coie in Seattle, Washington; and a law clerk to Judge Harry Pregerson on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Los Angeles. She is a graduate, magna cum laude, of Yale University and Order of the Coif, of the UCLA School of Law.