Shared Community: Leaders of Immigrant and Refugee Backgrounds Partner with Undergraduate Students for Social Change

As newly arriving populations gain the experience and social capital that they need to be successful in a new country, these communities also share their knowledge and diverse cultural perspectives with schools, nonprofits, and local government, enabling systems to grow and change in ways that reflect each new generation of immigrants (Mai & Schmit, 2013). This ongoing reciprocity creates a space where new understandings and ways of communicating across diverse issues evolve. Built on an adaptive leadership framework (Heifetz & Linsky, 2002), cultural context (Bolden & Kirk, 2009), and experiential learning (Kayes et al., 2005), this article describes a university-community partnership developed by University of Utah faculty and students with leaders of immigrant and refugee backgrounds focused on implementing community-identified social change projects in the River District of Salt Lake City.