December 2nd and 3rd 2022
Held on December 2nd and 3rd 2022, the fourth annual conference convened by the Immigration Research Forum focused on the role of scientific and professional Romanian American diaspora as vested stakeholder in building social cohesion within our communities of practice. It featured the various efforts spearheaded by diaspora organizations to assist Ukrainian refugees through their ordeals.
The annual gathering highlights and honors Romanian Americans’ contribution to American society and features remarkable diaspora public figures from each field. By bringing together leaders of the scientific and professional diaspora with varied expertise, IRF intends to encourage the cross sharing of approaches, best practices and pertinent career development information. The goal of this professionals’ network is to leverage the scientific diaspora’s expertise in facilitating the successful integration, upward social mobility, and positive influence of Romanian Americans within our host society at large.
In 2022, the specter of continued political polarization and pandemic tailing economic woes seem to have spun a dangerous narrative of fracturing trust in institutions of social cohesion, of channeling insecurity into divisiveness and distrust of imagined “others.” It is precisely in such critical times, when anti-democratic revisionist actors demolish the basic tenets underpinning international stability, turning civilians into refugees and marshaling basic sustenance resources as bargaining chips, that we must stand firm and live up to the humanist values that allowed us to thrive. Academic and professional diasporas such as ours are vested in promoting cohesion and many amongst us have in these past months summoned the needed empathy to assist those displaced by war in Ukraine, assisting them either here in the US or in the safe-haven borderlands of Romania and Moldova. The convened conference highlighted the contributions of those committed to weaving back the social capital of trust both here and abroad, trust that allows newcomers to turn into productive members of host communities.
Welcoming remarks: Teodor Stan, President and Founder of Immigration Research Forum
Opening Plenary Session Speakers:
Formal Opening Address H.E. Andrei Muraru, Ambassador of Romania to the United States, Washington, DC;
Keynote Speaker Sebastian I. Burduja, Romanian Minister of Research, Innovation and Digitalization;
Romanian Cultural Institute, New York: public-private cultural collaborations promotion Dorian Branea, Director of Romanian Cultural Institute;
The Holocaust in Eastern European Debates and Controversies Ion Rațiu Chair of Romanian Studies, Professor Diana Dumitru, PhD., Georgetown Univ.;
Blue Heron Foundation: Celebrating Two Decades of Service Stefania Magidson, President Blue Heron Foundation;
Cancer Care Program for Ukrainian Patients Displaced in Romania, Moldova and Ukraine Horia Vulpe M.D – Director, Cancer Care Program BH; The Queen’s Health System Cancer Center, Honolulu;
Refugee Protection International's work in Ukraine: Evacuations to Romania Jennifer Hill, President and Executive Director, Refugee Protection International;
Romanian Diaspora Solidarity in the Resettlement of Ukrainian Refugees Honorary Consul of Romania to Connecticut, Immigration Attorney Dana R. Bucin at Murtha Cullina LLP;
A Win for Romania on the Intellectual Property Front Honorary Consul of Romania to San Francisco, Prof. Dana Beldiman UC Hastings Law, San Francisco, CA;
EURAXESS North America Jackson Howard, Regional Coordinator, EURAXESS North America;
West University of Timișoara – Minds with Attitude (Smart Diaspora Conference) Prof. Dana-Andreea Percec, Dean Faculty of Letters, University of the West, Timisoara;
Documenting Romanian Immigration in Minnesota Dana Voler, Vice_president of the Heritage Organization of Romanians in Minnesota, St. Paul's, MN
Humanities, Arts and Culture Panel Speakers:
Public-private Coordination With the Embassy of Romania to the United States Minister Counselor Adrian Tudorache and Cristina Monica Kassai, Embassy of Romania to the United States;
Worldwide Ukrainian Play Readings + More Cristina A. Bejan, PhD. Executive Director, Bucharest Inside the Beltway, History and Theater Professor, Metropolitan State University of Denver;
Fostering Community in the Romanian Studies Program at Arizona State University Professor Julieta Paulesc, Romanian Studies Coordinator, Arizona State University
K-12 Educational Options for Ukrainians in Romania Jessica Miller, Administrator Center for Eurasian, Russian, East European Studies, Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University;
Medicine and Public Health Panel Speakers:
Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital's Offer to Assist Pediatric Romanian Oncology Gabriela Gheorghe MD, Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN;
Give Life Association (Asociația Dăruiește Viața): Civic engagement at its best Carmen Uscatu, Co-founder & President of “Daruieste Viata”, Bucharest, Ro;
Remarks by neurosurgeon Dr. Gabriel C. Tender, New Orleans LSU Healthcare Network Clinic ;
Microsurgery and Lymphatic Surgery Daniel Murariu, MD, Director of Microsurgery and Lymphatic Surgery, Co-Medical Director of Clinical Access, Allegheny Health Network;
Biomedical Sciences, STEM and IT Panel Speakers:
Building a career at the interface of engineering and medicine Laura Marcu, Ph.D. Professor, Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Neurological Surgery Director, National Center for Interventional Biophotonic Technologies (NCIBT) Co-Director, Biomedical Technology Program - UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center University of California – Davis, CA;
Scientific Review Process at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Simona Puiu, Scientific Reviewer at U.S. Food and Drug Administration;
Bioinformatics Analysis in Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics Silviu-Alin Bacanu, Ph.D. Lead, Bioinformatics and Analysis Core, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University;
Remarks by Ion I. Moraru, MD, PhD Professor of Cell Biology Director, High Performance Computing Facility Deputy Director, Center for Cell Analysis and Modeling Co-Director, National Center for Reproducible Biomodeling;
Community Civic Engagement and Social Entrepreneurship Panel Speakers:
Alianta President on Romania's Efforts to Assist Ukraine Ambassador Jim Rosapepe (ret.), Alianta President, Maryland State Senator and board member of the Council of American Ambassadors;
American Romanian Cultural Society and Romanian Film Festival - a network model for the future Marie-Louise Paulesc, American Romanian Cultural Society (ARCS -Washington State and Arizona) Director of Strategic Planning, Communication Lecturer, Arizona State University;
Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Oana Radu, Manager of Romanian Festival in New York and Co-founder of Film ETC Association, Bucharest;
Federation of Romanian American Organizations (FORA) Oana Zayic PhD, ADAC – Board Member, Federation of Romanian American Organizations (FORA), Executive Director, Heritage Organization of Romanian Americans in Minnesota (HORA), Human Rights Commissioner, City of Chaska;
Romanian Language Schools and Educational Partnerships within FORA Ionel Dragos Hau, PhD President, Romanul Corp.;
Romanian United Fund (RUF): Survey of Romanian Americans’ Solidarity Mihai Lehene, president FORA, president of Romanian United Fund (RUF), Alina Simpetru, Strategic Planning Consultant, Bucharest, RO and Julien Zidaru from Exact Business Solutions;
American Romanian Academy of Arts and Sciences: sharing the best Romanian values Ileana Costea, Interim President American Romanian Academy Revival, Manufacturing Systems Engineering, California State University,
American Romanian Coalition for Human and Equal Rights Roxana Cazan, PhD. Executive Director ARCHER, Senior Lecturer, University of Oklahoma;
Closing remarks: Teodor Stan, President and Founder of Immigration Research Forum