DEI Speaker Series: Educational and counseling implications for working with Latinx immigrant and undocumented students in Georgia
- Tuesday, Oct. 2
- Noon-1 p.m.
- Aderhold Hall Room G23
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Panelists: Natalie Edirmanasinghe, Betina Kaplan, Amairani Pérez, and Ed Delgado-Romero
In this panel, speakers will address important and complex conversations about educational and counseling implications for working with immigrant and undocumented students in Georgia. Natalie Edirmanasinghe will discuss her work with #CHICAS, a student-led project helping school leaders understand the needs of Latinx students and immigrant families. Betina Kaplan and Amairani Pérez will share their work with and experiences in U-Lead Athens, a non-profit organization that offers support to immigrants and children of immigrants to access higher education. Ed Delgado-Romero will discuss his work with ¡BIEN! that bridges counseling and advocacy interventions with Latinx immigrant communities in Georgia. Ample time for educational strategies will follow the panel discussion.
Natalie Edirmanasinghe is a middle school counselor in Gwinnett County, Georgia. She is currently working on her doctorate through the University of Georgia. She attended the University of North Florida for her M.Ed. in school counseling. Edirmanasinghe is a first-generation college student and a second generation American. Her family came to the U.S. in the late 1980’s from Sri Lanka in the middle of a 30-year civil war. Her research interests are school counselor training to work with immigrant populations. She currently uses participatory action research to collaborate with immigrant students and works with middle school students to develop research and advocacy skills to prepare them for higher education.
Betina Kaplan is an associate professor in the Department of Romance Languages, and is affiliated to Women Studies and LACSI. She teaches Latin American Literatures and Cultures. She is the author of “Genero y violencia en la narrativa del Cono Sur (Gender and Violence in the Narrativa of the Southern Cone).” She is one of the founding members of Freedom University and U-Lead Athens and currently co-directs the latter. Both organizations strive for equal access to higher education.
Amairani Pérez is a student at U-Lead Athens and Athens Tech pursuing a degree in nursing.
Delgado-Romero is the associate dean for faculty and staff services, as well as a professor at the University of Georgia in the counseling psychology program in the College of Education. He is one of the founding members of the National Latina/o Psychological Association (NLPA), a former president of NLPA, and an associate editor of the Journal of Latina/o Psychology. Delgado-Romero is a co-author of the book “Culturally-Responsive Counseling with Latinas/os,” and is also on the board of the Athens Latino Center for Education and Success (ALCES). Delgado-Romero is affiliate faculty of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institutes (LACSI) and serves on the executive board of LACSI.