The Numbers
There are an estimated 179,800 immigrants living in Kentucky.
If we were all in one county, our population would be bigger than every county in KY other than Jefferson and Fayette.
The Gap
Only 75,700 Kentucky immigrants are registered voters.
Language barriers, trust, and accessibility of information can make it difficult for immigrants to become informed about issues and candidates, and to register to vote.
The Need
57,759 are eligible for naturalization right now.
However, there are many immigrants eligible for naturalization who do not become citizens mainly due to financial and language barriers.
Who We Are.
We are a diverse group of Kentuckians from across the state committed to making space for the voices of foreign-born Kentuckians in our electoral process. We are community leaders, elected officials, business owners, attorneys, students, volunteers, and every day Kentuckians.
Our staff is women-led. 80% of our board members are first and second generation immigrants. Together, we want to help immigrant and refugee communities by stablishing pathways to citizenship, helping eligible immigrants become citizens, and keeping naturalized citizens engaged and active in our electoral and civic processes.
What we do.
Legal Clinics
NAI hosts one-day legal clinics to help individuals in Kentucky who are currently eligible for citizenship or who may become eligible within five years. Through these clinics NAI aims to address the primary barriers to naturalization including:
- Lack of knowledge about the process,
- Inability to afford the filing fee, or
- Difficulty passing the English proficiency portion of the naturalization interview.
We’re here to help bridge those gaps and support our fellow immigrants as they become active and informed citizens of the United States of America and the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
What we do.
Civic Engagement
NAI provides information and resources on voter education in culturally competent formats and languages to immigrant and refugee communities across Kentucky. We also host voter registrations, GOTV (get out the vote) events and candidate forums.
We equip community members with resources and strategies to become more civically informed and engaged, and we work to connect across communities through strategic partnerships at the city, state, and national levels.
Through organizing, policy advocacy, and voter engagement, we hope to change the narrative and demonstrate how Kentucky immigrants and refugees can be a powerful collective force for change and progress.
We aim to engage immigrant and refugee voters year-round on issues impacting their communities, and mobilize an electorate that has been historically overlooked.
Our Partners & Collaborators
This office is dedicated to promoting inclusion of Louisville's immigrant and refugee communities into the civic, social, and economic life of the city. In collaboration with community partners, we help facilitate equitable access to opportunity by developing strategies, policies, and programs that advance inclusion for all.
KRM offers free citizenship classes that assist with learning U.S. civics and practicing for the oral interview at the YMCA Southeast, Americana Community Center, South Central Library, Iroquois Library, and online through Zoom. To register for the citizenship preparation classes, fill out the Google form here. Bring your Green Card to enroll in the classes.
The Louisville Free Public Library offers a wide range of ongoing international and English language learning programming. LFPL's collection includes books and movies in more than 80 languages, from Arabic to Urdu, as well as English language learning materials.
A number of library locations also offer a rich mix of activities, including multilingual storytimes, cultural showcases, conversation groups, foreign films, and literary salons in several languages. During International Month (September), all LFPL branches celebrate Louisville’s diverse languages and cultures.
The International Rescue Committee responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, including the conflict in Ukraine and the crisis in Afghanistan. The IRC helps to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster
Neighbors Immigration Clinic is a ministry of hospitality that welcomes immigrants by providing affordable, high-quality immigration legal services to low-income immigrants, engaging in advocacy for immigrant rights, and offering education to communities of faith and the public.
The Kentucky Office for Refugees (KOR) is a department of Catholic Charities of Louisville and is federally designated to coordinate refugee resettlement services across the state, providing grants management, policy guidance, and program development to promote self-sufficiency and community integration.
How you can help.
Get Involved.
- Provide pro bono legal support
- Volunteer to interpret or translate
- Volunteer at a legal clinic
- Staff an NAI table at community events
- Register new voters
- Work a GOTV (Get out the vote) event
- Sponsor a naturalization or work permit clinic
- Provide child care for children during clinics
Calendar of Events
Information Sessions
We are currently scheduling monthly information sessions in Lexington and/or Louisville to provide details, to determine eligibility, and to help answer questions about upcoming legal clinics. Please check back for finalized dates and locations.
Legal Clinics
Note: Participants will be required to attend an information session and pre-register for these events.
Lexington
- September 21 (Citizenship Clinic)
- October 10 (Employment Authorization Clinic)
Louisville
- September 11 (Green Card Clinic)
- October TBA (Green Card Clinic)
- November 13 (Green Card Clinic)
- November TBA (Citizenship Clinic)
- December TBA (Green Card Clinic)
NAI on the Road
- World Fest (Louisville) August 31
- Roots & Heritage Festival (Lexington) September 7
- Festival Latino de Lexington (Lexington) September 21
- Franklin County International Festival (Frankfort) October 14
Meet the Team
At the heart of the New Americans Initiative, our dedicated team works to connect individuals to essential resources and become engaged in civic life.
Our efforts extend to supporting our incredible volunteers, empowering them to become leaders and champions within their communities.
Together, we are fostering an inclusive environment where everyone has the opportunity to thrive and contribute to our communities. Our staff is women-led with 75% being first and second generation immigrants. 80% of our board is also made of first and second generation immigrants.
Nima Kulkarni
Executive Director
Nima Kulkarni is the founder and executive director of the New Americans Initiative. In 2018, Nima Kulkarni became the first Indian immigrant to be elected in the history of the Kentucky Legislature. She represented the 40th District in Louisville, which includes the University of Louisville and Churchill Downs.
Since 2010, she has also managed her own immigration law practice, helping others achieve the American Dream. Nima has earned a BA in English Literature, a Juris Doctor, and an MBA in Entrepreneurship. As a legislator, Nima focused her work on issues of economic, social, racial, and environmental justice, and has dedicated her time as a public servant to helping the most vulnerable Kentuckians.
Charlene Buckles
Development Director
Charlene Buckles (she/her) is a Filipina-Kentuckian, mother of two, and nonprofit development professional. She served in fundraising and organization-wide strategic planning roles for nonprofits such as Girls on the Run Atlanta, Neighbors Immigration Legal Clinic, American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky (ACLU-KY), and most recently New Americans Initiative.
In recent years, Charlene's and her co-creator's podcast "Where Y'all Really From" that highlights stories from Asian American Kentuckians was featured in NPR's top podcasts for several weeks and was the "fastest-growing, episodic program in Louisville Public Media history." She was named Louisville Business First's 40 under 40 in 2023. In her free time, she loves to dabble in photography, make hopeful-but-often-futile attempts at backyard gardening, and explore new places in Kentucky and new islands abroad with her family.
Emily Jones
Legal Director
In addition to practicing law, she is a part-time instructor in the Political Science Department at the University of Kentucky teaching pre-law classes to undergraduates. She has also served as an adjunct faculty at the Rosenberg College of Law and the supervisor of their Kentucky Refugee Ministries Externship. Emily is an At Large Commissioner on the Mayor’s International Affairs Advisory Commission (MIAAC) in Lexington, Kentucky.
Prior to immigration law, Emily practiced in the area of foreclosure defense at Community Legal Aid in Worcester, Massachusetts. Emily graduated from the University of Kentucky with a B.A. in Political Science and French and holds a law degree from the University of Kentucky Rosenberg College of Law. Prior to joining NAI, Emily worked as the Senior Immigration Attorney at Kentucky Refugee Ministries (KRM) in Lexington. For over a decade, Emily has focused on the practice of humanitarian and family-based immigration law assisting thousands of clients with a variety of cases in front of US Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Executive Office of Immigration Review.
Mae Suramek
Operations Director
Mae Suramek (she/her) has been involved in non-profit management at the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission, the North Carolina Human Relations Commission, Berea College, and the Bluegrass Rape Crisis Center. After spending 20 years getting an up-close and personal view of the funding challenges of the non-profit world, she went on to create Noodle Nirvana, a socially-conscious restaurant in Berea, KY that raised nearly $200,000 for four non-profits during its seven years of operations.
Mae recently returned to her non-profit roots and currently serves as the Operations Director of the New Americans Initiative. Mae and her husband, Adam are also partners of the Good Dwellings Group, a real estate business that is committed to promoting equal and accessible housing in Kentucky. Mae has a B.A. in psychology from Berea College and an M.A. in counseling from Eastern Kentucky University.
Meet the Board
Angelika Weaver is an advocate, grant writer, community organizer, speaker, and women's empowerment coach from Williamsburg, Kentucky. She owns Good Stewardship Consulting, a company that assists businesses and organizations in tackling issues of multi-generational communication and soft skills development for staff and emerging leaders.
Weaver began her career in 1999 as the first law enforcement victim's advocate in her area, serving the needs of domestic violence and sexual assault survivors in the court system and has been leading in this capacity ever since.
She received her National Advocate Credentials in 2019 and serves as a mentor for fellow law enforcement-based advocates through Kentucky's Victim Assistance Academy, the training ground for new advocates across the Commonwealth.
Angelika's primary focus is empowering women in Southeastern Kentucky, but her influence can be seen in various ongoing local and regional projects. Driven by her love of Appalachia, Weaver is committed to positively shaping external perceptions of Kentucky and the Southeastern region. She resides in Williamsburg with her husband, Carl. Together they have 6 children and 7 grandchildren.
Amos Izerimana is the Director of International and Immigrant Affairs for Louisville Metro Government where he is responsible for promoting equity, welcoming initiatives, and inclusion of immigrant and refugee communities.
Amos previously served over two years as Program Manager and Interim Director of the Office for Globalization where he led the city to become re-designated as Certified Welcoming, spearheaded efforts to develop Louisville Metro’s language access infrastructure, and led Covid-19 pandemic recovery programs with community partners and immigrant-owned businesses.
In addition to various roles with Initiatives of Change Switzerland and volunteer work with Louisville’s immigrant communities, Amos previously served as a legal assistant at a local immigration Law firm advocating for individuals in removal proceedings and reuniting families.
He holds a master’s degree in International Law from the United Nations-mandated University for Peace, a master’s degree in Conflict Resolution from the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, and a liberal arts degree in Peace and Social Justice Studies from Berea College.
A native of Burundi, Amos was resettled to Louisville in 2007 after spending twelve years in a Tanzanian refugee camp. Amos enjoys traveling, reading, and learning about new cultures through music, cuisine, and dance. He speaks English, Kirundi, Swahili, Kinyarwanda, and elementary French.
Melanie Veneracion Parker is a versatile professional with twenty years in the healthcare industry. The earlier years of her career were spent on the frontline with clinical staff and community education.
She has dedicated the last ten years to Operations and Compliance at a managed care organization. Melanie drives continuous improvement so that the two million lives across seven states at her organization has equitable access to care and deeper understanding about their rights and health benefits.
Melanie was born in Benghazi to two Filipino overseas workers and lived in Manila until her family was granted visas sponsored by a small rural hospital system in the Appalachian foothills in early 1990s. It was while permanent residency was being established in eastern Kentucky that Melanie embraced being a first-generation immigrant while adapting to a newfound mountain heritage.
Kentucky has been home for over thirty years, and she is as passionate about soup beans and cornbread as she is chicken adobo and pancit. In her prioritized time, Melanie enjoys spending time with her husband and two young boys. She came out of tennis retirement six months ago and is working to revive the meanness in her backhand swing.
Dustin Pugel is Policy Director at the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, where he focuses on economic security, health policy and safety net programs while providing strategic support for all of the organization’s policy campaigns.
Dustin previously worked for BUILD in Lexington, Kentucky where he trained congregations to identify, research and advocate for policy solutions on a local level. He also spent two years providing policy research assistance to the Commonwealth Council on Developmental Disabilities. In 2019, he joined Neighbors Immigration Clinic as a founding board member and treasurer until 2023. He lives with his wife and two sons in Lexington.
Bryan Warren is an artist and educator who believes that the creativity and learning play an integral role in building great communities. As Executive Director he works with the EJ Board, staff, activists, and scholars to achieve EJ’s mission.
Prior to Educational Justice, Bryan served as Vice President of Education and Community Arts at Kentucky Performing Arts. Other past roles include Director of the Office for Globalization at Louisville Metro Government, Executive Director of Asia Institute-Crane House, and Curator of Family Programs at The Speed Art Museum. As a practicing artist, he shows his work regionally and curates art exhibitions. He also gives time to the community through several boards including Welcoming America, Center for Nonprofit Excellence, Interfaith Paths to Peace, Teach Kentucky and the Big Table.
Dan Wu is an At-Large Council Member and Vice Mayor of Lexington. Dan Wu was first elected to office in November of 2022. Born in China, Dan came to the United States as a child, first to Fargo, North Dakota, then settled with his family in Lexington. A graduate of Henry Clay High School and the University of Kentucky, Dan has been a jack of all trades, having worked in journalism, retail, hospitality and other fields.
He was the owner and operator of Atomic Ramen, a restaurant with multiple locations in Lexington. A former board member of LexArts, The Human Rights Commission, Local First Lexington, KY Equal Justice Center, and CivicLex, Dan has been very active in the community, working on issues ranging from food insecurity to immigrant and refugee rights. He created both the “I Am A Kentuckian” and “Immigrants and Refugees Belong Here” campaigns. Dan is a co-founder of Get HAAPI, a grassroots group that creates arts and cultural events to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Dan is married to Lauren, a high school teacher of kids with moderate to severe disabilities and an LGBTQ+ advocate, father to Lin and Lilly, and a trio of felines Cake, Talulah Mae and Tammy Faye. In his spare time, Dan loves pickleball, jigsaw puzzles, binging bad sci-fi shows, and cooking for his family. His kryptonite is unusually flavored potato chips.