Despite the growing number of global refugees and long periods of displacement, communities are still being built without consideration for long term success and social resilience. However, this thesis argues that diasporas provide an effective model for forming socially resilient communities. To begin, a comprehensive review of past diasporic and social resilience literature is conducted. Next, the thesis goes on to highlight collective identity and collective memory, diasporic institutions, communication, location and proximity, and generations. For each chapter, survey and interview research investigating the Latvian American diaspora is analyzed and its findings are explored in relation to diasporic community building. Finally, each chapter ends by clearly connecting the diasporic factor to social resilience. The thesis ends by examining the limitations of utilizing the Latvian American community as a case study.