Robert Barsky, editor of AmeriQuests and professor of French and comparative literature at Vanderbilt, is currently working on a research project on immigrant incarceration —“Issues of Inter-Cultural Relations among Inmates Held for Immigration Concerns.” Prior to joining Vanderbilt, Barsky taught at Yale University’s Center for International and Area Studies. He has authored many articles and two books on refugees and immigration policies. His book, Arguing and Justifying, looks at why people flee their country seeking refuge elsewhere. He is the founding editor of AmeriQuests, a Vanderbilt journal that focuses on dislocation and relocation in the Americas. He is also author of a book on Noam Chomsky, and an expert on the beat writers and radical politics.
Vanessa Beasley, Vanderbilt associate professor of communications studies, is the editor of Who Belongs in America? - Presidents, Rhetoric, and Immigration and author of You, the People: American National Identity in Presidential Rhetoric.
Dan Cornfield is a professor of sociology and director of the Vanderbilt Center for Nashville Studies he looks at how “new destination cities” in the interior states are dealing with integrating documented and undocumented immigrants into their communities. While cities like New York, Miami, Chicago and Houston have historically been at the forefront of immigration issues, Cornfield says the “formerly secluded” interior states are now dealing with immigration’s implications for social services, health care, employment and the prospects for unionization. Cornfield led an immigration study looking at Nashville, Tenn., one of the new destination cities, during which researchers surveyed service providers and members of immigrant communities in cities of comparable size to Nashville – Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., and Memphis.
Katharine Donato is a professor of sociology at Vanderbilt and she studies how U.S. and Mexican immigration policies affect both countries – particularly in the areas of education, health and social services. About two-thirds of the United States’ immigration population comes from Mexico and they are facing tougher U.S. immigration polices than about 20 years ago when federal legislation designed to reduce undocumented workers was first passed. When illegal immigration numbers did not drop following the passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) in 1986, there was a call for more border controls. Donato says there is “very little research that shows that walls work.” Rather, they may only serve to encourage permanent immigration.
Jennifer Escue, youth services coordinator at Catholic Charities Refugee Services, has worked with newly- arrived refugee children and their families for the past six years – assisting them with their resettlement to Nashville. Her focus is helping families understand and integrate into the public school system.
Stella Flores, Vanderbilt assistant professor of public policy and higher education, currently teaches courses in college access policy and general education policy. Her recent work includes an examination of the effect of in-state resident tuition policies on the college enrollment and persistence of undocumented students across the United States, an analysis of institutional response to federal and state changes in race-conscious admissions policies and programs, and an investigation of the interaction of state and institutional financial aid policies targeted at low-income students also across the United States.
William F. Ford, Weatherford Chair of Finance at Middle Tennessee State University, authored “Immigrationomics: A Discussion of Some Key Issues,” an article in the October 2007 issue of the Economic Education Bulletin. “I think it’s a very unfortunate thing that (some politicians and political commentators) play on the instincts of some people to say (that having undocumented workers in the U.S.) … is illegal, it’s immoral, it’s terrible. … The problem with that is it doesn’t take account of the economic realities,” Ford says. “We need these people, they’re here, (and) … 7 million illegals are working here because American employers need them.” Ford formerly served as dean of the Business School at the University of Denver; president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta; president and COO of First Nationwide Bank; senior vice president of Wells Fargo Bank; and as executive director and chief economist of the American Bankers Association.
Stephen Fotopulos currently serves as policy director for the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), a statewide, grassroots collaboration that empowers leaders in new immigrant and refugee communities to become more fully engaged in the civic process. He holds a master’s degree in public administration from the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs, having completed his thesis work studying the impact of U.S. public policy on English acquisition among immigrants. After graduate school, he served for five years as a logistics officer in the United States Navy, living and working in the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf. He sits on several boards and advisory councils dealing with immigration, including the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services as co-chair of the Task Force on Immigrants and Refugees.
Gary Gerstle is a Vanderbilt historian of the twentieth-century United States, with particular interest in three major areas – immigration, race, and nationality; the significance of class in social and political life, and social movements, popular politics, and the state. Gerstle is the author, co-author, and co-editor of six books and the author of more than twenty-five articles on these topics.
Daron Hall was sworn-in as the 61st sheriff of Davidson County September 2002 – becoming the youngest sheriff since the formation of Metropolitan Government in 1963. During his 20-year criminal justice career, he has served Davidson County under three sheriffs and is most well-known for establishing a local immigration program which allows sheriff’s deputies to screen foreign born inmates in the booking room and place them in removal proceedings should they be in the country illegally. He serves as vice president of the American Correctional Association and on the board of directors for the National Sheriffs’ Association. He is also one of two Tennessee sheriffs appointed by Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen to serve on the seven-member Tennessee Corrections Institute Board of Control.
Jonathan Hiskey, Vanderbilt associate professor of political science, looks at the political consequences of migration in sending countries. His latest paper “Exit without Leaving: Political Disengagement in High Migration Municipalities in Mexico” explores how those left behind in sending countries vote less in their own elections and many times begin to rely on migrants to meet their basic needs rather than their local governments.
Tom Negri, managing director of Loews Vanderbilt Hotel in Nashville, has been with Loews Hotels for more than 25 years – since his graduation from the New York Hotel School in 1976. He is responsible for managing day-to-day operations and development the hotel and Office Building Complex. Before joining Loews Vanderbilt Hotel in 1997, he served as general manager of Loews Annapolis Hotel in Maryland where he oversaw the multi-million-dollar renovation of the hotel and the adjacent Power House Conference Center. Negri has served on several local and national boards and committees, including the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s (AH&LA) Executive Committee and Strategic Planning committee; the Greater Nashville Hotel & Lodging Association and the Tennessee Hotel and Lodging Association boards of directors, where he served as president and chairman. He has received numerous awards for his accomplishments and volunteerism, including the AH&LA’s 2007 Lawson A. Odde Award which recognizes individuals who make outstanding contributions to the lodging industry as well as maintain strong relationships between AH&LA and its partner state associations.
Renata Soto is co-founder and executive director of Conexión Américas, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Latino families in Middle Tennessee realize their aspirations for social and economic advancement. Prior to founding Conexión Américas, she worked for United Way of Metropolitan Nashville for more than five years where she managed a grant-making portfolio of almost $1.5 million. In her last role at United Way, she was director of an initiative to support and expand a network of family resource centers in low-income neighborhoods in Nashville. Originally from Costa Rica, she earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Costa Rica. She also attended Kenyon College and Georgia State University.
Carol Swain, Vanderbilt professor of law, professor of political science, is the editor and contributor to a newly published book of essays titled Debating Immigration. In the book, Swain talks about the impact of immigration on African Americans. Swain is also the author of the highly acclaimed book Black Faces, Black Interests: The Representation of African Americans in Congress, which won the 1994 Woodrow Wilson prize for the best book on government published in the United States and The New White Nationalism in America: Its Challenge to Integration.
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