“It is a free, in-person event focused on unlocking the potential of immigrant and refugee talent in West Michigan.”
Hollin De La Cruz is Welcome Plan Coordinator for Kent County’s Office of Inclusion. She says the Maximize Economic Potential, or MEP Summit, aims to help immigrants and refugees find employment, while offering employers tools to recruit from that talent pool.
“They have a ton of resources for both the employer end and for the newcomer or our internationally trained immigrant population. So, maybe they arrived in the last year, but maybe they’ve been here for 20 years and have never really reentered their career that they have experience and passion for.”
De La Cruz says there’s been a drop in attendance at similar events due to fear of ICE raids. Her department is reassuring attendees that their personal info will be kept confidential.
“It’s definitely had a chilling effect overall for events this year, and I think that’s in general across the state; I’m sure, across the nation.”
Attendees will receive an employment toolkit available in ten different languages.
The MEP Summit happens Friday, August 8th from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Davenport University.
