I founded the Libman Family Foundation to award college scholarships to graduating high school seniors who are immigrants or refugees or children of immigrants or refugees attending Evanston Township High School in Evanston, IL. Over the years, we have distributed nearly $150,000 in scholarships to young scholars beginning their post-high school educational journey.

This work has grown out of my experiences with refugees overseas and commitment serving immigrant and refugee communities in various capacities in Chicago. I continue to teach English as a Second Language and other language courses at Truman College, where I have been for the past 31 years. I have been a sponsor and mentor to immigrants/refugees through organizations such as Evanston Scholars and Refugee One and was the Executive Director of the Tibetan Resettlement Project – Chicago, which resettled Tibetan refugees to Chicago in the early 1990s.

My extended family has joined the dedication to this project. In 2024, we expanded our support to an organization called Building Peaceful Bridges, which supports refugees resettling in the Chicago area, including one family from Syria which is sponsored by my sister’s family.