BOSTON – The International Institute of New England (IINE) will lead the local iteration of a global movement with their 16th annual International Women’s Day celebration. As a means to honor the achievements of immigrant women in Boston, a breakfast celebration will be held on March 6 at the Westin Boston Waterfront. This year, the event will highlight three Boston-based women leaders whose achievements have had an impact in Boston, and beyond. The breakfast celebration will incorporate a panel discussion with the honorees about their achievements, careers, and backgrounds.

“This year, the International Institute will honor three remarkable women, in recognition of their professional and personal achievements,” IINE CEO Jeff Thielman said. “Through this event, we are calling attention to important contributions of working immigrant women and the impact they have every day in boardrooms, meeting rooms, classrooms, and research labs.”

The March 6 program and panel will be moderated by Tiziana Dearing, the host of Radio Boston on WBUR. Simmons University president Helen G. Drinan will offer keynote remarks. This event has grown exponentially in recent years and is expected to draw more than 600 people from a cross section of business, tech, biopharma, academia, government, and social service communities.

The Honorees

• Marina Hatsopoulos Bornhorst is a writer and technology entrepreneur. The daughter of immigrants, she was brought up in the U.S. and is 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, is founder/CEO of Glenn Diversity and HR Solutions, and former Vice President, Global Chief Diversity Officer at EMC (now DELL). Her first book is Lift As I Climb – An Immigrant Girl’s Journey Through Corporate America.

• Dr. Nergis Mavalvala is a Pakistani-American astrophysicist known for her role in the first observation of ripples in the fabric of spacetime – a discovery that confirmed one of Einstein’s theories. She is the Curtis and Kathleen Marble Professor of Astrophysics at MIT, where she is also Associate Head of the Dept. of Physics.

• 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.

IINE’s International Women’s Day celebration is an opportunity for Boston to highlight the significant positive impact refugees and immigrants have on the economy: they give energy to our region, comprise a reliable and stable workforce, and are critical to the growth of innovation in all fields.

Boston’s own statistics show that immigrants are driving components of New England’s vibrant workforce, comprising 29% of the adult working age population in the Boston area. Fifty percent of IINE program participants are women enrolled in refugee resettlement, job training and placement programs, English language classes, and legal services.

“The future of the New England economy is intricately bound to the success of women arriving to the U.S. today,” Thielman said. “That’s one of the reasons IINE raises up immigrant voices like those of our honorees, in order to show the many paths that have been forged for immigrant women and their families. “

About the International Institute of New England
At 101 years old, the International Institute of New England (IINE) is one of the oldest and largest social service organizations for new Americans in the region. Each year, the non-profit organization serves more than 2,500 refugee, asylee, and immigrant clients across in Boston and Lowell, MA, and Manchester, NH. International Women’s Day has been a cornerstone of IINE’s community calendar since 2003.

IINE’s 2020 International Women’s Day celebration is led by the event committee co-chairs: Yvonne Garcia from State Street, Colette Phillips from Colette Phillips Communications, and Jane Steinmetz from EY. Leading sponsors of the event are: Thermo Fisher Scientific, Vertex, and EY.

To learn more about IINE’s International Women’s Day celebration or purchase tickets, visit https://iine.org/womensday or contact the Events Manager, George Earley, at events@iine.org or by calling 857.334.2873.