We are delighted to extend a warm welcome to our newest Assistant Director, Dr. Marissa Kiss. Dr. Kiss brings 15+ years of experience conducting and managing large and small scale federally funded and institutionally supported research projects. She has worked within diverse areas from public health to substance use, education, policing and corrections, sports, and immigration. She joined the IIR as a Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) nine years ago. She has since expanded her research skills in her roles as a researcher and then a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, learning about immigration policy and the contributions of immigrants.
In addition to Dr. Kiss’s professional background, her personal background also shaped the perspectives she brings to the IIR. Dr. Kiss recalled the sacrifices and struggles that her great grandparents went through in the late 1890s and early 1900s when they fled to the United States when faced with war or persecution. Listening to these stories as a young child gave her a first-hand experience of how powerful storytelling can be and how important it is to teach others to continue to tell these stories, cherish their roots, and celebrate their heritage. Dr. Kiss noted that the IIR is an inspiring place to work because "the IIR provides the space to do both: tell stories of immigration and immigrants through data and storytelling.”
What initially inspired you to join the Institute for Immigration Research, and what continues to motivate you in this work?
When reflecting on this question, Dr. Kiss stated that “the people, work, and impact” were the driving forces that inspired her to join the IIR. Dr. Kiss fondly remembers that when earning her master's degree in sociology at George Mason University(Mason) from 2008-2012, she met former IIR Director, Dr. James (Jim) Witte, who joined Mason in 2009. Dr. Kiss mentioned how, “Jim was not only extremely knowledge in statistics, but he was one of the most supportive faculty in the program.” In 2015, Dr. Kiss decided to pursue her PhD in sociology at Mason. A year later, there was an opening for a GRA position at the IIR. Dr. Kiss expressed, “I was excited to be offered the position knowing that I would have the opportunity to help develop, streamline ,and work on the Immigration Data on Demand (iDod) project, as well as grow my statistical skills and produce fact sheets and reports for the general public regarding the contributions of immigrants at the national, state, and local level.” Over time, Dr. Kiss saw the real-time impact of the IIR’s work. As Dr. Kiss noted, “in academia, a lot of the time our work just stays within the academic walls. But here at the IIR, which is one of the biggest motivators in addition to the staff, is that our work breaks through those walls and reaches all audiences from individuals, to institutions, organizations, educators, service providers, or policymakers. The data that we produce has an impact and has been used by individuals or organizations for decision making, or strategic planning, presentations, program development, immigration advocacy, grant applications, op-eds or other publications.”
Are there any current projects or initiatives you’re particularly excited about and can share with us?
As the Assistant Director, Dr. Kiss will oversee the IIR's data-driven quantitative projects. There are two projects that Dr. Kiss is excited to work on and continue to develop. The first project, which she leads, is called “Understanding the Contributions and Challenges among Fairfax County Residents”. This is a mixed-methods project that examines not only Fairfax County residents' positive economic contributions, skill sets, educational background, community and civic engagement, but also the challenges that residents, particularly immigrants, face in the community. Dr. Kiss is working alongside individuals throughout the county, including educators, business owners, directors of nonprofit organizations, andother community and faith-based leaders. This project has also given undergraduate and graduate students at Mason first-hand research experience and the opportunity to work as translators, recruiters, or interviewers.
Dr. Kiss is also excited to see the “Immigrant Stories” project expand under the leadership of the new IIR Director, Dr. Lisa Gilman. Although the IIR has included some qualitative research and interviews to accompany the iDod project, Dr. Kiss is enthusiastic to see arts, culture, and storytelling woven not only into the Leaving and Belonging project, but also into the broader mission of the IIR.
Can you walk us through your transition into the Assistant Director role? What have been the most meaningful or surprising parts of stepping into this position?
The most meaningful part to stepping into this position has been to not only continue to mentor students and researchers at the IIR, but the ability to “put ideas into action.” For the past few years, Dr. Kiss has been envisioning an interactive immigration timeline for the IIR website that would incorporate data on immigrants, immigration policy, as well as stories of immigrants who made significant contributions to the United States. She shared: “when I brought up this idea, it was well received. I am looking forward to working with CHSS web and developers to help construct and bring my vision to life.”
Looking ahead, what long-term goals or impacts do you hope to achieve—both personally and for the IIR?
Looking ahead, Dr. Kiss would like to increase what the IIR produces and expand the IIR’s capacity. More specifically, Dr. Kiss would like to develop partnerships with non-profit organizations and stakeholders to support the iDod project so that the IIR can scale up and continue to provide data to individuals, organizations, local communities, and policy makers. Dr. Kiss would also like to see the 250-year immigration timeline and the Leaving & Belonging project come to fruition. She would also like to write more op-eds in order to reach diverse audiences as well as receive training in video editing and recording equipment to better support the Leaving & Belonging project.
What is one thing you think people would be surprised to learn about the IIR or its work?
The IIR is a very small research institute. As Dr. Kiss stated, “in my conversations, individuals have told me that based on the number of research projects at the IIR, they assume that the IIR has 20 or more staff on our team. In reality, there are less than 10 of us. I am proud of the work that we do and our ability to continue to carry out high-quality research given how small our team is.”
If you had to describe your work at the IIR in three words, which ones would you choose and why?
“I would say informative since we produce reliable, unbiased, and objective data. Impactful as our data helps to make a difference to local communities and organizations who use our data to write grant applications or support programming requests. Lastly, what we produce at the IIR is engaging as we strive to disseminate our work through multiple formats – fact sheets, reports, research briefs, commentaries, webinars, colloquium, op-eds or presentations.”
Dr. Kiss is excited to begin this next chapter as Assistant Director at the IIR. Dr. Kiss is looking forward to collaborating with students, staff, IIR Affiliate Faculty, and others to continue to advance initiatives that strengthen the IIRs mission as well as produce impactful and engaging research that informs policy and empowers communities.
December 03, 2025