Speaker's Bios:

Faye Allard is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Community College of Philadelphia.  With a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in Human Sciences from Oxford University, U.K., her primary areas of research and expertise are U.S. race and ethnic relations and education.

Samantha Anthony was born and raised in Malawi. In 2007, she married an American and a Veteran of the US Navy. Once her my visa was approved in 2009, she moved to Philadelphia to be with him. Currently a Grad Student at Chestnut Hill College, as well as a classroom assistant for the school district of Philadelphia, the rest of her family still lives in Malawi.

Valentina Viana was born and raised in Venezuela for 23 years of her life. With a Bachelor's degree in Marketing, she moved to the US three-and-a-half years ago due to the political/social/economic situation at home. She is currently working for an international health insurance company as a customer service representative.

Francis W. Hoeber is a historian who discusses his family's separation and struggle to reunite is the subject in his book Against Time:  Letters from Nazi Germany, 1938-1939.  His father, Johannes Hoeber, fled Nazi Germany in 1938, leaving his wife and young daughter behind.  They were not able to follow him to Philadelphia until after the outbreak of World War II the following year.

Becoming U.S.