{"id":22782,"date":"2016-08-08T15:44:28","date_gmt":"2016-08-08T19:44:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/creator\/?p=22782"},"modified":"2020-04-03T15:51:52","modified_gmt":"2020-04-03T19:51:52","slug":"leezia-dhalla-fwd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/community-stories\/member-spotlight\/leezia-dhalla-fwd","title":{"rendered":"Doing Good: Leezia Dhalla of FWD.us"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally from Canada, Leezia Dhalla\u2019s move to the U.S. two decades ago sparked her passion for working in immigration reform.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I was trying to navigate this complex immigration system, I met more and more people like me who were trying to live here, and work here, and build a life here,\u201d says Dhalla.\u201cIt\u2019s a really tough fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dhalla is the new communications associate at FWD.us<\/a>, a nonprofit started by key leaders in the tech community to promote policies to keep the country competitive in a global economy. One of their main issues, and one that\u2019s close to Dhalla\u2019s heart, is comprehensive immigration reform and education reform. FWD.us believes that every person should have the opportunity to contribute to society.<\/p>\n

Founders:\u00a0<\/strong>49 founders, including Mark Zuckerberg, Drew Houston, and Bill Gates<\/p>\n

Year founded:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>2013<\/p>\n

Where we\u2019re based: <\/strong>WeWork Dupont Circle<\/p>\n

Moment of inspiration:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cI came to the U.S. legally in 1996 and unknowingly overstayed my visa,\u201d says Dhalla. \u201cI grew up feeling American, and suddenly, I was told I\u2019m not part of a community I was welcomed into. It was a turning point for me, and that\u2019s when I started getting involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Biggest hurdle: \u201c<\/strong>Right now, there is a lot of anti-immigration sentiment,\u201d says Dhalla. \u201cThere are talks of mass deportation policies and bans on reform for coming into the U.S. We don\u2019t think that\u2019s the right way to go about immigration reform.\u201d<\/p>\n

How we want to change the world:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cOur goal really is to make the world a better place for people,\u201d says Dhalla. \u201cWe mobilize the tech community and business community for policies that will help make the American dream achievable in the 21st century.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Originally from Canada, Leezia Dhalla\u2019s move to the U.S. two decades ago sparked her passion for working in immigration reform. \u201cAs I was trying to navigate this complex immigration system, I met more and more people like me who were trying to live here, and work here, and build a life here,\u201d says Dhalla.\u201cIt\u2019s a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1633,"featured_media":22783,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43903,43911],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-stories","category-member-spotlight"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDoing Good: Leezia Dhalla of FWD.us<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I met more and more people like me who were trying to live here, and work here, and 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