The Cisneros Center for New Americans, a nonpartisan, non-profit institution founded by Henry Cisneros, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Bill Clinton, focused on immigrant integration and improving access to avenues of opportunity for immigrants, today announced the appointment of its first “American Dream Fellows.” The three Fellows will be a part of the Center’s nationally based operations and programs that will carry out two principle strategies: identifying and promoting immigration integration best practices, as well as, instilling a sense of urgency about education. The three American Dream Fellows to the Center’s inaugural program are scheduled to begin work this fall in Northwest Arkansas.
The three Fellows, chosen from a field of over seventy applicants from across the U.S., underwent an extensive interview process, including a group exercise and individual interviews by a panel of distinguished San Antonio educators, community leaders and Center staff.
Jennifer Aguirre, Houston, Texas; Jacob Perry, Fayetteville, Arkansas; and Jessica Boyd, Little Rock Arkansas are the three American Dream Fellows. Perry and Boyd are both University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service graduates, each receiving a Master of Public Service degree. They will all undergo extensive training this summer in San Antonio and in Arkansas at the University of Arkansas before their assignment to Northwest Arkansas. The Fellows will spend one year working to empowering immigrants as they strive to fully integrate into American Society. They will harness the collective knowledge and expertise of their fellow practitioners and leverage partnerships with key civic, academic, and corporate stakeholders. The Center will equip these motivated young professionals to be their nation’s “boots on the ground” in communities as they work to catalog, articulate and help address the gaps and barriers that keep immigrant communities and families from achieving the American Dream.
The expectancy the Cisneros Center will have for the program is to develop, with all its partners, guidelines to help new immigrants understand the journey to achieving their “American Dream.” The hope is to accomplish this through English language training, promoting higher education, building financial capability, promoting health and family wellbeing, along with community engagement and commitment. Through these ideals, there will be successful integration and empowerment for new Americans
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