Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans: The Future of Community
Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans: The Future of Community
Refugees in San Diego have long contributed to the region’s cultural and economic vitality, yet many continue to face barriers to resources, affordable housing, economic opportunities, and culturally relevant spaces. These challenges are intensifying in a rapidly changing landscape; neighborhoods that have historically served as sanctuaries for immigrant communities are increasingly threatened by skyrocketing housing costs and displacement.
The Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (PANA) was founded to address these gaps, serving as a research, public policy, and community organizing hub dedicated to advancing the full inclusion of refugee communities.
Central to its mission is the belief that those most impacted should shape solutions. During the 2020 Census, PANA connected with more than 47,000 African, Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian residents across Mid-City San Diego to understand the barriers they face to achieving belonging, resilience, and prosperity in their new home. PANA effectively balances rapid response in moments of community crisis with long-term systems change – providing legal support and mutual aid from basic necessities to community-based research, legislative advocacy, grassroots organizing, and narrative change. Over the past decade, these efforts surfaced a shared need for a centralized, culturally responsive space for community life and opportunity.
PANA’s Founder and Executive Director Ramla Sahid responded with an idea for The Global Village: Refugee and Immigrant Cultural Hub and Housing Campus, a groundbreaking initiative that harnesses the transformative power of community-owned real-estate. The multi-use development integrates housing, economic opportunities, cultural expression, and wellness services for immigrant and refugee communities in San Diego. The project is a powerful example of how we can forge connected communities that lead self-determined futures. PANA’s vision for the Global Village became tangible in April 2023 when the organization acquired 2.2 acres of land in Mid-City San Diego, marking a critical step toward creating a space built by and for refugee communities.
Our Services
Beginning in 2024, Change Consulting partnered with PANA to develop and implement a communications strategy to launch The Global Village.
The first phase of our partnership focused on building a communications infrastructure for Phase 1 of the capital campaign. Together, we co-created a message platform, a communications strategy roadmap, and an action plan to help PANA: share a compelling and urgent story about the unique value of the Global Village as an ecosystem of care for direct service and power-building organizations, space for cultural work and practice, and hub with jobs, housing, and childcare — engage and uplift the needs and voices of immigrant and refugee communities to spotlight the impact and benefits of the Global Village — generate excitement, buy-in, and alignment among working group and community members as they undergo the visioning and planning process to determine the highest and best uses for the cultural hub — and inspire funders to invest in the Global Village as a permanent solution to welcome new immigrants and refugees to the City Heights neighborhood amidst gentrification and displacement.
With the core strategy assets in place, we turned our efforts to implementation, including helping to develop a microsite and digital collateral materials. We also successfully led media relations efforts, designing and implementing a targeted media relations campaign aimed at increasing PANA’s name recognition and introducing funder audiences to the Global Village.
Outcomes and Impact
Through a collaborative series of planning sessions, we partnered closely with PANA’s website designer to bring the Global Village microsite to life, crafting thoughtful content and blog posts that reflect the organization’s voice and vision. Along the way, we supported the PANA team with social media, helped prepare Ramla for speaking opportunities, and refreshed key materials, including a slide deck and a one-pager.
To elevate visibility, we led the media relations strategy and implementation for the final community visioning event held on Human Rights Day on December 10th, securing seven feature stories in prominent outlets such as the San Diego Union Tribune and Times of San Diego. We placed over 10 feature stories, including in Inside Philanthropy and NextCity, and this opinion piece in Candid. The coverage generated more than 49,600 estimated views and reached a combined publication audience of nearly seven million, helping expand awareness and deepen community connection.
Today, The Global Village is in its design and engineering phase, with a focus on creating a site that truly reflects and serves the needs of its diverse community. Looking ahead, the development phase of breaking ground on housing, cultural, and civic spaces, is anticipated to begin in 2027, marking an exciting next chapter in bringing this shared vision to life.