Philanthropic foundation established by Scottish immigrant
Andrew Carnegie celebrates immigrants who make our country strong
and vibrant
Carnegie Corporation of New York today announced its annual list
of Great Immigrants, honoring 24 naturalized citizens whose
contributions have enriched our society and strengthened our
democracy. Every Fourth of July since 2006, the philanthropic
foundation has sponsored Great Immigrants, Great Americans, a
public awareness campaign that celebrates immigrants’ vital role in
American life.
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Meet the 2024 Class of #GreatImmigrants
from Carnegie Corporation of New York. (Photo: Business Wire)
The 2024 Class of Great Immigrants is comprised of naturalized
citizens from 16 countries. The honorees represent a wide range of
backgrounds and are recognized for their work in public service,
education, health, journalism, the arts, and business, among other
fields. They include three Nobel laureates, memoirist Leila
Ahmed, rap musician Abbas (Bas) Hamad, NVIDIA founder
and CEO Jensen Huang, industrial designer Sir Jonathan
(Jony) Ive, DC president Jim Lee, investigative
journalist Maria Ressa, and Emmy winner Steven
Yeun.
“The 24 Americans honored today serve as a reminder of the
economic and societal benefits that each new generation of
immigrants brings to our country and the richness of talent,
skills, and achievements they contribute to our democracy,” said
Dame Louise Richardson, president of Carnegie Corporation of New
York and a naturalized American citizen, born in Ireland. “In honor
of our founder, Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish immigrant, we celebrate
these extraordinary individuals who have made notable contributions
to American society.”
The honorees include:
- Mohammed Amer (Kuwait) Born to Palestinian parents, Amer
is an award-winning writer and stand-up comedian who promotes
understanding between diverse cultures through the humorous
retelling of his experiences as a refugee in the United
States.
- Abhijit Banerjee (India) The Ford Foundation
International Professor of Economics at MIT, Banerjee won the Nobel
Prize in economics for his work in developing an experimental
approach to alleviating global poverty.
- Mariano-Florentino (Tino) Cuéllar (Mexico) President of
the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Cuéllar supports
democracy and diplomacy by leading the production of strategic
ideas, dialogues, and independent analysis for policymakers to
advance peace, cooperation, and improved governance.
- Esther Duflo (France) One of three women to receive the
Nobel Prize in economics, Duflo cofounded MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel
Poverty Action Lab to reduce poverty through scientific research
that informs policy.
- Lorgia García Peña (Dominican Republic) A professor of
Latinx Studies at Princeton University, García Peña focuses on the
intersections and consequences of anti-Blackness and xenophobia in
the Global North in her scholarly work, writing, and activism.
- Sonia Gardner (Morocco) As a United Nations Goodwill
Ambassador for Gender Equality in Access to Finance, Gardner
advocates for women’s access to economic resources to start and
grow businesses that lift their families out of poverty.
- Eliu Misael (Michael) Hinojosa (Mexico) Now the chief
impact officer at engage2learn, Hinojosa spent his four-decade
career expanding broadband access to students, increasing diversity
among school leaders, and managing one of the largest school
districts in the United States.
- Immaculée Ilibagiza (Rwanda) One of her family’s only
survivors of the Rwandan genocide, Ilibagiza travels the world to
spread her inspirational message of faith and forgiveness.
- Homa Naficy (France) A librarian at Hartford Public
Library, Naficy founded the American Place to provide refugees and
immigrants in the Hartford community with job training,
English-learning resources, and U.S. citizenship preparation.
- Eboo Patel (India) Founder and president of Interfaith
America, Patel works with governments, universities, private
companies, and civic organizations to promote cooperation across
religious differences.
- Premal Shah (India) A social entrepreneur, Shah has
spent his career building microfinance companies to alleviate
social problems, from global poverty to the transition to
solar.
The Great Immigrants initiative aims to increase public
awareness of the economic and societal benefits of immigration as
part of the Corporation’s focus on strengthening democracy and
reducing political polarization. According to the American
Immigration Council, a Corporation grantee, immigrants comprise
13.8 percent of the U.S. population, more than half of whom are
naturalized citizens. They account for 22.6 percent of the nation’s
entrepreneurs, 23.1 percent of its STEM workers, and 15.6 percent
of its nurses.
The Corporation’s Strengthening U.S. Democracy program supports
immigrant rights, integration, and naturalization for eligible
residents. More than a decade ago, the Corporation helped establish
the New Americans Campaign, a national collaborative of funders
devoted to assisting in the naturalization process — about nine
million lawful permanent residents or green card holders are
currently eligible. Led by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, the
campaign and its network of nonprofit partners have provided
low-cost resources, including legal services, to more than 638,000
aspiring citizens.
Since 2006, the Corporation has named more than 740 Great
Immigrants, forming one of the largest online resources of its
type. The 2024 honorees, the 19th class in the program, will be
recognized with a full-page public service announcement in the New
York Times on the Fourth of July and through tributes on social
media. Please join the celebration by sharing via Facebook,
Instagram, LinkedIn, and X (Twitter) using the hashtag
#GreatImmigrants.
The 2024 Class of Great Immigrants:
Leila Ahmed (Egypt) Professor, Harvard Divinity School,
and Author
Mohammed Amer (Kuwait) Comedian, Director, Actor, and
Writer
Abhijit Banerjee (India) Professor of Economics, MIT, and
Nobel Prize Laureate
Leon Botstein (Switzerland) President, Bard College,
Conductor, and Scholar
Mariano-Florentino (Tino) Cuéllar (Mexico) President,
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Esther Duflo (France) Professor of Economics, MIT, and
Nobel Prize Laureate
Lorgia García Peña (Dominican Republic) Professor of
Latinx Studies, Princeton University
Sonia Gardner (Morocco) Cofounder, Avenue Capital
Group
Viviana Gradinaru (Romania) Professor of Neuroscience and
Biological Engineering, Caltech
Abbas (Bas) Hamad (France) Grammy-Nominated Rapper
Eliu Misael (Michael) Hinojosa (Mexico) Chief Impact
Officer, engage2learn, and Former Superintendent, Dallas ISD
Jensen Huang (Taiwan) Founder and CEO, NVIDIA
Immaculée Ilibagiza (Rwanda) Author and Motivational
Speaker
Sir Jonathan (Jony) Ive (England) Artist, Designer, and
Technology Executive
Dr. Ashish Kumar Jha (India) Dean, School of Public
Health, Brown University
Yann LeCun (France) Chief AI Scientist for Facebook AI
Research (FAIR)
Jim Lee (South Korea) President, Publisher, and Chief
Creative Officer, DC
Homa Naficy (France) Librarian and Immigrant Advocate
The Honorable Raj Panjabi (Liberia) Global Healthcare
Leader, Entrepreneur, and Former White House Official
Eboo Patel (India) Founder and President, Interfaith
America
Maria Ressa (Philippines) Investigative Reporter and
Nobel Prize Laureate
Premal Shah (India) Social Entrepreneur and Cofounder,
Kiva
Ocean Vuong (Vietnam) Poet, Novelist, and Essayist
Steven Yeun (South Korea) Emmy-Winning and Academy
Award–Nominated Actor
To learn more about the foundation’s new comic series featuring
Great Immigrants, visit carnegie.org/immigrantstories.
About Carnegie Corporation of New York
Carnegie Corporation of New York was established by Andrew
Carnegie in 1911 to promote the advancement and diffusion of
knowledge and understanding. Today the foundation works to reduce
political polarization through philanthropic support for the issues
that Carnegie considered most important: education, democracy, and
peace. @CarnegieCorp
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Khafra Crooks | Communications Officer Carnegie Corporation of
New York KC@carnegie.org