When newcomers to St. Louis succeed, the entire region succeeds, says Blake Hamilton, president of the International Institute of St. Louis.
That’s why he agreed to join with Mitra Naseh, an assistant professor at the WashU Brown School and founding director of the school’s Forced Migration Initiative, in her quest to foster belonging among the region’s large Afghan population and to find ways to better connect refugees to the services they need to thrive.
“This work also reminds us that welcoming is not a measure of individual effort alone. It is a measure of whether our region is prepared to unlock talent, recognize credentials, support families and create pathways to mobility,” Hamilton told attendees at the 2026 William H. Danforth St. Louis Confluence Award Research Showcase April 15 at the Clark-Fox Forum. “That’s why partnerships like these really matter so much. WashU researchers bring rigor, analysis and the ability to see patterns across systems. And community organizations bring trust, proximity and responsibility for what happens. Together, we move forward from insight to action.”