Registration

Event Description

Please note that this program has shifted from hybrid to fully virtual. All registered participants will receive a zoom link regardless of how they initially registered. If you have any questions, please contact monica@socalgrantmakers.org. 

A series created for funders to learn, experience, and build strategies to organize resources in support of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.  

In this first session of a three-part series to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and advocacy taking place at the Southern border, grantmakers and leaders in the philanthropic sector will be introduced to accessible data tools. This hands-on educational session convenes two leading university-based data centers conducting research analysis on emerging trends in immigration impacting affected communities.

Join us to:

  • Understand how to use accessible data tools.
  • Understand the hard data/ profile of Southern border immigration.
  • Leverage community learning to advocate for more impactful/ effective humanitarian/ policy interventions for Southern border immigration issues.
     

Speakers

Smiling

Dr. Thai V. Le

Research Scientist, USC Dornsife Equity Research Institute (ERI)

Dr. Thai V. Le (he/him) is a Research Scientist at the Equity Research Institute where he leads and supports research projects on immigrant inclusion and racial justice. As a mixed-methods researcher, Dr. Le utilizes statistical models, survey analyses, ethnographic practices, and spatial tools to study a range of issues, including naturalization outcomes, regressive and discriminatory local financing practices, the digital divide, emotional justice, and burnout among public sector workers. In uplifting social equity and intersectionality, his research also disaggregates data to elevate the narratives of marginalized and minoritized communities.

Dr. Le’s previous work examines the diverging pathways to citizenship and immigrant inclusion in the United States and extrapolates the multiplicative effects of racialized and gendered barriers within immigrant communities, earning him the Henry Reining Jr. Best Dissertation in Public Policy and Management Award. His postdoctoral work takes a mixed-methods approach in exploring the policy landscape and demographic shifts in California to identify strategies to improve the state’s future of immigrant inclusion across economic, civic engagement, and warmth of welcome measures. He has authored op-eds in news outlets, like the OC Register and the Los Angeles Daily News, and has published in leading peer reviewed journals, including the International Migration Review Journal, Public Integrity Journal, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Government Information Quarterly, Academy of Management Proceedings, Urban Studies, Journal of Health Policy and Technology, and Public Personnel Management. Dr. Le’s research has been featured on various media platforms, such as LAist, Forbes, The Guardian, LA Weekly, and Vox.

In addition to producing research that contributes to positive social change, Dr. Le’s goal as an activist and scholar is to teach students, researchers, and community members foundational skills that will prepare them to advocate for a just society centering equity. Dr. Le earned his Ph.D. in Public Policy and Management from the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy.
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Margarita Luna, MSW, MPH, CPC SCG Member

Senior Program Manager, The California Endowment

Margarita Luna joined The California Endowment in June 2007. As Senior Program Manager for the South Region overseeing TCE’s Schools-related investments, Luna manages a grant portfolio focused on improving community health through quality, inclusive and equitable education via community engagement in policy/advocacy and systems change.

Prior to joining The Endowment, Luna served as a Pedro Zamora Fellow with AIDS United (formerly AIDS Action), Keck-Vivian Weinstein Child Advocacy Fellow and later Senior Social Worker for Public Counsel among many other positions advancing the health and well-being of the most disenfranchised.

Luna earned her B.A., M.P.H. and M.S.W. from UCLA. She is also a Certified Professional Coach and lives in San Dimas with her husband and two sons.
Jie Zong smiling standing outside

Jie Zong

Senior Research Analyst, UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute (LPPI)

Jie Zong began working as the Senior Research Analyst for LPPI in June 2022. She is responsible for managing the Latino Data Hub and supporting the development, management, and execution of LPPI’s research portfolio.

Previously, Jie worked extensively as a consultant with nonprofit and government organizations on projects related to Latino employment during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was also a policy analyst for the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, DC, where she provided quantitative research support across programs from 2014 to 2019. Her research areas include unauthorized immigration, integration of first- and second-generation immigrants, child development, and workforce development. Her work is widely cited by media outlets including the New York Times, NPR, El Universal, as well as government agencies including the White House and the Department of Homeland Security.

Jie has a strong interest in advancing public policy for the well-being of the Latino community based on applied research. She holds an MPA from the New York University’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and a BA in Economics from the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing.

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