The Hobby Hour: Immigration and the 2024 Election

Houston business leader and author Stan Marek and award-winning journalist Linda Lorelle will discuss the impact of immigration policy in the fourth largest city in the country, outlining the intersection of immigration on nearly every facet of life, from the region's economy and skilled workforce to healthcare and education, ahead of the 2024 presidential election. The expert panel will underscore the human side of immigration, emphasizing the stories of those without legal status and their perspective on practical solutions to an issue at the center of the national agenda. Jim Granato, dean of the Hobby School of Public Affairs, will moderate the virtual conversation. Watch the show on the Hobby School's YouTube, Facebook and X channels on Sept. 25 at noon.

About the Panelists

Linda Lorelle is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, CEO of Linda Lorelle Media and co-founder of Civil Dialogues, a democracy initiative in partnership with presidential library foundations and policy institutes sparking conversations on the most important and contentious topics of the day.

Stan Marek is the president and CEO of the Marek Family of Companies, one of the largest subcontracting firms in the U.S. He is the co-author of "Deconstructed: An Insider's View of Illegal Immigration and the Building Trades," a book that calls for rational policies to the immigration crisis through the lens of his family's story of building a company and his relentless commitment to improving the working conditions of the construction industry.

About the Moderator

Jim Granato is the dean and a professor at the Hobby School of Public Affairs. His teaching and research interests are political economy, policy analysis, econometrics and statistical modeling. 

The Hobby Hour is an interactive discussion about public policy and politics hosted by the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston. Watch the show on the Hobby School's YouTube, Facebook and Twitter channels.