Originally a professional educator from Ukraine, Fiona Citkin is among the successful women immigrants to the US. She came to America as a Fulbright Scholar studying languages and cultures. She holds 2 doctorates, speaks 3 languages, and has published several books, including the award-winning Transformational Diversity. Fiona is Managing Director of Expert MS Inc. For her latest book, How They Made It in America , she interviewed 100 immigrant women and profiled 18 of them in this book.
Editor’s note: I’m honored to be included among the 18 profiles in the book.
“I can’t be that old!” I muttered when I saw the latest cover of my Harvard alumni magazine. It commemorated the year 1969, fifty years ago, with the phrase “Time of Turmoil”. The article explains how “The images of that time remain vivid for those who lived through it…” They’re more than vivid for me. The campus turned into Protest Alley and tear gas rose up from the streets. There were Civil Rights marches and demonstrations and students demanding African-American studies. There was a blossoming Women’s Liberation Movement as the women’s college Radcliffe merged with Harvard. Today’s activists use similar strategies of marches, signs, and slogans, but with an internet megaphone.
Oluwaseun Babalola is a Sierra Leonean-Nigerian-American filmmaker who founded DO Global Productions, a video production company specializing in documentaries and docuseries. Her focus is to create and collaborate on projects across the globe, while providing positive representation for people of color. She is a co-founder of BIAYA consulting, a consulting firm that bridges resource and knowledge gaps for African entrepreneurs in emerging industries. BIAYA’s first project was a convention in Lagos, Nigeria to help build a sustainable creative industry that can grow and export content.
Dr. Eylene Pirez is an accelerator physicist and photographer who focuses on science literacy and multi-disciplinary education through exploration and world travel. Most recently, she has been working on a project called Access Chile, a docuseries tackling unique adventures in the name of science.
Lily Sanchez, a first-generation Dominican-American, is the Communications Coordinator for La Paz Chattanooga and serves its Latinx community. She graduated with a degree in Communication and English Writing from the U. of Tennessee at Chattanooga where she founded the Spanish Language version of the campus newspaper.