Cultural Ambassadors

Action Description

Attracting foreign born knowledge workers is directly related to sustained economic growth and entrepreneurialism (a recent Duke University study determined that half of all startup companies in California have foreign born owners and investors).  With over 100 ethnic groups represented in our community, we can build on our diversity to attract foreign companies and investment in our region.  Cultural ambassador programs expedite trade among the international regions as well as help integrate company workers into the cultural and social fabric of their new community.  SPARK’s Cultural Ambassadors program, formed in 2008, currently has representatives for several Asian, European, and Middle Eastern countries, and should be expanded to include African and South American nations.

The Cultural Ambassador group (CA) is subdivided into culture teams (e.g., Team Japan) and engages in activities at both the culture team level and the group level.  At the culture team level, each nation or region that is represented in the CA program has its own team of community and business members, which is responsible for holding meetings, advancing its culture’s agenda and promoting cultural awareness.  Team members work to strengthen cultural networks by identifying fellow nationals in the community and enhancing and marketing local cultural events.  Each team is also responsible for creating ties with its country’s international business community and marketing the Ann Arbor region to that community.

At the group level, CA is working to change Federal Immigration Laws, which inhibit the region’s ability to attract the brightest global minds of the “knowledge economy.”  Through immigration reform, the group also hopes to facilitate the effective integration of international students into the US economy and to attract entrepreneurs and capital to distressed areas.  CA is also planning presentations to entities such as UM's Ross School of Business with the goal of informing students about business and living opportunities in the Ann Arbor region.  Ann Arbor has a strong culture of entrepreneurship, but many students are not informed about the region's business assets, such as its incubators.  CA hopes that by learning about these types of opportunities, and about the cultural diversity in the region, students might be more likely to stay in the area after graduation, thus contributing to the talent and knowledge pool in the region.  Additionally, CA hopes to use its cultural networks to actively bring in new companies, and to provide a rapid response to site-selecting companies visiting the Ann Arbor region.

Action Team

Wadad Abed, Arab World
Walter Zhou, China
Peter Kozma, Germany
Mandy Grewal, India
Bhusan Kulkarni, India
Amy Lavi, Israel
Ron Perry, Israel
Bruce Brownlee, Japan
Kenji Yano, Japan
Sang Nam, Korea
Michael Tarasev, Russia
Wan-Thai Hsu, Taiwan
Jimmy Hsaio, Taiwan
Queenie Tsai, Taiwan
Denise Yee, Taiwan
Mahendra Ramsinghani, Chair
Amy Cell, SPARK
Bill Milliken, SPARK
Vince Nystrom, SPARK
Elizabeth Parkinson, SPARK
Rick Snyder, SPARK
Karen McAmmond, Miller Canfield
Jennifer Hayes, Detroit Renaissance
Dennis Doyle, CVB
Mary Kerr, CVB
Patty Mallett, LEAP
Frank Ferro, MEDC
David Mielke, EMU
Tracey Schauff, UM International Center
Ken Fischer, UMS
Susie Bozell, UMS
Liz Margolis, Ann Arbor Public Schools

Action Timeline

Metrics and Reporting

TBD