Media Advisory: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power to host town hall Tuesday at the University at Buffalo

BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Samantha Power will host a town hall event Tuesday at the University at Buffalo to discuss public and private efforts to tackle the global refugee crisis, and the efforts of American cities such as Buffalo, New York to welcome refugees.

Ambassador Power will be introduced by Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown. The audience will include members of Buffalo’s diverse refugee community from Burma, Bhutan, Somalia, Syria and other countries, as well as UB professors and community leaders working with refugee populations.

A Pulitzer-Prize winning author and former professor at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Power has been a member of President Barack Obama’s cabinet since August 2013 when the U.S. Senate confirmed her as the nation’s 28th ambassador to the United Nations.

News media are invited to attend Tuesday’s event, which is at full capacity, with no remaining seats available to the public.

Who: U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Samantha Power.

Ambassador Power will deliver brief opening remarks, followed by a conversation moderated by Nancy Smyth, dean and professor of UB’s School of Social Work, and Minahil Khan, a native of Pakistan who graduated from UB in 2016 and now works with refugees in Buffalo. Questions will be taken from the audience.

When: 4:30-6:30 p.m., Nov. 22.

Event location: 250 Baird Hall on UB’s North Campus.

Parking: Parking is free and no visitor tags are required after 3 p.m. in faculty, staff and student lots.

Examples of how the University at Buffalo community is responding to the global refugee crisis:

• Established the Immigrant and Refugee Research Institute, which conducts research and hosts events to improve the lives of refugees in Buffalo.
• Hosts an annual Refugee Health Summit, led by the Community of Excellence for Global Health Equity and the School of Public Health and Health Professions’ Office of Global Health Initiatives.
  
• Ensuring refugees have access to short-term and long-term housing in Buffalo.
• Assessing the role of interpreters in refugee health care and ensuring that refugees have access to healthy food.
• Establishing dental clinics at Syrian refugee camps.
• Teaching refugee children how to play classical music.