States Lay the Foundation 2023 Summit

In the fourth installment of the legislative summit series, States Lay the Foundation, the Refugee Advocacy Lab and the International Rescue Committee celebrated and shared a roadmap of policy successes that ensure refugees and immigrants are welcomed and included into their new communities. This year's virtual summit brought together state legislators and technical experts to amplify the policies that state leaders have advanced that help to integrate refugee and immigrant communities, safeguard equitable access to education, and address the barriers to professional licensing that uniquely impact refugees and other new Americans.

Bipartisan legislators from across the United States underscored the unique social and political context of their state and how it contributes to variations in their policies' content and advocacy tactics. Attendees had and continue to have direct access to correlating policy resources and guides as well as technical support to replicate such measures within their own states and communities.

Speakers:

Flora Alexander, Global Advocacy & Influence, Vice President, IRC

Piper Perabo, IRC Ambassador

Genevieve Kessler, State Advocacy, Director, IRC; State Strategy Lead, Refugee Advocacy Lab

Jordan D. Teuscher, Utah House of Representatives

Ghazala Hashmi, Virginia State Senator

Nader Sayegh, New York Assemblyman

Darius Brown, Delaware State Senator

Karina Villa, Illinois State Senator

Steve Kaiser, Arizona State Senator

Nima Kulkarni, Kentucky House of Representatives