CIANA was founded in 2006 by Emira Habiby Browne, a social services professional with decades of experience working with immigrant families and children. I n 1993, Emira first founded the Arab-American Family Support Center in Brooklyn, the first social services organization in New York City to address the needs of the Arabic-speaking immigrant community in NYC . CIANA is built on Emira’s extensive experience serving new immigrants from highly traditional societies, and is a wider and more inclusive immigrant integration model that begins the process of integration immediately upon entry into the country.
In January 2006, Emira Habiby Browne and Cyrus Zulkarnaïan Kazi, a professional with over a decade of experience in social enterprise development, discussed creating a new model of immigrant integration services that would guide new immigrants and refugees towards social and economic integration and advancement. The new model would be more inclusive, broader in scope, and include innovative strategies to address the special cultural and language needs of new immigrants.
With the support of family and friends, the mission, goals and objectives for the new organization were developed, organizing board members were recruited, and the Center for the Integration & Advancement of New Americans (CIANA) was incorporated as a not-for-profit social services agency in the State of New York in July 2006.
Following are some of the key events in CIANA’s life to date:
our history
CIANA was founded in 2006 by Emira Habiby Browne, a social services professional with decades of experience working with immigrant families and children. I n 1993, Emira first founded the Arab-American Family Support Center in Brooklyn, the first social services organization in New York City to address the needs of the Arabic-speaking immigrant community in NYC . CIANA is built on Emira’s extensive experience serving new immigrants from highly traditional societies, and is a wider and more inclusive immigrant integration model that begins the process of integration immediately upon entry into the country.
In January 2006, Emira Habiby Browne and Cyrus Zulkarnaïan Kazi, a professional with over a decade of experience in social enterprise development, discussed creating a new model of immigrant integration services that would guide new immigrants and refugees towards social and economic integration and advancement. The new model would be more inclusive, broader in scope, and include innovative strategies to address the special cultural and language needs of new immigrants.
With the support of family and friends, the mission, goals and objectives for the new organization were developed, organizing board members were recruited, and the Center for the Integration & Advancement of New Americans (CIANA) was incorporated as a not-for-profit social services agency in the State of New York in July 2006.
Following are some of the key events in CIANA’s life to date: