[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6171]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        RECOGNIZING NAHLA KAYALI

  (Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
recognize Nahla Kayali. She is the founder and the executive director 
of Access California Services.
  Access, as we call it, is a nonprofit organization in my hometown of 
Anaheim, California, that serves the Arab American, refugee, and 
immigrant communities with culturally appropriate services, including 
English as a second language, health and human services, employment 
assistance, and citizenship resources.
  In 1998, she opened a small office and had two clients the first 
month. She initially helped people sign up for the California Healthy 
Families program. With only a high school diploma, Nahla has now 
expanded Access California to serve over 11,000 Arab American, refugee, 
and other underserved community members in 16 different languages.
  She works to foster a better understanding of the cultural needs of 
the Arab American community, and, quite honestly, she is a living 
example of what is the American Dream.
  As we celebrated last month Arab American Heritage Month, I wanted to 
honor and recognize her accomplishments, the accomplishments of Nahla 
Kayali, and her continued work in supporting the Arab American 
communities and helping, in particular, refugees resettle and become 
contributing citizens and leaders in Orange County.

                          ____________________