Webinars

PCC4Refugees hosts occasional webinars to educate our members and the general public on the status of refugee/immigrant programs and share ways individuals and groups can mobilize to help. Each of these webinars is recorded, with the recordings available here. Monthly informal networking conversations are not recorded.

Please note that the content of each webinar was accurate as of the date recorded. Some content may now be outdated.

Federal Advocacy on Behalf of Refugees, Asylees and Other Immigrants - April 8, 2025

On April 8, 2025, a special webinar was held on Federal Advocacy on behalf of Refugees, Asylees, and other Immigrants. Dan Kosten, Assistant Vice President of Policy and Advocacy at the National Immigration Forum, provided: an update on the status of Trump Administration policies, legal challenges to these policies, Congressional actions; ways to stay informed; and opportunities to influence these developments.

Serving the Educational Needs of New Immigrant Families - March 4, 2025

This webinar focuses on three broad areas of need: family literacy and early childhood education; English language instruction; and access to postsecondary education for economic advancement.

Speakers include:

  • Merritt Groeschel is Executive Director and Founder of Solutions in Hometown Connections (SHC), a nonprofit organization in Prince George’s County Maryland, whose multi-generational English language programs are designed to cater to vulnerable women with small children facing cultural obstacles, limited literacy, childcare constraints, and transportation difficulties.
  • Michael Morsches is the Dean of Learning Enrichment and College Readiness at Moraine Valley Community College in the Chicago suburbs. Among other responsibilities, he supervises the ESL and Intensive English Language programs that serve thousands of local immigrants. Michael has worked with refugees in Chicago, Yemen, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Jordan and Palestine, primarily in ESL and teacher education. He is a former Peace Corps Volunteer and a Language Specialist for the US State Department and the UNHCR.
  • Lynn Reddy is Associate Director, External and Executive Communications, Northern Virginia Community College, who has helped refugees gain admittance to and scholarships from postsecondary educational institutions.

 

Advocating at the State and Local Level - February 12, 2025

This webinar includes an overview of state and local policies affecting new immigrants and feature strategies that work in building support for the desired policies.

Speakers include:

  • Josh Utter, RPCV and State and Local Advocacy Officer for Global Refuge
  • Michael Kiernan, Media and Communications Consultant
  • Sarah LaBounty, RPCVs of Colorado

See Global Refuge’s State and Local Advocacy Toolkit and the February 7, 2025 Legislative Bulletin from National Immigration Forum.

Know Your Rights - January 28, 2025

Significant changes in immigration policy are already happening under the new administration.  The Peace Corps Community for Refugees (PCC4Refugees) urges RPCVs to educate themselves on the legal rights for new immigrants and learn about ways in which they can help new immigrants navigate the new policy environment and advocate on their behalf.

In this webinar, Robert A Remes, a Washington DC-based immigration and nationality lawyer with 47 years of experience, and Oscar Sarabia Roman, Staff Attorney with the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, offered a primer on the legal rights of immigrants, suggested ways you can help immigrants in your communities, and answered questions.

For more information on resources and information regarding current and recent changes in immigration policy, click here.

Read our blog post highlighting eight take-aways from this webinar.

Showcase highlighting RPCV and RPCV group activities supporting refugees - December 11, 2024

PCC4Refugees showcased the important ways RPCVs and RPCV organizations are already engaged in refugee-related activities. Please click here to tell us what you are doing so that we can make others aware of your efforts.
Presenters included:
  • Chris MacCormack on the RPCVs of Gulf Coast Florida’s tutoring project
  • Kate Schachter on RPCVs of Wisconsin-Madison’s refugee-related funding-raising activities
  • John Berry on the Seattle Area Peace Corps Association’s (SEAPAX) partnership with World Relief Western Washington to prepare community garden plots for local refugees and immigrant families
  • Jon Martin and Kathy Sheppard on Connecticut RPCVs hosting refugees through Welcome Corps
  • Jessica Drier on a group of RPCVs and others in the Washington DC area hosting refugees through Welcome Corps.
  • Anne Baker on volunteering with Homes Not Borders to help set up apartments for refugees in Northern Virginia

 

Advocacy Forum to review refugee-related legislation - November 18, 2024

The PCC4Refugees Advocacy Team will host an Advocacy Forum to review important refugee-related legislation that needs to be included in Congress’ ‘end-of-year’ lame duck sessions.  Staff of some refugee organizations and staff of some key legislators will share how legislation that has floundered in Congress without results during the past year could be attached to essential legislation for passage before the end of 2024.  We need to help push key legislators in Congress for their support and action.

 

Welcoming Refugees - September 26, 2024

Welcoming Refugees: A Guide to Volunteer and Employment Opportunities for the Peace Corps Community.” This online guide provides a wealth of information and links to online resources that you can use to learn about refugees, the systems that serve them, and explore volunteer opportunities for engagement ranging from options that require no more than a one-time commitment of a few hours to ones that may require a more sustained commitment of time and resources. It also provides information on opportunities for refugee-related paid employment.

 

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