Finding Our Voices Today

Alexandra Castro is an immigrant from Colombia that is an entrepreneurial trailblazer. Arriving to the U.S. was nothing short of a challenge but Alexandra was a chef with a plan. After running her family pizza restaurant in Colombia, she also managed a high-end restaurant in Montreal, which laid the foundational training and experience she needed to launch herself forward. Since returning to the U.S., she focuses on her culinary career and building her business. As the owner and founder of Everything Dough, LLC, she spends her time designing and making pizzas for weekly farmers markets, private catering events, special order sales, and of course, for private or corporate gatherings that truly pull a community together. In addition to being a pizza chef, she is a proficient baker creating specialty baked goodies, teaching cooking classes for adults and youth, and creating content for her thriving social media platforms. While building her culinary empire she is equally as focused on creating new friendships and spending time with her loving husband and family.

Julie Faryniarz is the Executive Director for Greenwich Alliance for Education and has much to share about the fabulous initiatives and programs they have for the youth in Greenwich, CT. Over the last 18 years they have worked collaboratively and in partnership with the Greenwich Public Schools and its teachers as the local education foundation to drive innovation, opportunity and access in learning to empower all students to achieve academic, personal and professional success. They fund innovation to elevate achievement and inclusion for all Greenwich public school students resulting in creativity and personalized learning. With programs like Tuning In To Music and their Reaching Out Grants available to teachers to utilize to expand learning opportunities to enhance their curriculum, they are a nonprofit to learn from! Their funding to implement the international AVID (Advancement via Individual Determination) program in the Greenwich schools has made the possibility of college attainable to hundreds of students by teaching essential academic and executive functioning skills to close gaps and raise achievement. Julie and her AVID SUCCESS Program Director, Trish Rohr, have presented their work and programming for these first-gen college going students at AVID national conferences. They are on the cusp of the 1 million dollar mark in college scholarship giving and are seeing full circle moments as alumni return to volunteer, donate and help current students leverage professional internship opportunities. Greenwich Alliance for Education is a registered 501C3 and is reliant on funding to continue their impactful programs.

Judy Betz is a first-generation American whose parents immigrated from Italy. Her father came on a boat from Italy as a stowaway after paying $1,000 while her mother came through Ellis Island. Her parents didn’t know each other while living in their native country but met later in the U.S., fell in love, started their life together, and fully immersed in the American culture. You’ll hear the amazing story of how her father attained his U.S. citizenship and served in WWII as an American soldier. Judy graduated college with a degree in Elementary Education and a master’s degree in Early Childhood education. After a short stint in the classroom she became an owner/administrator of The Purchase Children’s Center where she spent her entire career as a compassionate and committed educator. Later in her career she became an ESL tutor working with adult learners and continues serving this community of students. Her teaching and interactions with the adult learners in her classroom often has her thinking of her mother and father. In her retirement, she enjoys teaching ESL, traveling, and having fun with her grandchildren.

Nettie Parker Bauman is a passionate, empathetic and tenacious immigration attorney working closely with women, men and their families through the legal process of transitioning to the U.S. from another country. As an independent attorney, she represents asylum-seekers in the U.S. Immigration Courts and at U.S. Asylum Offices. She provides direct counsel and resources that ensure their safety and a smooth transition. Nettie has a particular passion for domestic violence survivors from other countries. In addition to her work with immigrants, she is a published author and poet. She has been published in numerous poetry journals and her first book of poetry, “Seagulls at Walmart” was released in 2023. Additionally, her first novel, “Tiny Righteous Acts” was published in early 2020. Her creative works are sparked by the inspiration she feels from her legal work with clients and from growing up in her beloved New Orleans. She attended college and law school in her hometown of New Orleans and later moved to New York when she met her future husband. She is the proud mother of two boys, a cat, a dog, and a turtle. Nettie is an avid nature lover and finds refuge when hiking on trails near to home.

Ana Alfaro is a Corporate Citizenship Program Manager & Hispanic Media Relations at Eversource Energy. She has over 25 years of diverse experience in various aspects of public, media, and community relations, event management, and television production. In her current position she manages the company’s volunteer engagement opportunities and employee giving programs. Ana Alfaro is the producer and host of El Show de Analeh, a weekly program on the Univision network and UniMas. Ana describes El Show as “a dream production turned into a successful reality.” Since 2007, the program has informed, empowered, and entertained the diverse Latino community in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. El Show de Analeh airs Saturdays at 11:00am, Univision’s local channels. The show is produced in partnership with Capital Community College. Ana is currently a board member for Trinity College Center for Caribbean Studies, Capital Community College Foundation, Charter Oak Cultural Center, Hartford Public Library & Hartford Economic Development Corporation. Together with a small group of community leaders, she was instrumental in ensuring that the Frog Hollow community will benefit from a new library on Park Street, the heart of the Latino community. Ana has received many awards, including Junta for Progressive Action, Hispanic Health Council, Madre Latina, Boy Scouts of America, Bright Future Youth Center, Leadership Greater Hartford Polaris, Malta House Wonder Woman and CBM Mujer Imparable. Ana holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications Media Studies from Post University. A native of Honduras, Ana is the proud mother of Bobby and Bianca, both of who are half Puerto Rican. Ana's work as journalist and community activist has been in the service of the equal rights of Puerto Ricans and all Latino communities alike.

Ballet Folklorico de las Americas (Diana, Paola, & Kelly) are committed to educating their diverse audiences through dance, music and sheer enthusiasm to be with people. These fabulously talented women are sisters from Colombia who arrived at different points in their lives, all with a unique focus, but are committed to teaching and learning all while spreading the beauty of dance as a way to tell stories. When they aren’t dancing or collaborating with their numerous community partners, they are teaching English, running language businesses, and studying for their medical board certification. Their goal to educate through arts is important in our world and engaging the community is their #1 goal.

Ewurakua Dawson-Amoah is an artist with a rich cultural heritage as the daughter of Ghanaian and St. Lucian immigrants. She grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood, which shaped her approach to storytelling from a very young age. As a twin and the youngest of four siblings, her early choices in high school significantly influenced her path. Today, her passion for social justice and racial equality drives her work as a director, writer, and poet. In 2020, she and her sister Ewuradjoa founded The Melacast Network, a platform connecting BIPOC directors with BIPOC actors and crew. They are deeply committed to impacting and changing what true diversity and inclusion looks like for BIPOC creatives.

Marilyn Collins has committed her entire professional career to teaching literacy. Starting at the elementary level while living in VT, she decided to return to her beloved NY and begin working with adult learners. Although she officially retired a year ago in 2023 after a career spanning 40+ years, she continues to teach and mentor adult students. With an expertise in basic literacy, she also has extensive training and experience in teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) and has trained and prepared hundreds of tutors while in her role as education and curriculum coordinator. Marilyn continues to make significant impact in many lives and as an avid poetry lover she enjoys teaching writing and reading, and often weaves some of her favorite poets into her lesson planning. All this while being a loving and deeply engaged grandma to her beloved 4 grandchildren.

Pilar Illanes is a trailblazer. A woman on a mission. Her experience in America started during the pandemic with a phone call from a family member requesting her to come help with the family business. In an act of love and service she came to help her grieving family, but what was intended to be temporary turned into an journey full of a rich love story and entrepreneurial opportunities that would change her life. Listen and learn how family, commitment, love, hard work, and resilience can change the trajectory of life’s path.

Mayerli, an engineer, was an au pair in the U.S. for 2+ years dividing her time between Colorado and Connecticut. She traveled quite a bit during her time here but also took every advantage to learn and find pathways to education and creativity serving the community. She was part of the Youth Assembly- a platform founded in 2004 by the Friendship Ambassadors Foundation (FAF), a not-for-profit organization, a unique platform that cultivates a global network of young leaders and changemakers through exchange, education, action and impact, in NYC where she started a project inspired by the global Sustainable Development Goals initiative in the areas of recycling as well as responsible consumption and production. From there, she and a dear friend, started a non-profit program. Listen to find out how she made an incredible impact in the U.S. and in their native country.

Dr. Jose Mesquita is a Professor of Marketing from Brazil who has been in the U.S. for 6 years. As a visiting research professor at UCONN in Stamford, he has engaged in research and collaborative global partnerships in the academic arena of marketing. Additionally, he has successfully published numerous academic articles as well as an instructional manual for researchers and students titled, Marketing Analytics: Statistical Tools for Marketing and Consumer Behavior Using SPSS. His motivation is to make data analysis more efficient and easier to aggregate for researchers, instructors, and students. He is a dedicated family man and a very proud father of 2 daughters.

Nancy Meckel is an experienced instructor of adult learners of English and she is deeply committed to building a culturally responsive community of learners who support and respect one another. Nancy honors and values the previous education, work, and life experience that her students bring to the country. In addition to teaching ESL classes at all levels, she is the founder of American English Guide where she serves the ESL community with themed ESL mini-courses, individual instruction, workplace group classes, and American accent training.

This podcast is committed to celebrating the immigrant's journey to the U.S.A. and the process of learning how to navigate a new culture, new language, and finding resources that lead to a happy and independent life. From new arrivals, or those who have been in the country for years, you will hear inspiring interviews with adults and their family members. Additionally, you will hear stories from first-generation Americans as well as non-profit leaders, educators, and volunteers who are deeply committed to making impact. Moving to a new country is a unique and daunting experience that takes courage and trust, but our mission is to include ALL voices, and to provide equitable space and an opportunity for them to be heard and celebrated, as well as to learn from professionals how when we work together, we can effectively support them.