Q&A With Board Member Natalya Belonozhko

Natalya Belonozhko brings over 20 years of experience in corporate accounting to her new role on the International Institute of New England’s Board of Directors. Natalya currently serves as the SVP Corporate Controller at Global Atlantic Financial Group. She holds a B.S. degree in Finance and Information Technology from Northeastern University and an M.S. in Accountancy from the University of Notre Dame. Originally from Russia, Natalya has called the U.S. home for nearly 30 years.

We spoke with Natalya to learn more about her commitment to supporting the immigrant community and how she hopes to see IINE’s impact grow in the coming years.

Can you share a bit about yourself?

Professionally, I’m a CPA at an insurance company owned by a private equity firm. For the past 20+ years, I have worked at insurance entities in the Boston area. I have been fortunate to have a stable, concentrated career path in an industry I’m passionate about.

Personally, I’m Russian, and my husband is Egyptian, so our two sons—who are 13 and 15 years old—are growing up in a culturally-mixed household. We live in Newton, MA, along with our dog Mochi (who, of course, is everyone’s favorite family member).

Tell us about your journey to the International Institute of New England.

As our sons reached their teen years and became more independent, my husband and I found that we had more time to give back to our broader community. I asked my corporate connections for recommendations of organizations we could help, and that’s how I learned of IINE. I have always been open about my immigrant journey and how it has shaped me, personally and professionally. The more I learned about IINE, the more impressed I became – from the diversity of clients the organization serves to the strong leadership that President and CEO Jeff Thielman and the entire executive team provide.

What motivates you to give to IINE?

I first came to the U.S. in 1996. It wasn’t until 2013 that I became a citizen. Those 17 years in between were incredibly frustrating – having to constantly change my status, travel to renew visas, and hope that I wouldn’t be denied for some bureaucratic issue. There was a real lack of security.

Compared to IINE’s clients, however, my path was very easy. Our clients face so much instability. Joining IINE is an opportunity to support refugees and immigrants in their journeys, to hopefully ease some of their worries once they arrive in the U.S. I am very fortunate to be in a position where I immigrated and have been able to establish myself. It feels important to give back to the next wave of immigrants.

I also think about the example I want to set for my children. I hope that my support of IINE will allow them to gain insights and continue to be open-minded and empathetic to those who have faced challenges they have not.

What do you consider to be a board member’s most important responsibilities?

I think there are three primary responsibilities. First, to raise awareness around what an organization does and to dispel any myths around the work. Second, to help the organization grow and scale in its ability to serve as many clients as possible in a sustainable manner. As board members, we have a duty to ensure an organization doesn’t grow too quickly, but by the same token, that it continues to be ambitious and expand its impact. Third, to fundraise. We know that given the political environment we cannot rely solely or even primarily on government contracts to fund the organization, so it’s important to tap into private networks for support.

What excites you most about IINE’s future? 

It’s a very interesting time to be onboarded with IINE given how unstable the broader political environment is. I have been so impressed by the drive of the IINE team in the face of this. They are focused on continuing to serve as many immigrants as possible and providing the services they need to achieve stability and independence. I am hopeful that we can sustain this momentum.

IINE’s Board of Directors includes corporate and community leaders from across New England. View our members and leadership team here.