Breandán Magee, a native of Belfast, Ireland, has joined ICIRR as the new Senior Director of Programs.  He will oversee a newly amalgamated department that includes the New Americans Initiative, the Immigrant Family Resource Program, Uniting America, WIC and SNAP.  He will be responsible for the $6.5 million in state funding that ICIRR grants to our partner agencies every year.   He brings a breadth of experience to the role, having served for 9 years as the Executive Director of Chicago Irish Immigrant Support, an advocacy, immigration and social services agency.  He also acted as Vice President of the Coalition of Irish Immigration Centers, representing over a dozen Irish immigration centers nationwide. 

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Breandán co-founded the Chicago Celts for Immigration Reform and has lobbied at the state and federal level for pro-immigrant legislation. He was very involved in the fight for Temporary Visitor Drivers Licenses in Springfield and worked on numerous ICIRR campaigns.  As a national leader in the Irish community he has been invited to the White House and briefed the Irish Prime Minister numerous times on immigration reform.  He holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy Analysis from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh and is fluent in Spanish and French. Prior to Chicago he held posts in Madrid, Spain and Seoul, South Korea.  He also rescues dogs from high kill shelters in Kentucky in his spare time.