Derrick Gross

HARVEY – Derrick Gross, the current Harvey Public Schools principal, accepted the executive director position with the nonprofit organization Communities Acting Together for Change and Hope, looking to help immigrant refugees find peace in North Dakota.

He happened upon the opening of the executive director position for CATCH while reading rural newspapers. The ad stated they were looking for someone from a rural community who had experience and ties to small communities.

CATCH is designed to help immigrant refugee families to North Dakota from countries facing turmoil, such as Ukraine, Haiti and Cuba.

After spending more than 20 years in the school system, Gross decided he wanted to help North Dakota communities in a different way.

“I had a good conversation with Bill Patrie one-on-one, and he told me his thoughts on where they were at and where they were going,” Gross said of CATCH’s vice president.

He talked with his family, asked for their input and he “went for it.”

The duties that come along with the executive director position include, but are not limited to, developing a budget, such as salaries and mileage, pursuing grants and figuring out what fees CATCH would charge for services and resources to bring other families in.

While he finishes the school year with Harvey Public Schools, he is getting more familiar with CATCH and helping the board of directors, gathering the information they have to share and pooling their thoughts. He intends to come up with a strategic plan for the organization to accomplish and put together a separate plan to see the first come to fruition.

“It’s a good fit,” Gross said of his new position. “I was in education for more than 20 years with education administration experience, a recruiter in the Marines and a small business owner.”

Part of working with CATCH is making sure the organization and the communities are ready to bring families in. They also must ensure the families have the sponsors and support they need to go through the process.

“We need the community support, and want bringing in immigrants to be successful,” Gross said.

The process is not a one-to-one process, however. There are several classifications the families could be under. It can take longer to get a work permit and get them into the healthcare system.

“We have to have a more significant pool to support them in the first few months while they learn English, get accustomed to American and North Dakotan culture,” Gross said. “We can do that with a network at school or in churches.”

Medical professionals have come to North Dakota, working in nursing homes and hospital labs. Teachers have immigrated and are filling the positions the schools were desperate to fill.

Some people come seasonally as farm workers. Winter in Africa is from June to September, so workers come for North Dakota summers during that time to work.

“They want to learn what’s out there and what’s happening. (North Dakotans are) learning that there is this much happening in bringing non-native North Dakotans to pick up some of the positions and needs we can’t fill ourselves. They contact communities to fill in schools and churches, and they help pick up ‘help wanted’ signs. Business owners can take them down because they found someone to help them day to day,” Gross said.

“I love small communities, and I hate seeing those shrivel up and fade away. I believe in what (CATCH does) and what they want to do, but truly it’s the opportunity to help someone build from the ground up.”