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New Americans Task Force outlines programs and plans to support Lincoln newcomers
Summary
On Welcoming LNK Radio, New Americans Task Force leaders described NATF’s role coordinating more than 100 local partners, a nonprofit launched to help foreign-trained professionals reenter careers, Lincoln’s four‑star Certified Welcoming recognition and an early‑2026 survey report of newcomers.
On Welcoming LNK Radio, New Americans Task Force leaders described how the grassroots coalition coordinates services for immigrants and refugees in Lincoln and previewed an upcoming community survey report.
The task force, which meets monthly and includes representatives from Lincoln Public Schools, county human services, local resettlement agencies, clinics and many nonprofits, works to “make sure that the ownership for all of that holistic work doesn’t land in one place,” said Mariana Munoz the Shell, identified in the program as a community leader and NATF past chair. She described NATF as a place where agencies share information and plan collaborative responses to language, legal, education and employment barriers newcomers face.
NATF partners highlighted a project born from survey work that was spun off as a Lincoln-based nonprofit to help foreign‑trained professionals—doctors, engineers and lawyers—navigate credentialing and reenter their fields. “We don’t want wasted talent. We want utilized talent,” Munoz the Shell said, summarizing the nonprofit’s mission to validate outside credentials and connect residents to career pathways.
Host Lisa Guil, Welcoming Communities Coordinator for the Cultural Centers of Lincoln, noted the task force’s role in Lincoln’s bid for national recognition: Lincoln earned a four‑star Certified Welcoming designation from Welcoming America in September 2025 after documenting work across seven focus areas and satisfying roughly 80 requirements. Guil said NATF partners’ participation in the certification audit was a key factor the reviewers recorded in their post‑report.
Natalie Weblehouse, introduced as NATF’s 2026 chair and a program director at the Asian community and cultural center, said NATF has completed a second community survey of new Americans; the report is being finalized and expected to be released in early 2026. The survey, she said, provides local data about newcomers’ needs and helps partners plan services.
Speakers also discussed My City Academy, a city‑county leadership program that trains new Americans about how local government and nonprofits work, and cited regular cultural events—such as an upcoming Lunar New Year program at the International Quilt Museum on Feb. 17—as opportunities for community connection.
Looking ahead, panelists said federal resettlement levels for 2026 will include some refugee arrivals and stressed that Lincoln also receives secondary migrants—people who relocate from initial arrival states—so continued support remains necessary even if federal arrival numbers are lower than in previous years.
The interview closed with personal reflections about Lincoln’s collaborative civic culture and an invitation to listeners to learn more about the New Americans Task Force at welcominglnk.org and the city website. The hosts said the NATF meetings are open to community members and agency partners interested in joining the coordination effort.
