JobMakers

This week on JobMakers, host Denzil Mohammed interviews Lindsay Milliken. Milliken underscores the current unprecedented combination of low unemployment and high job openings, particularly in sectors like hospitality, healthcare, and education. She addresses the vital role immigrants play in the workforce, and advocates for leveraging Schedule A, a regulation that expedites the green card process for occupations facing high labor demand. Milliken co-authored an op-ed in the Salt Lake Tribune that proposes updating Schedule A to reflect contemporary demands and streamline the immigration process, pointing to Utah as a positive example of state-level immigrant integration.

This week on Jobmakers, host Denzil Mohammed interviews Natalia Frois, a Brazilian immigrant and CEO of International Business Relations in Massachusetts. She discusses how she supports immigrants and Hispanic entrepreneurs by offering classes, resources, and English education, drawing on her trilingual skills and personal experience. Frois shares how her mission aids business success and community integration.

This week on Jobmakers, host Denzil Mohammed interviews Brad Brown, owner of Blue Frog Bakery in Jamaica Plain. Mr. Brown, an immigrant entrepreneur, discusses his arrival in the U.S., the founding and growth of Blue Frog Bakery, favorite products, community engagement, and the broader impact of immigration in their neighborhood and beyond.

The United States is built on all kinds of immigrants with all kinds of skills and experiences. While politicians might have us believe immigration is a divisive issue, the fact is Americans across the political spectrum agree at least on this: High-skilled immigrants are good for the country, and we need more of them. For Dr. Adam Ozimek, formerly of Moody’s Analytics and now Chief Economist at the Economic Innovation Group, a bipartisan public policy group in Washington D.C. working toward a more dynamic and inclusive economy, not only is immigration economic development itself, but immigration policy is also innovation policy.

Immigrants move for many reasons, and sometimes it can be a matter of life or death if they don’t uproot. But no matter where they’re from, they enrich the cultural landscape of this country while enjoying the freedom and protection the U.S. offers. Sebastian Corbat came to the U.S. for life-saving treatment, and post-op therapy gave him both a new lease on life and a business idea: We should all have access to healthy, organic and tasty foods. So Sebastian went about helping his communities eat healthily with the empanadas he grew up preparing in his mother’s kitchen.

The premise of this podcast is that immigrants are job makers. But does this bear out in the data? Prof. Benjamin F. Jones, former economic advisor in the U.S. Treasury and the White House and now Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy at the Kellog School of Management at Northwestern University, shows that not only do the data show that immigrants are far more likely to start a business in the U.S., they are also innovating at a higher rate that benefits the nation.

This week on JobMakers Denzil interviews Chening Duker, founder of GoodPluck, a farm-to-table delivery service that is transforming the lives of Michiganders and is enriched by Duker's personal heritage and global perspective on organic agriculture.

Immigrants are adept at innovation: creating products and services that make life better for all Americans, and bringing their own cultures and practices to enrich their new homeland. For Miriam Kattumuri, immigrant from India and founder of Miriam’s Earthen Cookware, which manufactures 100 percent non-toxic, cookware made entirely of clay and entirely in the U.S., her innovation conserves the environment while taking on the most basic tool to get food in our bodies: our pots and pans.

Miriam Kattumuri is the founder of Miriams Earthen Cookware, a pioneering all-American company that produces all-natural, 100% non-toxic cookware that is designed to enhance the flavor, nutrients, and health benefits of food. With over 12 years of experience in this industry, Miriam is dedicated to creating products that are not only safe and healthy, but also durable and long-lasting. She is passionate about helping people improve their cooking experience and overall well-being using her innovative cookware. She graduated and majored in human psychology in college and is a recipient of the Streetwise MBA program sponsored by the City of Boston. She is also the founder of the "Full Body Nourishment Cooking" Program (launching soon), with trained brand ambassadors in all states who teach healthy cooking for a naturally thriving body.

Immigrants are adept at innovation, creating products and services that make life better for all Americans, and bringing their own cultures and practices to enrich their new homeland. For Miriam Kattumuri, immigrant from India and founder of Miriam’s Earthen Cookware, her innovation is a way to prevent cancers and other diseases, as well as conserve the environment by taking on the most basic tool to get food in our bodies: our pots and pans.

The immigration system in the United States is complex, to say the least. Visa categories for nearly every letter of the alphabet, exemptions, restrictions, rule changes with every new federal administration. We need more workers, innovators and entrepreneurs in an increasingly competitive world and amid an historic worker shortage and cash-strapped social safety systems due to a greying workforce. Source