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International Women’s Day 2020

Thank you for joining us to honor immigrant leaders for International Women’s Day 2020

Honorees

Marina Hatsopoulos Bornhorst

Jackie Glenn

Dr. Nergis Mavalvala

Location

March 6, 2020

The Westin Boston Waterfront

425 Summer Street in Boston, MA 02210

About The Event

On March 6, 2020, the International Institute hosted our annual International Women’s Day celebration to honor the achievements of women leaders.

International Women’s Day is a global phenomenon, and we celebrate in a festive, supportive atmosphere that honors immigrant women and daughters of immigrants who have made a profound difference in New England and the world.

The annual event highlights the impact refugee and immigrant women have on our economy and our communities, and it celebrates the achievements of women everywhere. Our speaking program features a conversation with our honorees about their life experiences.

International Women’s Day (IWD) has been observed around the world since the early 1900s. It is a collective day of global celebration and a call for gender parity. The International Institute of New England has been celebrating IWD since the early 2000s as a way to showcase immigrant women and their advocates. Past honorees include Rep. Nikki Tsongas, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, Ambassador Swanee Hunt, Dr. Charlotte Yeh, Colette Phillips, Christina Qi, Pardis Sabeti, and U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen.

IWD Celebration

Why International Women’s Day?

IINE serves thousands of refugees, asylees, and immigrants in Boston and Lowell, and Manchester, NH each year.

Fifty percent of IINE program participants are women enrolled in refugee resettlement, job training and placement, English language classes, and legal services. 

2020 International Women's Day

The women we meet in IINE programs protected their families as they fled war and violence in Somalia, Congo, Iraq,  El Salvador, Bhutan, and other countries. Since 2016, more than 150 families served by IINE list a woman as their head-of-household. IINE programs are designed to be responsive to and respectful of the unique lived experiences of women who have faced and fled persecution and distress.

We were very proud to honor three outstanding immigrant women in 2020.

Marina Hatsopoulos Bornhorst

A writer and technology entrepreneur, Marina Hatsopoulos is the daughter of immigrants, brought up in the U.S. and deeply connected to her Greek roots. She was the founding CEO and original investor in Z Corporation, an early market leader in 3D printing.

Jackie Glenn

Founder and CEO of Glenn Diversity and HR Solutions, Glenn began her career in the technology sector at the Fortune 500 EMC Corporation in human resources in the year 2000. Her first book is Lift As I Climb – An Immigrant Girl’s Journey Through Corporate America.

Dr. Nergis Mavalvala

Nergis Mavalvala, an immigrant from Pakistan, is the Curtis and Kathleen Marble Professor of Astrophysics and the Associate Head of the Department of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Corporate Citizen Award

EY Boston

The local headquarters of one of the largest professional services firms in the world, EY Boston will receive the IINE International Women’s Day inaugural Corporate Citizen Award.

Host


Tiziana Dearing

Host of Radio Boston on WBUR

Tiziana Dearing is the host of Radio Boston on WBUR. She’s been a commentator and contributor to WBUR for more than a decade, and has contributed to a number of other regional and national news outlets.

Prior to joining the Radio Boston team, Tiziana was a professor at Boston College in the School of Social Work, where she taught social innovation and leadership. A longtime anti-poverty advocate, Tiziana also ran Boston Rising, a startup antipoverty fund to end generational poverty in Boston, and was the first woman president of Catholic charities for the Archdiocese of Boston.

2020 International Women’s Day Committee

Committee Co-Chairs

Yvonne Garcia, State Street

Colette Phillips, Colette Phillips Communications

Jane Steinmetz, EY

Committee Members

Paul J. Ayoub, Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP

Marc N. Casper, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Zoltan Csimma, Chair, IINE Board of Directors

Darren Donovan, KPMG
Judy Habib, KHJ Brand Activation

Avak Kahvejian, Flagship Pioneering

Charlotte McKee, Vertex

Theo Melas-Kyriazi, Flagship Pioneering

Bob Rivers, Eastern Bank

Cathleen Schmidt, McLane Middleton

Dina M. Scianna, Cambridge Trust

Raj Sharma, Merrill Lynch – The Sharma Group
Katerina Tzouganatos, Deloitte

Planning Committee

Nazda K. Alam, Nazda Alam Foundation
Pamela Chang, Welch & Forbes, LLC

Anita Fink, Wells Fargo

Debbie Hsu, Wells Fargo

Community Champion Sponsors

Advocate Sponsors

Partner Sponsors

Ally Sponsors

Supporters

Friends

International Women’s Day Past Honorees

Colette Phillips, Founder & CEO, Colette Phillips Communications
Razia Jan, Founder & President, Razia’s Ray of Hope Foundation
Eveline Buchatskiy, Founder, One Way Venture
Dr. Nawal Nour, Founder, African Women’s Health Practice at Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Ambassador Swanee Hunt, Founder & Chair, Women Waging Peace
Malalai “The bravest woman in Afghanistan” Joya, refugee, activist and politician
Marie St Fleur, Vice Chair, House Committee on Ways and Means
Victoria Reggie Kennedy, attorney, and advocate for issues affecting lives of women, children, and families
Jeanne Shaheen, Former NH Governor, and current US Senate Member
Rya Weickert Zobel, Federal Judge of the US District Court, District of MA
Dr. Charlotte Yeh, CMO, AARP
Geeta Ayer, President and Founder, Commonwealth Management Asset
Rupa Shenoy, Host and Reporter, NPR, and Founder, Otherhood Podcast