Finding Our Voices Today

Elba Sims was born in New York to loving parents who were both very proud of their Puerto Rican heritage. As one of nine children, she grew up speaking Spanish at home and was totally immersed in Latino culture. She enjoyed eating meals from Puerto Rico and watching her mother cook. She fondly remembers the special spoon her mother used to call “Big Cucharón” to measure her sofrito to put in her m...

Michelle Doan is the founder and CEO of Emani, a skincare and lifestyle company based in California. Michelle, an immigrant originally from Vietnam, and survivor of a Thai refugee camp, emigrated to Canada in 1979 with her mother and 5 siblings. Their journey wasn’t an easy one and she learned survival skills at an early age watching her mother as they moved to new horizons in search of a new life...

Dave Hidalgo is the proud owner of DHS Home Improvement based in CT. He took a leap of faith 19 years ago leaving his native country, Costa Rica, and his loving family, to follow a dream and take his experience and creativity to a new level. With a work visa in hand, he left for new horizons and to chase a dream. In his interview, he illustrates his journey and shares that he first learned about f...

Paola Garcia is an immigrant from Colombia and the proud owner of BFA Dance Studio. Prior to owning her own studio, she spent many years integrating her love for dance into the community by organizing a multitude of dance, cultural and arts-focused events. Her performances have included her two sisters who are passionate about dancing like her, as well as dancers from the community who are inspire...

Pilar Illanes is returning for her second interview as she headlines our entrepreneurship series. This podcast episode specifically focuses on entrepreneurship for immigrants. As a native of Bolivia, Pilar has worked in the U.S. for years as a case manager helping women and men with workforce readiness preparation and digital literacy skills. From consulting on resume and interview formation for c...

Jacob Zacharia is a first-generation American born into a loving Greek-Jewish family with beautifully diverse roots. His mother, Rivca, featured on the podcast in season 3, immigrated from Israel at six years old with her family. He shares openly about growing up in a Jewish home honoring the dynamic cultural and religious customs that his parents had also grown up with. He speaks about his entrep...

Dr. Srianee Dias arrived in the United States from her native country of Sri Lanka in the 1970’s. She was part of a program of doctors who were recruited from S. Asia during a time when there weren’t enough medical students graduating from the U.S. medical schools. Traveling with her two very young daughters and arriving in NYC was a big tremendous life change for her. Uprooted from her loving fam...

Lissette Andino was born in Rochester, NY to a loving family who were proudly from Puerto Rico. Growing up in her home meant speaking Spanish and eating authentic and traditional meals that her mother made in honor of their heritage. She began learning English in kindergarten when she attended school and alongside other Spanish speaking children, she excelled and bloomed into a bright bilingual st...

In their first podcast interview together, mother and daughter, Marjolijn de Jager and Claudia Connor, talk openly about culture, education, language, finding “home” and the importance of connection to family and community. Marjolijn de Jager is an immigrant from the Netherlands who lived in 4 different countries before the age of 9. She shares details about her experience living in Japanese POW (...

Dr. Lorraine Shikapwashya’s journey is a powerful testament to resilience, courage, and unflappable purpose. In her early 20s, she made the bold decision to move from Zambia to the United States, leaving behind a professional role as a physician’s assistant to begin again in a new country. Like many who start over, she was met with unexpected challenges—her credentials and experience were not imme...

This episode features Alice Warren who is a retired middle school social studies and history teacher. In her retirement she finds herself very busy with a variety of community projects but she is deeply committed to helping immigrants and refugees with the citizenship and naturalization process. It started in 1998 when she assisted a school custodian with his preparation for the civics test. He pa...

Julianne Furniss-Green is a licensed clinical social worker focused on grief and loss. As a clinician in her private practice, JFG Therapy, she works closely with individuals of all ages and backgrounds as they navigate the challenging pathway of grief and loss. In our conversation, she shares that grief doesn’t have to be “gloom and doom” and often times someone isn’t feeling grief because of a d...

Edith Targonski arrived to the United States from Peru when she was 19 years old. Her sister had arrived a few years before and she was so happy about being reunited with her, but unhappy to speak English. She had visited the U.S. numerous times prior to her move but didn’t know much English and lacked confidence in her speaking skills. She soon met a fellow immigrant from Poland, who arrived at 1...

Kelly Garcia arrived in the U.S. from Colombia during the Christmas season in 2023 after finishing medical school. With a devastating event that put her family in danger, she knew she had to change her path to keep herself safe. Consulting with her academic advisors, she made the difficult decision to step away from her dream of being a psychiatrist in her country as she had planned. Although she...

Dr. Millie Hepburn is an Associate Professor in the Davis & Henley College of Nursing at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT. Upon meeting Millie, you quickly feel her energy and enthusiasm for her work in the healthcare field. With her many publications, grants, service work and projects in motion, it is her passion and leadership for cultivating understanding and curiosity for the next gene...

When sitting with Sylvia Barchue, you instantly realize you are in the presence of a confident woman, a real go-getter. As a young girl, she knew she wanted to be a nurse. With her caring nature and career goals in mind, Sylvia was just 19 years old when she left her native country, the beautiful island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, to attend nursing school in the UK. She lived with her aunt...

Fernando Garcia left Honduras on foot at just 11 years old with his older cousin. Now, 13 years later he’s opening up about his journey and how it changed the trajectory of his life. He arrived to the border of the U.S. escorted by “coyote people” that his mother paid for so he could join her. She had left her beloved country, Honduras, when he was five years old so she could provide for him from...

Claudia Connor is a deeply committed non-profit leader and activist sharing her passion and experience in this riveting interview. For decades, Claudia has held leadership positions with agencies diligently working to create direct service programs and resources that impact our community members. Currently, she is the US Regional Representative with Church World Service, a faith-based organization...

Krishna arrived in the U.S. from Haiti just over 2 years ago full of hope, wonder and promise. With a temporary protected status she finally felt safe and ready to take on new goals and challenges to make a life and career for herself. Leaving behind her aunt, brother, and cousin in Haiti, and her mother living in Suriname, she saw a future ahead of her full of opportunity and safety. She ached fo...

Dr. Nupsie-flore Exantus moved from Haiti to the United States when she was in 6th grade at the age of 11. It was a cold Christmas Day when she arrived to join her two older sisters who were here prior to her arrival. The only English she knew was how to say was “Good Morning.” She was quickly enrolled into a new arrivals program at school and had many immigrant friends. She purposely immersed her...

Joanne Jean is a first-generation American whose parents emigrated from Haiti in the early 1990’s. In this first episode of our special series, Voices from Haiti, Joanne shares personal details about her journey being raised in a Haitian household and how she challenged the traditions along the way. As the first-born child and the eldest daughter, the responsibilities were heavy at times, and requ...

Kathi Meding is no beginner when it comes to service to others. In fact, her life has been embedded in finding agencies and a career that fits with her desire to help. In her years as a young mother she was the Director of Health & Fitness at a YMCA in New Jersey and while traveling on a trip to Africa representing the Y, she was contacted and offered the Executive Director position. She accepted,...

Edgar Bernabe is a first-generation Mexican American who has been balancing between his cultural roots from his parents and his birthplace for his whole life. As the youngest of 3 children, he had strong role models in his family when he was young. Growing up in his neighborhood he was a happy go lucky kid, always playing outside, watching cartoons, and living 2 different worlds. Edgar has always...

Michelle A. Nicholas moved to the U.S. from her beloved native country, Guyana, in 2004. She shares the rich history and diversity of her homeland with deep pride and joy. The youngest of four children, Michelle reflects on the challenge of leaving her family, friends, and early career behind. Taking a leap of faith transformed her life, opening doors to unexpected opportunities. She recalls her f...

Divya Johnson moved from India with her family when she was 13 years old and in 8th grade. This fragile time in an adolescent’s life can be challenging for anyone, even without having the reality of living in a new country and learning a new culture. She shares details like going from an all-girls private school to co-ed public school in a new country posed new life lessons to navigate. Although h...