Liberty's Promise was founded in 2003 by Dr. Robert Ponichtera, who was motivated by the tragedies of September 11, 2001 to create an organization that addressed the ways our growing immigrant community thinks about this country's fundamental political beliefs.

Ponichtera believed that America should respond to terrorism in a manner befitting its political identity. Having just read a number of books about the founding of the United States, he was reminded of how seriously people like John Adams and Thomas Jefferson took concepts like democracy, liberty, and freedom. How could their belief in these ideals be kept alive and relevant for today's Americans? What made the United States the country of choice for people around the world seeking a better life for themselves and their families? And finally, he wondered about the impact of our changing demographic. How could America's republican experiment, which has set us apart from monarchies and dictatorships, remain vital and strong given a vast influx of new immigrants from countries that, by and large, had no experience with democratic government?

The answer was Liberty's Promise, an organization that would endeavor to remind us of our collective immigrant past and recall our tradition of embracing new arrivals. It would also introduce our democratic values to immigrant youth, focusing on young people as our country's future, the ones who will keep our ideals vibrant and alive, and who will pass them on to their children. For Liberty's Promise, it makes no difference that the name of our 50th President may be Elena Rodriguez or Abdul bin Hassan. What does matter is that Ms. Rodriguez or Mr. Hassan has the same love of freedom and liberty, the same respect for participatory democracy, that the people who founded this country had. Liberty's Promise aims to ensure this becomes true.

Liberty's Promise was incorporated on 1 May 2003 and received an advanced ruling as a 501 (c) (3) organization from the IRS a few months later. With the help of Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA8), we received funding through the U.S. Department of Justice to begin our programs in August 2005. Since then, we have served 125 immigrant youth throughout Northern Virginia and suburban Maryland with internship and civic education programs. These youth, who are asylees, refugees, immigrants, and children born to immigrant parents, come from 38 countries and five continents: a clear representation of our country's diversity.