About
We're working to humanize the immigrant narrative, one story at a time.
Define American empowers diverse and nuanced storytelling about immigrant experiences across mediums and industries through research, partnerships, and storyteller engagement. Founded in 2011 by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and Tony-nominated producer Jose Antonio Vargas, our work is helping audiences see all immigrants with their full humanity.
Jose Antonio Vargas
Founder and President
Jose Antonio Vargas (he/him/his) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Emmy-nominated filmmaker, Tony-nominated producer, and the host of Define American with Jose Antonio Vargas. A leading voice for the human rights of immigrants, he founded the non-profit narrative change organization Define American, named one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company.
He is the author of the best-selling memoir, Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen (HarperCollins), and the forthcoming book, White Is Not a Country (Knopf). He is also a co-founder of 1587, the first sneaker brand founded by Asian Americans. An elementary school named after Vargas opened in his hometown of Mountain View, California in August 2019.
We still ask the question: How do you Define American?
In 2011, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas came out to the world as an undocumented immigrant. Jose revealed his status to three media professional friends — Jehmu Greene, Alicia Menendez, and Jake Brewer — and together, they created Define American.
Recent Press
November 14, 2024
A Message from Define American
Follow us on social media and discover all the ways we help tell the immigrant story.
![In terms of bigger story lines, [Superstore]’s chronicling of Mateo, an undocumented, gay Filipino American, is among its masterclass illustrations of the intricacies of (un-)citizenship, belonging, and intersectionality.](https://defineamerican.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Vulture-Superstore.jpg)
