The League of Women Voters of Chautauqua County will hold a panel discussion on “The Immigrant Journey: Overcoming Obstacles and Building a Future in the United States” April 15 at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 222 Temple St., Fredonia.

Panelists will be able to share their various perspectives on the immigrant journey. Those participating include:

— Josephat Iyamuremiye, Student at SUNY Fredonia — Iyamuremiye is the Founder of Hope and Peace International Inc., a nonprofit organization based in Buffalo. This organization focuses on providing support and resources to immigrants and refugees. Their mission is to promote peace, hope, and positive integration into the community. They offer services including legal assistance, educational programs, and community outreach to help immigrants navigate their new lives in the United States. He is also a business student at SUNY Fredonia.

— Andy Nash Cammarata, Director of Outreach, Volunteers and Housing, Journey’s End Refugee Services, Buffalo — Nash has been working on and off for Journey’s End for the better part of 13 years. She worked in Community Relations and Special Events from 2012 until 2014, as Community Outreach Manager from 2015 until 2017, as Mission Integration Coordinator and Community Outreach from 2018 until 2022, and she has been Director of Outreach and Volunteers since March 2022. Andy has also worked as Youth Minister and later Parish Administrator at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, as Campus Minister for Nardin Academy and as Program Administrator for People Inc. She graduated from St. Francis University with degrees in History and Political Science.

— Momina Di Blasio, Manager, Immigrant Support Ministry, New Neighbor Coalition, St. Luke’s Church, Jamestown — Raised in Northern Virginia, Di Blasio has a Bachelor of Arts in Music from George Mason University and a Master of Public Administration from State University of New York Brockport. Currently, she serves on the Education Solution Team of the Chautauqua County Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access Coalition, and sits on the local Audubon Community Nature Center’s IDEA Committee. Previously, she was a mayor-appointed member of the City of Jamestown Commission on Human Rights from November 2020 to November 2023.

— John C. Starkey, Principal, Lafayette International High School, Buffalo — Starkey has served as the principal of Lafayette International Community High School in Buffalo since 2015. Lafayette High School serves a community of refugee and immigrant students who have arrived in the United States within the past six years and are in the lowest three levels of English proficiency. Starkey earned a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish Language and Literature from Buff State and studied TESOL at SUNY New Paltz and Educational Leadership and Administration at the College of Saint Rose. Prior to his current position, Starkey was Master Principal of the Renewals Initiative at Bronx High School of Business & Peace and Diversity High School. Prior to that, he was the Principal of International High School at LaGuardia in Queens.

— Sheila Starkey Hahn, Law Offices of Sheila Starkey Hahn — Hahn has been practicing immigration law for more than 25 years. She has a solo practice in Fredonia focusing on family and employment-based immigration and has engaged in the pro bono representation of asylum seekers in detention centers on the southern border and before Immigration Courts nationwide. Hahn is the current Chair of the National Client Resources Committee of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and a past chair of the AILA national Pro Bono Committee. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Spanish from UB and a law degree from the University of Minnesota, and practiced in the Washington, DC area and Memphis, Tenn., prior to arriving in Fredonia six years ago.

The discussion will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. If you can attend, please email Rebecca Huber-Ross at rhuberross@stny.rr.com. Light refreshments will be served.