New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York on June 27, 2024 announced its annual list of Great Immigrants, honoring 24 naturalized citizens whose contributions have enriched our society and strengthened our democracy. Every Fourth of July since 2006, the philanthropic foundation has sponsored Great Immigrants, Great Americans, a public awareness campaign that celebrates immigrants’ vital role in American life.
The 2024 Class of Great Immigrants is comprised of naturalized citizens from 16 countries. The honorees represent a wide range of backgrounds and are recognized for their work in public service, education, health, journalism, the arts, and business, among other fields. They include three Nobel laureates, memoirist Leila Ahmed, rap musician Abbas (Bas) Hamad, NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang, industrial designer Sir Jonathan (Jony) Ive, DC president Jim Lee, investigative journalist Maria Ressa, and Emmy winner Steven Yeun.
“The 24 Americans honored today serve as a reminder of the economic and societal benefits that each new generation of immigrants brings to our country and the richness of talent, skills, and achievements they contribute to our democracy,” said Dame Louise Richardson, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York and a naturalized American citizen, born in Ireland. “In honor of our founder, Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish immigrant, we celebrate these extraordinary individuals who have made notable contributions to American society.”
The Indian American honorees include:
Abhijit Banerjee (India) - The Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at MIT, Banerjee won the Nobel Prize in economics for his work in developing an experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.
Eboo Patel (India) - Founder and president of Interfaith America, Patel works with governments, universities, private companies, and civic organizations to promote cooperation across religious differences.
Premal Shah (India) - A social entrepreneur, Shah has spent his career building microfinance companies to alleviate social problems, from global poverty to the transition to solar.
Dr. Ashish Kumar Jha - The Dean of the School of Public Health at Brown University, Dr. Jha is globally revered as a trusted guide and advisor to policymakers on major health crises. With an MD and a master’s degree in public health, he is a distinguished alumnus of Harvard University.
The Great Immigrants initiative aims to increase public awareness of the economic and societal benefits of immigration as part of the Corporation’s focus on strengthening democracy and reducing political polarization. According to the American Immigration Council, a Corporation grantee, immigrants comprise 13.8 percent of the U.S. population, more than half of whom are naturalized citizens. They account for 22.6 percent of the nation’s entrepreneurs, 23.1 percent of its STEM workers, and 15.6 percent of its nurses.
