Immigrant Conversations

Mehran, your host, has the honor to share with you another immigrant story. My guest today is Ilya Somin who migrated as a young child with his parents from Russia. In this episode, as always we will talk a little about Ilya's migration journey, what foot voting means, and how as an immigrant you can get a better education for your child or have a greater impact on your community. in the end, we w...

800,000 people lose their lives to suicide every year. Aside from its statistics and its increasing rate, suicide is personal for Mehran. In this episode, Mehran, the podcast host talks about her personal encounter with suicide, the pain of losing someone to suicide, and the 7 lessons she learned from the journey. Below are the promised links: https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/suicide-p...

In this episode, Empowering conversationZ hosts Jane Leu Upwardly Global Founder and Jina Krause-Vilmar the current President and CEO. Together they talk about: -Upwardly Global story and the meaning behind its name, -How supported over 18000 immigrants and what it can do for you and your family, -The different ways male and female immigrants transition to the workforce, -And ways immigrants can n...

How lonely do you feel as an immigrant? -Did you have difficulty finding your first employment in the U.S? -Are you looking for meaningful connections to serve as your allies? -Are you currently looking? If so, listen to this episode of Empowering conversationZ where Haleemat Fa-Yusuf talks about her journey in the States and how one organization became the pillars of her success. She will also ta...

She burst into tears as she talks about her biggest dream. A dream so big and unimaginable that aches her heart. For most of us, her dream is our everyday life. Empowering conversationZ guest this week was Maria Estrada, a trauma nurse, and a firm believer in humanity instead of documents. In this episode, she talks about the pains of not belonging, the pains of being rejected and disrespected dur...

In this special episode of Empowering conversationZ, we are reflecting back on one year of living through the pandemic. I take you to our early lockdown days, our fears, and what I learned from hundreds of immigrants I interacted with since then. I talk about their hidden immunity in overcoming the obstacles Covid-19 created for us. And I share a trick to stay hopeful and positive during the most...

As we are celebrating one year anniversary of the show, I am sharing the process, the fears, and the thing that got me to start the show a year ago. Listen and see how the thing can help you initiate something great! and if you want to know about the obstacles along the way listen to some of the difficulties along the way listen to https://www.mehrans.com/empowering-conversationz/episode/c421e15c/...

With her law degree and a passion for the film industry, she moved to Los Angeles with a Fulbright scholarship hoping to go back despite her dad’s last-minute shocking advice. 10 years later, she is an independent film producer and writer of several documentaries as well as a podcaster on immigrant stories. In this episode, she talks about her journey and her difficulties as an immigrant in the fi...

Covid has been traumatic for all of us especially immigrants coming from collective cultures. With over 20 years of psychotherapeutic and research experience with first and second-generation immigrants, Dr. Pavna Sodhi weighs in on what immigrants need to do to create mental resilience and manage the stress they are facing at the moment. Her Bio: With over 20 years of psychotherapeutic and researc...

Came from India to solely support his family and his 11 brothers and sisters. To help them financially so that they could attend college. Once here, he was isolated and rejected for his color, his heavy accent, and was ready to go back home when someone made a comment that changed many things for him. He stayed. He persevered. And now, he sees each challenge, discrimination, favoritism, and confli...

He was born deaf and migrated to Canada as an adult because he felt his country limited his growth for his physical disability. Once in Canada he was provided with opportunities to learn multiple languages and earn his PhD in special education. Now he teaches various courses on deaf culture and American sign language to deaf and hearing students in University of Alberta while being a role model to...

Being the victim of sexual violence at a very young age, seeing the impact of the Rwandan genocide, and being discriminated against in her new home for her identity could be enough to traumatize someone for life but Empowering conversationZ guest chose to heal and create a refuge for others to heal. Tabitha Mpamira is a mental health therapist, activist, motivational speaker, and consultant on sex...

Mehran shares the opportunities and the struggles she has encountered since she started the Empowering conversationZ podcast and its coincidence with the pandemic. She updates her audience on the changes they will see in the next 3 months and the reason behind her decision. 📧To make sure you don't miss inspiring immigrants stories, you can subscribe to our email list here: https://mehrans.us17.li...

It is hard to be stuck with a bad boss in this tough economy especially as an immigrant without support. That’s why Mehran, Career and communication coach for immigrants will address issues immigrants face in dealing with “bad bosses” especially the 3 most toxic ones: The people pleaser, the micromanager, and the Narcissist. And provides tips to deal with them and grow in their presence. Mehran is...

Hungry for opportunity, she moved from Brazil to United States leaving behind her successful business back home. Once in the states she worked at Amazon “cutting tomatoes”, for which she was teased by friends and family, but her persistence paid off. This week Empowering conversationZ guest is Flavia Lemos. She is an award-winning brand strategist. She has enhanced the brand identity and generated...

She spent her wedding gift on moving to the states and fulfilling her dream of higher education. She faced many obstacles but she kept one motto in her life. My guest this week is Mastaneh Sharafi, an immigrant from Iran. Mastaneh has a Ph. D. in Nutritional Sciences and is a Registered Dietitian. She has received training in diet quality, ingestive behavior, and nutrition across life stages from...

With her ailing mother’s encouragement, she packed her two suitcases and moved from Colombia to an empty apartment in North Carolina. She struggled to gather her life before her daughters arrived, but she learned to dry her tears and move on with her life. My guest this week is Maria Isabel Monsalve, who left her life as the dean of the school of education to live in her dream country. She faced m...

If you are a parent concerned about your children’s virtual learning, this episode is for you. In this special episode, Mehran your host is providing you with research-backed information to help you make an informed decision regarding an In-person vs. Virtual learning. Additionally, she will provide you with 10 tips to improve virtual learning for your children. Below are some of the resources we...

Coming from a high profile affluent family, she fled Afghanistan with nothing but a bag of clothes. Following the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, she first moved to Germany in 1979, and later to Chicago at the age of 17. Currently, she is residing in San Diego, CA where she works as a speech and language pathologist in Poway Unified school, one of America’s best public school systems. My guest th...

With 35 years of experience as a healthcare executive, he is a board member to CVS Health and 7 other companies. Being involved in acquisitions and mergers up to a billion-dollar in the states and around the world, he an advisor and consultant to many new ventures in the US and Europe especially during early development. My guest this week is J.P Millon, an immigrant from France who talks about hi...

Turkey’s got talent semi-finalist Temi Hason joined Empowering conversationZ podcast this week to share her taxing immigration journey. Temi traveled between the United States and Turkey 4 times in a short time to maintain lawful status. Being betrayed by lawyers and sponsors, she learned a painful lesson: to only trust herself and have everything in writing. She didn’t hesitate to clean the bathr...

Cultural awareness plays an essential role in one's professional growth. In this special episode, Mehran educates her audience on different aspects of culture that impacted Layla’s growth and how the new awareness lead her to become an effective leader. In this episode, she talks about -Communicating with Low vs. high context cultures -Hierarchy and its role in one’s leadership development -Differ...

My guest this week is president and CEO of LogicBio Therapeutics. With 25 years of experience in the life sciences industry, he is an immigrant from France. In this episode, Frederic Chereau talks about his journey, his cultural differences as a team leader, and how his English affected the opportunities presented to him as an executive. He also shares many tips and lessons with Empowering convers...

Azita Khatami’s story is an empowering tale of a typical stay home mother from the middle east. Back home, her husband provided financially while she was responsible for everything kids and house related. After they won the green card lottery and moved to the States, they happily maintained their culture until the accident. The tragic accident that killed her husband. Losing her husband, Azita had...

San Diego business journal names her one of the architects of the local life science sector. As the first woman inducted into the Connect Entrepreneur Hall of fame, Dr. Magda Marquet is an accomplished immigrant from France. In this interview, you will hear -Magda's immigration story -Her path to success -Her insights on why women don’t grow in leadership positions -Her suggestions on how to grow...