The Immigrant Stories Project integrates quantitative data with in-depth interviews with immigrants living in the United States to highlight the lived experiences behind the numbers. This mixed methods approach provides both a comprehensive picture of the realities faced by immigrants and a broader view of immigrants’ vital economic and societal contributions to the communities in which they work and live and to United States as a whole. This year, the IIR focused on immigrant entrepreneurs and leaders in three regions: Boston, Massachusetts, Aurora, Colorado, and Washington D.C.
The IIR partnered with the Immigrant Learning Center to feature the winners of the 2025 Barry M. Portnoy Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards. Originally from the Caribbean country of Antigua and Barbuda, Colette A.M. Phillips shares her remarkable story of leadership in supporting entrepreneurs in Boston while running Colette Phillips Communications and the business networking organization Get Konnected! Luiz Thomaz DaCosta left a lucrative job in his home country of Brazil to pursue a better future for his children. He now runs Modular Concepts, a successful commercial cleaning company in Marlborough, Massachusetts.
The IIR collaborated with Welcoming America and the City of Aurora, Colorado to provide the city with quantitative and qualitative data about immigrants living in Aurora. Through IIR’s Immigration Data on Demand (iDod) project, the IIR created a detailed factsheet that highlights the large and diverse immigrant community in Aurora. This fact sheet demonstrates how immigrants in Aurora contribute significantly to the labor force and entrepreneurship, and play an important role in industries such as construction, health care, and food service.
Interviews were conducted with three immigrant entrepreneurs in Aurora to give a human dimension to the numbers, shed light on the life journeys of immigrants to Colorado, and highlight the contributions they make to the city. Originally from Uruguay, Marcelo Alvariza went from running a flooring company to starting Orejano Casual Latin Cuisine in 2025. The restaurant has already won an award for best empanada in greater Denver! “Jambo” Merhatsedek Woldyohannis tells the story of starting an auto repair company in Adis Ababa in his home country of Ethiopia as a young man before coming to Colorado where he owns Jambo Motors, an auto repair and used car dealership. K.C. Lee moved to Colorado from South Korea with his family when he was a child. He eventually took over his father’s commercial cleaning company Vista Services.
Lastly, from the Washington D.C. region, we offer the story of Egyptian documentary producer and director Dina Abou Zeid. Ms. Dina has an extensive career producing historical, political, and cultural documentaries across the Middle East. Having left Egypt, she is now rebuilding her career in the United States.