![[photo, 301 West Preston St., Baltimore, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/15dgs/images/1198-1-690.jpg)
Co-Chair: Leonard J. Howie III, Secretary of Labor, Licensing, & Regulation
301 West Preston St., Baltimore, Maryland, March 2004. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
Appointed by Senate President: Joan Carter Conway; Richard S. Madaleno, Jr.
Appointed by House Speaker: Nicholaus R. Kipke; Susan C. Lee.
Ex officio: Dominick E. Murray, Secretary of Business & Economic Development; Raymond A. Skinner, Secretary of Housing & Community Development; Ted Dallas, Secretary of Human Resources; Richard E. Hall, Secretary of Planning; Zenita Wickham Hurley, Special Secretary of Minority Affairs; Israel C. (Izzy) Patoka, Executive Director, Governor's Office of Community Initiatives; Lynn M. Reed, Executive Director, Governor's Workforce Investment Board; Theodore H. Mack, Chair, Commission on African-American History & Culture; Jane T. Nishida, Chair, Governor's Commission on Asian-Pacific American Affairs; Yolanda Maria Welch, Chair, Governor's Commission on Hispanic Affairs; Auriel A. Fenwick, Chair, Commission on Indian Affairs; Anwer Hasan, Chair, Governor's Commission on Middle-Eastern American Affairs.
Staff: Iman Awad
c/o Governor's Office of Community Initiatives
301 West Preston St., Suite 1500, Baltimore, MD 21202
(410) 767-7925
e-mail: iman.awad@maryland.gov
web: www.newamericans.maryland.gov
Functions of the Maryland Council for New Americans originated with the Maryland Refugee Advisory Council formed within the Department of Human Resources in 1980. The Council reformed within the Department in 1994 as the Maryland Advisory Council for New Americans (Executive Order 01.01.1994.26). In December 2008, the Governor established the Maryland Council for New Americans as a unit separate from the Department (Executive Order 01.01.2008.18).
To promote the full integration of immigrants into the economic and civic life of Maryland, the Council reviews and makes recommendations concerning current practices and policies to expedite integration of immigrants into Maryland society.
The Council is a partnership between public, private and civic sectors. Besides its membership, the Council has an executive committee and four working groups.
FINANCIAL SERVICES WORKING GROUP
The Financial Services Working Group seeks strategies to improve immigrant access to mainstream financial services, family financial planning, and stable homeownership opportunities.
GOVERNMENTAL ACCESS WORKING GROUP
The Governmental Access Working Group works to improve the accessibility to governmental services for immigrants. Further, the Group will develop StateStat measures for tracking service to immigrants.
WORKFORCE WORKING GROUP
To address the State's workforce shortage, the Workforce Working Group examines the transfer of credentials, and the training and attracting of key workers; and seeks the best way to teach immigrants to speak English, both at work and in the public schools. The Working Group also is examining how Maryland One-Stop Career Centers help immigrants find employment and whether that process can be streamlined.
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