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Keeping the Dream Alive Division of Student Affairs

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Annual Keeping the Dream Alive Conference

Friday, March 10 & Saturday, March 11, 2023

This year, the conference will be held virtually on Friday, March 10, and Saturday, March 11, 2023.

Anual Keeping the Dream Alive 2023

Conference Overview

Through the sharing of knowledge, expertise, and emerging practices, the Annual Keeping the Dream Alive Conference enables educators, practitioners, and other professionals to become agents of change in their respective institutions and continue advancing the success of undocumented students and students from mixed-status families. This year’s theme, The Power of UndocuDiversity: Tracing New Approaches to Promote Empowerment, highlights the rich diversity among undocumented and mixed-status family students in the United States. While these students share the experience of living with undocumented status, they possess multiple intersecting identities, come from varying backgrounds, and pursue different academic and professional trajectories. Additionally, varying state policies across the country contribute to divergent academic, professional, and work-related challenges that further diversify these students’ experiences as well as their needs for support.

Meet the KDA Team

Agenda at a Glance

All listed times are Pacific Standard Time (PST). All sessions will be transmitted via Zoom, and live captions and transcriptions will be available. Requests for additional accommodations can be made during registration.

Agenda at a Glance

Day 1 (March 10) Conference Program

8:00 – 10:30 am, PST

Enter the General Session

General Session Day 1: Conference Welcome, Opening Keynote Speaker, & Expert Panel: Serving UndocuDiversity

Join us for the official conference welcome! Organizers will provide an overview of the conference and program outline, review the procedures for accessing sessions, requesting technical support, and more. Dr. Robert S. Nelsen, President of Sacramento State, will deliver Welcome Remarks. Daniela Barcenas will introduce Ju Hong, who will deliver the Opening Keynote Address. Dr. Kristina Victor Flores will then moderate the Expert Panel.

Opening Keynote Speaker | 8:30 – 9:20 am, PST

Ju Hong – Director of the Dreamer Resource Center at UCLA

Ju holds over a decade of experience in the immigrant rights movement. In 2013, Ju challenged President Obama on his administration’s record number of deportations during a presidential speech at the Betty Ong Center in San Francisco. Ju also contributed to and published immigration articles in the Huffington Post, Korea Times, and Politico. Ju currently serves as board chair of the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC), a nonprofit that organizes Korean and Asian Americans for social, economic, and racial justice. He is also a member of the Leadership Council of Immigrants Rising, an organization that provides educational, professional, psychological, and other resources and supports to undocumented people. Ju also brings awareness to the unique stories of Asian undocumented individuals living in the United States through his podcast, the ImmigrAsians.

Expert Panel: Serving UndocuDiversity | 9:30 – 10:20 am, PST

The expert panel, Serving UndocuDiversity, brings together individuals with expertise in administration, education, community organizing, and mental health to discuss the diverse challenges faced by undocumented and mixed-status family students, as well as identify what can be done—and needs to be done—to support them in the years ahead. Panelists will discuss various topics, including psychological well-being, the resilience of immigrant youth, activism and coalition building, and raising awareness for our diverse immigrant students and families.

Panelists:

  • Shirleen Achieng, Immigrant Rights Organizer and Consultant for the Beyond Liberation Collective. She has helped coordinate and develop advocacy campaigns to raise awareness of the plight of Black immigrants through community outreach and coalition-building with partner organizations.
  • Germán Cadenas, Assistant Professor of Counseling Psychology at Lehigh University, Pennsylvania, where his research focuses broadly on the psychology of undocumented immigrants, including their sociopolitical activism, educational outcomes, career development, and psychological well-being.
  • Maria Ferrera, Associate Professor at DePaul University, Illinois, and Co-Director of the Center for Community Health Equity at DePaul University. She has served for over 20 years as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in child welfare and medical social work. She continues to do work in Filipino American and other immigrant communities.
  • Jennifer Kam, Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Communication at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB). She is also a Faculty Affiliate with the Chicano Studies Institute and the Migration Initiative at UCSB. Her research and support activities focus on the stress, coping, and resilience of immigrant youth.

Moderator: Dr. Kristina Victor Flores, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Sacramento State

10:30 – 11:20 am, PST - Breakout Session 1

Partnering to Protect Immigrant Communities: How Community Organizations Collaborate to Support Immigrant Families

Time: 10:30 – 11:20 am, PST
Focus: Building Policy Solutions

Clarisa Reyes-Becerra, Nilsen Gomez-Tabal, & Alfredo Rivas Gomez
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation & The FUEL Network

Immigration attorneys and advocates will provide an overview of current immigration policies affecting undocumented students and their families and discuss how these policies impact the diverse immigrant communities their organizations serve. The California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation provides free legal representation to immigrants in California's rural regions, including the Central Valley and Central Coast. The FUEL Network, a coalition of over 50 local non-profits, religious organizations, law school immigration clinics, businesses, local pro bono attorneys, educators, and other community partners, is dedicated to serving the legal, informational, and health needs of Sacramento’s immigrant and refugee population. Together, advocates from these organizations will discuss their experiences and how others can bring similar coalitions to their communities.

Renew your DACA for Free: Introducing a Self-Help Online Tool

Time: 10:30 – 11:20 am, PST
Focus: New Resources and Best Practices

Elias Mendoza & Jorge De La Cruz
Mendoza Immigration

With a two-year renewal requirement, DACA recipients continue to pay high fees to renew their permits. In addition, most Dreamers continue to seek professional help from attorneys, and sometimes non-attorneys, to file their renewals and concurrent work authorization. While we can’t control the U.S. government’s filing fees, we can support Dreamers by eliminating the cost of completing a DACA renewal packet. This session will introduce the audience to a freely available self-help tool developed by Elias Mendoza and his team at Mendoza Immigration, which allows DACA recipients to renew their DACA and work permit easily. The tool is available on the law firm’s website (www.mendozaimmigration.com) and was designed deliberately to help Dreamers save money by not having to seek support from legal professionals. Audience members will become familiar with the tool and have opportunities to ask questions.

Putting on your Undocu-Lens: How to Advocate for Undocumented Students in Higher Education

Time: 10:30 – 11:20 am, PST
Focus: Expanding Advocacy Practices and Solutions

Ariana Aparicio Aguilar, Sarah Kim, & Arabi Hassan
University of California Riverside

This workshop will explore ways to advocate for undocumented students entering and navigating higher education. The presenters will highlight how different forms of advocacy, such as advising, mentoring, resource creation, policy advocacy, research, and scholarship, can collectively help bring institutional and state-level change for undocumented students. Using case studies from collaborative work with the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration; Immigrants Rising; First Gen Empower, and the Higher Ed Portal, the presenters will highlight the importance of collaborating with allies from diverse spaces to expand the collective capacity to support undocumented students. Audience members will (a) learn about applying the “undocu-lens” in their area of practice (e.g., how does a particular program, policy, or issue apply to undocumented students?); (b) highlight organizations and initiatives working to make educational and professional opportunities accessible for undocumented students; (c) gain a “toolkit” of advocacy – actionable strategies to support undocumented students’ access to higher education and professional opportunities. All student leaders, instructors, staff members, and campus administrators interested in learning how to advocate for undocumented students in their personal and professional capacities are welcome to this interactive session, which will include activities and small group break-out sessions.

11:30 am – 12:00 pm, PST

Break

12:00 – 12:50 pm, PST - Breakout Session 2

Undocumented Student Success: How California’s State Funding Opened the Door for Support

Time: 12:00 – 12:50 pm, PST
Focus: Building Policy Solutions

Marisela Hernandez
Foundation for California Community Colleges

In recent years, California has taken bold steps by passing legislation supporting undocumented students in accessing higher education. These significant investments have paved the way for greater open dialogues about this special student population across the state. This conference session will highlight the timeline, legislation, and state budget contributions colleges can use to change their campus culture for undocumented communities. Additionally, the session will highlight recent collaborative efforts by the Foundation for California Community Colleges and the Chancellor’s Office, such as the Immigration Legal Services, the CCC UndocuLiaison Network, and the Undocumented Student Support eHandbook. Audience members will walk away with a greater understanding of the development and possibilities of expanding supportive policies and resources for students impacted by undocumented status.

To the Undocumented College Students Who Never Were: A Call to Engage with K-12

Time: 12:00 – 12:50 pm, PST
Focus: Expanding Advocacy Practices and Solutions

Aldo Cruz Vazquez & Gerson Cortes Palacios
UndocuScholars LLC

Many undocumented students drop out of college before they graduate high school, which means that college-level staff engages with only a fraction of undocumented students who made it past the first institutional barrier: Enrollment. This anthropologically informed presentation touches on the Culture of Distrust that drives low enrollment and retention and calls for the purposeful engagement of immigrant families before they conclude that college is not for their children. Here, we will share strategies to create cultural interventions at the high school level in collaboration with crucial college departments, including Outreach, Financial Aid, Admissions, and Career Center. Ultimately, this session highlights the need to learn how to address long-standing misconceptions, fears, and cultural-institutional barriers that prevent undocumented families from pursuing higher education.

UndocuGrads: Building Equity in Graduate School for Undocumented Students

Time: 12:00 – 12:50 pm, PST
Focus: Diverse Contexts of Undocumented Experiences

Rachel Freeman-Wong & Kevin Escudero
Brown University

An estimated 454,000 undocumented students in the United States pursue higher education, of which 10% (45,400) are enrolled in graduate school programs. This session discusses the unique experiences of undocumented students pursuing graduate school. We will synthesize findings from extant research on the barriers students face, as well as our own experiences working with graduate students as a former faculty fellow for Brown University’s Undocumented, First Generation, and Low-Income Student Center and the Director of Strategy and Outreach for My Undocumented Life blog. We will also share resources about opportunities to attend graduate school and lead a discussion with participants about their experiences navigating graduate school and/or working with undocumented graduate students. Finally, we will discuss the launching of a nationwide survey during the summer of 2023 to better understand undocumented students’ experiences in graduate school and ways that colleges/universities might support them in their endeavors.

1:00 – 2:00 pm, PST

Enter the General Session

General Session Day 1: Featured Speaker & Overview of Day 2

This session will wrap up on the first day of the conference. Co-chairs Basia Ellis and Kim Gomez will provide an overview of Day 2. Rosa Salamanca will introduce Tobore Oweh, who will deliver the Featured Speaker address.

Featured Speaker | 1:00 – 1:50 pm, PST

Tobore Oweh – Entrepreneur and Business Owner, The Petal Effect
Tobore Oweh is a creative entrepreneur born in Lagos, Nigeria. She migrated to America with her family at age seven and settled in Maryland, where she graduated high school in 2006 at the age of 15. Due to her undocumented status and lack of access to financial aid, Tobore did not attend college. In 2011, she began researching forms of design that didn't require a college degree and quickly discovered floral and event design. Determined to achieve her design dreams, Tobore ventured into the industry as a freelancer before launching The Petal Effect, a floral design company. Tobore has partnered with major companies, including LinkedIn and Twitter. Her work sheds light on the complexities of being an undocumented black woman. Tobore hopes to inspire the undocumented and immigrant communities to use their obstacles as a weapon to conquer the world because “no human being is illegal, and everyone deserves a chance at a better life.”

2:00 – 3:00 pm, PST

Social Activity: Let’s Build Community!

Basia Ellis, Kimberly Gomez, Jenavi De Anda, & Leonela De La Cruz Ramirez
Sacramento State

Join us for an engaging session designed for audience members to have fun and connect with each other after Day 1 of the conference! We will begin with a trivia game (with prizes!), followed by designated time to connect around audience members’ areas of interest.

Day 2 (March 11) Conference Program

8:00 am – 9:30 am, PST

Enter the General Session

General Session Day 2: Conference Overview & Student Panel: Experiences of UndocuDiversity

We will begin this session with a brief overview of the day’s program, followed by our student panel.

Student Panel: Experiences of UndocuDiversity | 8:15 am – 9:20 am, PST

The student panel brings current and recent grads together to discuss the diversity and heterogeneity of experiences among undocumented and mixed-status family students. Drawing from their lived experiences in higher education and professional and community engagements, panelists will discuss the necessary support systems and opportunities for current and future students impacted by undocumented status and its many intersections.

Panelists:

  • Clara Choi, a recent Harvard Graduate School of Education graduate, is now at Learning Designer, where she develops online learning experiences to support K-12 professional learning. She immigrated to the US from South Korea with her family at a young age and grew up in Los Angeles’ She became a DACA recipient during her first year of college, and after a series of life events, her family became a mixed-status family in recent years.
  • Antonio Chicas, a pre-med freshman majoring in psychology at the University of Utah. Antonio and his family immigrated from Apopa, El Salvador. He devotes much of his time to student organizations that support diversity and advocate for undocumented students. He firmly believes that his dreams are possible and that he can use his vulnerability as a source of power.
  • Ariadna Fernandez, an undergraduate computer science student at the University of Illinois at She immigrated from Mexico at the age of 11 and settled in northern Illinois. She is passionate about helping other undocumented students like her access higher education resources.
  • Amrit Kaur, a graduate student at the University of California Santa Cruz who identifies as a queer, Punjabi Sikh community organizer and filmmaker. She is committed to building equitable communities through a multimedia production and consulting company called Brown Girl Joy Productions. Her recent film, Zindagi Dobara, won a Netflix grant in an LGBTQ writing category and will screen at multiple festivals this year.

Moderator: Oscar Cornejo Casares, Doctoral Candidate in the Department of Sociology, Northwestern University + Law & Social Science Doctoral Fellow at the American Bar Foundation

9:30 am – 10:20 am, PST - Breakout Session 1

Communal Vulnerability: Understanding Legal status Beyond the Individual

Time: 9:30 am – 10:20 am, PST
Focus: Diverse Contexts of Undocumented Experiences

Maria Vargas, Henry Gonzalez, Fiorella Carlos Chavez, Sahitya Maiya, and Heidy Sarabia
Sacramento State

In this panel, scholars will focus on various factors that shape the way children and youth experience and navigate legal vulnerability in the U.S., such as time, age, place, and community of arrival. Thus, scholars will show the need to look beyond individual status to understand legal status holistically and better address the challenges that legal vulnerability represents for individuals, families, and entire communities. The main contribution of this presentation is to bring attention to how undocumented, DACAmented, and mix- status students and youth deal with issues of legal vulnerability on and off campus.

Workplaces Experiences, Violations, and Support

Time: 9:30 am – 10:20 am, PST
Focus: Diverse Contexts of Undocumented Experiences

Nohely Diaz
100 Million USA

This session explores the vulnerabilities experienced by undocumented students in the work sector and what protections and supports are available to them. Due to their status, undocumented students are likely to work in low-paying jobs where they may experience various labor violations and exploitation, including wage theft and hazardous work conditions. These are also concerns for low-income students from mixed-status families, as many work alongside their families, particularly in the agricultural sector. This session will cover common forms of labor violations and identify work environments that are known to exploit immigrants with undocumented status. Further, audience members will also learn about current labor protections available to undocumented students to better understand how they can be supported. Space will also be provided for audience members to share experiences and ask questions.

Envisioning Entrepreneurship Opportunities as Productive Pathways to Success

Time: 9:30 am – 10:20 am, PST
Focus: New Resources and Best Practices

Dr. Carly Offidani-Bertrand & Daniel Hernandez Castillo
California State University San Marcos

This presentation will overview entrepreneurship and the immense variance of entrepreneurial pathways, which will help demonstrate how entrepreneurship is a viable career option for immigrant students regardless of age or immigration status. Presenters will review introductory processes for students interested in developing an entrepreneurial idea and mindset, and we will present available resources for professional growth. Following an overview of the variability and availability of opportunities for entrepreneurship, audience members will engage in a facilitated discussion where they will reflect on their potential as entrepreneurs. The presenters will conclude by considering how entrepreneurship programs can be developed with undocumented students to support their professional development.

10:30 am – 11:20 am, PST - Breakout Session 2

Bridging the Gap between Student and Undocu-Professional

Time: 10:30 am – 11:20 am, PST
Focus: Diverse Contexts of Undocumented Experiences

Lupita Zavala & Stephanie B. Francis
Sacramento State

This session focuses on the importance of developing work and professional learning opportunities in college to help undocumented students achieve success in their chosen careers. Drawing upon research and personal experiences, the presenters will discuss barriers experienced by undocumented students as they seek professional and career-specific learning experiences. Next, to address these concerns, the presenters will discuss various solutions and programs aimed at supporting undocumented students in their professional aims. Finally, the presenters will invite the audience to join a coalition of higher education professionals committed to institutionalizing professional resources and supports for undocumented students. The session will offer ample opportunity for discussion of the topics considered.

Launching a Free, Video Recorded UndocuAlly Training

Time: 10:30 am – 11:20 am, PST
Focus: New Resources and Best Practices

Dr. Basia Ellis
Sacramento State

This breakout session will introduce audience members to a freely available, research-informed, and interactive College UndocuAlly training video created to help college-level faculty, counselors, administrators, and staff learn about the experiences of undocumented and mixed-status family students, as well as ways for supporting students’ practical and psychological needs. The video features real stories from undocumented and mixed-status college students and is organized into three modules: (1) basic immigration terms and policies (2) living with undocumented status; and (2) supportive practices and resources. The video overviews federal and state policies that focus on California but are not exclusive to California— and thus, audience members from various states may find the training useful for their campuses. The session will focus on overviewing the contents of the video, how it can be freely accessed, and how it can be used to train various groups of educators, counselors, and staff to become UndocuAllies in their respective settings.

Empowering Undocumented Students in a Post-Affirmative Action World

Time: 10:30 am – 11:20 am, PST
Focus: Building Policy Solutions

Vincent Rasso & Katrina Linden
Campaign for College Opportunity

This session will involve an interactive conversation about how California’s stance on immigration has changed over the years and the ways this was brought about by students who advocated for statewide change. While in the 1990s, Propositions 187 and 209 carried immense implications for California’s undocumented, Black, Latinx, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities, more recent decades have shown what is possible when various groups come together to protect and uplift vulnerable communities. As the Supreme Court comes to a decision on the future of Affirmative Action across the nation, and the future of DACA Remains uncertain, there is a need for students and communities to come together to advocate for state and national policies that protect every person who calls the United States home. This conversation, aligned with the Campaign for College Opportunity, will take significant policy issues and opportunities and outline a call to action for empowering students in advancing racial justice in state, local, and campus policies. Audience members will explore the power of coalition-building and learn about research and policy recommendations for supporting less visible undocumented communities, including undocumented Asian American communities. This discussion will leave audience members with concrete ways to advocate for a more racially equitable higher education system that recognizes immigrant communities' immense diversity and value.

11:30 am – 12:00 pm, PST

Break

12:00 pm – 12:50 pm, PST - Breakout Session 3

¡Si Se Pudo! Supporting Undocumented Students in their Identity Development

Time: 12:00 – 12:50 pm, PST
Focus: New Resources and Best Practices

Miguel Pimentel
Las Positas College

This presentation aims to share how educators, administrators, and others can help motivate students to get involved in advocacy efforts to elevate undocumented student academic success. While it can take a lot of courage for undocumented students to open up about their immigration status, opportunities for students to engage in meaningful conversations about their immigration experiences are important for their development.

Educators can play crucial roles in supporting students’ self-exploration and undocumented identity development. In this session, educators and administrators will learn about helpful practices for engaging undocumented students in sharing their stories through various means, including conference panels, books, poetry, media, and others. The significance of UndocuDiversity in this work will also be highlighted.

Renewing the Dream – Collaborative Policy & Administrative Solutions to Ensure College Affordability for Today’s Undocumented Student Population

Time: 12:00 – 12:50 pm, PST
Focus: Building Policy Solutions

Daniela Rodriguez, Jake Brymner, & Yessica Mox
California Student Aid Commission

This breakout session will share key findings and recommendations of the California Student Aid Commission’s recently-released report (Renewing the Dream) from the Undocumented Student Affordability Work Group that convened in 2022. More than twenty years after AB 540 was signed into law to give undocumented students access to in-state tuition rates, today’s undocumented students face new and quickly evolving challenges (e.g., the precariousness of DACA, unequal and cumbersome implementation of well-intended programs, etc.) that call on each of us to reassess how we bring financial aid to undocumented students and establish campus practices. This presentation will provide campus practitioners and stakeholders with tangible solutions they can employ and identify policies that can improve undocumented students’ experience and access to financial aid. The session will cover structural barriers undocumented students face when accessing financial aid and will provide a walkthrough of the work group recommendations that call on CSAC, campus practitioners, and policymakers to meet the needs of today’s undocumented students by working together to create innovative solutions that expand, streamline, and improve financial aid opportunities.

UndocuMentoring: Providing Academic, Emotional, and Identity Development Support

Time: 12:00 pm – 12:50 pm, PST
Focus: New Resources and Best Practices

Areli Castro, Diana Blanco, Aleiza Ambalada, Emilio Lara Maza, & Samantha Ledesma Garcia
California State University Fullerton

This session overviews the structure and implementation of a recently developed UndocuMentoring program at California State University, Fullerton. The program was designed based on the needs of undocumented students reported in a campus-wide survey. Results from the survey showed that 18.5% of students needed guidance, including help finding job opportunities in their career field (17%) and help finding resources for legal and financial aid (10%). Students also reported a need for professional connections (16%), personal connections (8%), as well as mentors knowledgeable about the undocumented experience (11%). In this session, presenters will discuss how they developed their program to support undocumented students' academic, emotional, and identity development needs. This will include identifying and recruiting appropriate mentors; creating goals for mentors and mentees; developing payment strategies for undocumented students without DACA and/or work authorization; and developing leadership workshops. Challenges with implementation, including recruiting sufficient student numbers and maintaining the confidentiality of mentors and mentees, will be addressed.

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm, PST

Enter the General Session

General Session Day 2: Closing Keynote Speaker & Conference Closing

Join us for the official conference closing! Kimberly Gomez will introduce Dr. Carola Suarez-Orozco, who will deliver the Closing Keynote Address. Co-chairs Basia Ellis and Kimberly Gomez and Erik Ramirez, Director of Equity and Affinity Centers at Sacramento State, will conclude this year’s conference.

Closing Keynote Speaker | 1:00 pm – 1:50 pm, PST

Dr. Carola Suarez-OrozcoDirector, Immigration Initiative, Harvard University

Dr. Carola Suárez-Orozco is a professor in residence at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Director of the Immigration Initiative at Harvard University. She is also the co-founder of Re-Imagining Migration, a nonprofit organization. Her research has helped elucidate the child, adolescent, and young adult experience of immigration, including experiences of academic engagement and achievement, identity formation, family separations, civic engagement, and living with undocumented status. A focus on school settings has been an essential and enduring theme in her basic research agenda. She is a recipient of numerous awards, including an American Psychological Association (APA) Presidential Citation, for her contributions to understanding the cultural psychology of immigration. She has served as Chair of the APA Presidential Task Force on Immigration and is a member of the National Academy of Education.

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm, PST

Social Activity: Developing Future Visions!

Basia Ellis & Kimberly Gomez
CSU Sacramento

Join us for a fun and engaging social activity that will allow attendees to get to know each other and share their conference experiences! Group discussions will involve reflections, insights, and next steps for furthering our various efforts to continue supporting undocumented and mixed-status family students.

Opening Keynote Speaker

Ju Hong

Ju Hong HeadshotJu is the Director of UCLA’s Dream Resource Center and has over a decade of experience in the immigrant rights movement. In 2013, Ju challenged President Obama on his administration’s record number of deportations during a presidential speech at the Betty Ong Center in San Francisco, California. Ju also contributed to and published immigration articles in the Huffington Post, Korea Times, and Politico. Ju currently serves as board chair of the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC), a nonprofit that organizes Korean and Asian Americans for social, economic, and racial justice. He is also a member of the Leadership Council of Immigrants Rising, an organization that provides educational and career resources and support to undocumented people. Ju brings awareness to the unique stories of Asian undocumented individuals living in the United States through his podcast, the ImmigrAsians.

Tobore Oweh

Tobore Oweh HeadshotTobore Oweh is a creative entrepreneur born in Lagos, Nigeria. She migrated to America with her family at age 7 and settled in Maryland, where she graduated high school in 2006 at 15. Due to her undocumented status and lack of access to financial aid, Tobore did not attend college. In 2011, she began researching forms of design that didn't require a college degree and quickly discovered floral and event design. With a determination to achieve her design dreams, Tobore ventured out into the industry as a freelancer before launching The Petal Effect, a floral design company. Tobore has partnered with major companies, including LinkedIn and Twitter. Her work sheds light on the complexities of being an undocumented black woman. Tobore hopes to inspire the undocumented and immigrant communities to use their obstacles as a weapon to conquer the world because “no human being is illegal, and everyone deserves a chance at a better life.”

Closing Keynote Speaker

Dr. Carola Suarez-Orozco

suarez-carola.pngDr. Carola Suárez-Orozco is a professor in residence at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Director of the Immigration Initiative at Harvard University. She is also the co-founder of Re-Imagining Migration, a nonprofit organization. Her research has helped elucidate the child, adolescent, and young adult experience of immigration, including experiences of academic engagement and achievement, identity formation, family separations, civic engagement, and living with undocumented status. A focus on school settings has been an essential and enduring theme in her basic research agenda. She is a recipient of numerous awards, including an American Psychological Association (APA) Presidential Citation for her contributions to understanding the cultural psychology of immigration. She has served as Chair of the APA Presidential Task Force on Immigration and is a member of the National Academy of Education.

Continuing Education Units (CEU)

Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available to conference attendees in California who participate in 5 or more hours of conference programming (10 hours = 1 unit, 5 hours = .5 units).

To acquire CEUs, complete these two forms:

Instructor/Course Evaluation

Registration Agreement

Registration

Registration Types

General: $150 – For educators, practitioners, administrators, community members, etc.

Student Staff: $50 – For student employees from dream centers, undocu-resource programs, student affairs departments, etc.

Note: 50% of registration fees go to our Dreamer Emergency Fund which supports undocumented students who are experiencing unexpected financial challenges. Registration fees are non-refundable.

To request ADA accommodations that will allow you to participate in this event, please contact drc@csus.edu no later than five (5) business days prior to the event.

Undocu-Leadership Student Strand

We are excited to partner with the Los Rios Community College District Undocumented Student Programs to offer the Undocu-Leadership Student Strand at this year’s conference! This strand is free for undocumented college and high school students. It includes access to workshops, keynote speakers, and an expert panel that will provide students tools for leadership and self-empowerment.

Register Now!

Please note: Student staff and student leaders who wish to attend workshop sessions for educators and practitioners should submit a paid registration to the general conference.