Certified Welcoming Blog
Behind the Scenes with Certified Welcoming Peer Auditors
Introducing the Peer Auditor Program The Certified Welcoming audit is one of the most important and engaging parts of the certification process. During the audit, immigrant community members, local organizations, and government employees and officials come together to share details about the policies, programs, processes, and partnerships that qualify their community for the highest recognition…
How to become Certified Welcoming
Your top questions about Certified Welcoming answered. Since 2017, Certified Welcoming has set the highest bar in welcoming work. This designation is reserved for communities whose policies and programs reflect their values and commitment to immigrant inclusion. In 2023, we relaunched the Certified Welcoming program under the Welcoming Standard 2.0 with new and refreshed criteria….
‘You can’t be silent about welcoming’: How Champaign, Illinois leads on immigrant inclusion
As the first Certified Welcoming city in Illinois, Champaign is embracing what it means to truly welcome and include newcomers. In 2023, Champaign announced its certification. We talked with the Equity and Engagement Department and the New American Welcome Center at the University YMCA to learn about how the city and its partners ensure that…
Building a world-class city: Tulsa excels in education and refugee resettlement
In November 2023, Tulsa became the first Certified Welcoming community in Oklahoma and the first place in the U.S. to achieve the 3-star designation. We interviewed team members from the City of Tulsa Mayor’s Office of Resilience and Equity to learn how they advanced their welcoming efforts as a result of Certified Welcoming and their…
Welcoming in the Crescent City: How nonprofits helped New Orleans become Certified Welcoming
In October 2023, New Orleans became the first place in Louisiana to earn the Certified Welcoming designation. Notably, New Orleans is also the first 1-star Certified Welcoming city under the new star designation system. We talked with leaders across the city to learn how community partnerships helped achieve the designation. Relationships, trust, and power-sharing are…
Embracing change: How Boise leans into language access, fostering belonging for all
Boise is the first Certified Welcoming city in Idaho. In September 2023, Boise was officially redesignated as Certified Welcoming following their initial certification in 2019. We spoke with Lana Graybeal, the senior manager of community outreach at the City of Boise, about how the Office of Community Engagement team advances welcoming in the community. Over…
A city-county partnership for immigrant inclusion: Welcome Toledo-Lucas County
The first Certified Welcoming city-county duo shares how the local governments collaborate within their community. Among the 18 places that are Certified Welcoming, there is only one city-county duo: the City of Toledo and Lucas County in Ohio. The City of Toledo began working to become Certified Welcoming with Lucas County in 2018. Lucas County…
Civic engagement strengthens Lancaster’s welcoming efforts
Lancaster, Pennsylvania has a long history of welcoming that guides the local government’s work to this day. “We are a city of welcome and have been for hundreds of years,” says Milzy Carrasco, director of Neighborhood Engagement for the City of Lancaster. Lancaster became Certified Welcoming in 2018 — making the city the first to…
How Philadelphia is advancing welcoming work through transparency and collaboration
In recent years, the community of welcomers in Philadelphia mobilized to support refugees arriving in the city. More than 25,000 Afghan refugees were welcomed through the Philadelphia International Airport between August 2021 and March 2022, and over 100 Haitians arrived in the city after the political unrest and natural disasters experienced in Haiti in August…
Five approaches to welcoming that are advancing inclusion and equity in San José
In March 2022, the City of San José, California became Certified Welcoming. Over a year later, we interviewed Zulma Maciel, director of San José’s Office of Racial Equity, to learn more about unique approaches the city government uses to cultivate equity and inclusion for immigrant communities and Black, Indigenous, and people of color. Using racial…