Meet Beth Mastin, Director for New Routes to Community Health

Beth Mastin writes about what she has learned about how many immigrants live in the U.S.

1. If you are an immigrant, tell us what it means to be an immigrant in the United States. If you are not an immigrant, tell us how the immigrant issue touches you on personal level.

When I began working on New Routes, I was blindsided by what I learned about immigrants' lives in the USA. I saw that millions of immigrants were living furtive lives, hiding in plain sight.  My role as Director of New Routes to Community Health is to leverage the media created by immigrants to bear witness to the struggles and triumphs of newcomers to the USA.  

2. Tell us about an interesting or wise practice from another culture that you wish people in the United States would adopt.

Living in Sweden I learned the value of making and giving handcrafted gifts. My Swedish family dipped candles — an activity that took all day and required the participation of all family members.  We have maintained this tradition, dipping and giving bee's wax candles as holiday gifts.