Stories
Immigrant Entrepreneur Employs Dozens of Workers in Mercer County
Barry ZhangCEO, Princetel Born in China, Barry Zhang came to New Jersey in 1988 to study at Princeton University, where he gained a PhD in mechanical and aerospace engineering. Zhang was able to remain in the United States because of his wife, who gained a green card through her… Read More
Taiwanese Immigrant Engineer Turned Mayor in West Windsor
Shing-Fu HsuehFormer Mayor of West Windsor Shing-Fu Hsueh (pronounced “Shay”) came to New Jersey from Taiwan in 1969 with $300 in his pocket and a heavy accent that required help from a speech therapist. Despite these challenges, he went on to become a successful environmental engineer, professor, and a… Read More
Iranian Student Turned Healthcare CEO Helps Hundreds Fight COVID-19 in Mercer County
Al MaghazehePresident & CEO, Capital Health Al Maghazehe came to the United States as an international student in 1977, but when the Iranian Revolution broke out a year later, he realized he couldn’t safely return home. Raised in a tight-knit family, Maghazehe struggled with loneliness at first, but finished… Read More
Mechanical Engineer Builds Bridges Across Communities
When General Electric Transportation/Wabtec offered Brittany Lee Fisher a job as a mechanical engineer in Edison Engineering Development Program (EEDP) in 2016, she jumped at the chance. The daughter of Korean and Japanese immigrants, Fisher knew the position would allow her to build a strong career and make her parents’… Read More
Kyrgyzstan Refugee Helps Welcome Newcomers to Erie
Anna Tischenko loved her tight-knit community in Kyrgyzstan and dreamed of living near her parents. Anna grew up nonreligious, but after marrying a Baptist Christian—a religious minority—she saw a different side of her country. When her husband was younger, he didn’t feel safe walking alone because gangs and corrupt police… Read More
Immigrant Entrepreneur Shares Culture through Pinatas
Esther Ortiz was born in Mexico and spent her childhood straddling the California border, but she found her home in Erie. In 1994, her parents landed jobs at Plastek, a local plastics manufacturing company and settled in Erie’s upper west side neighborhood. Their family of 11 – her parents and… Read More
From Syria to Erie: Immigrant Family Finds Success and Community
Mahmoud Albaradan had a thriving used car dealership in Daraa, Syria. But in 2011, anti-government protests propelled the city into civil war. As violence escalated, Mahmoud, his wife and their six children, along with his brother’s family of nine, fled for their lives. In 2016, after four years in a… Read More
Immigrants in South Carolina’s Workforce
We have an updated report about this topic: Immigrants in South Carolina’s Workforce (2022 Update) New research from New American Economy highlights the crucial role immigrants are playing in South Carolina’s economy, including in some of the state’s fastest-growing and most in-demand… Read More
New Americans in Dayton, Ohio
New research from New American Economy shows that immigrants contributed $5.3 billion to the GDP of the Dayton region in 2018. The report, New Americans in Dayton, was prepared in partnership with the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce. In addition to their financial contributions, which included… Read More
Election 2020: Unregistered Voters in Swing States
Election Day is now less than two weeks away. Among registered voters, the vast majority of minds have been made up—and adding to the sense of urgency, tens of millions have already voted. With record low numbers of undecided voters left to convince, some pundits say that… Read More
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