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International Women’s Day 2019

Please join us to honor immigrant leaders

Honorees

Pardis Sabeti

Professor, founder of Sabeti Lab at Harvard University

Computational geneticist and 2014 TIME “Person of the Year” for her participation with a team of Ebola fighters.

 

Monica Grewal

Partner, WilmerHale
Intellectual Property attorney honored by NASA for her work with the Johnson Space Center (JSC) Crew and Hubble Telescope Repair Mission

 

Christina Qi

Co-founder and partner at Domeyard LP
Hedge fund manager named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in 2018 and to the Boston Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list in 2015.

Host

Amaka Ubaka

Anchor, 7News Today in New England
She joined 7News as a reporter in May 2016 and worked as a fill-in and weekend anchor before being promoted to the morning show in November 2018.

About The Event

On March 8, 2019, the International Institute will host our annual International Women’s Day celebration.

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.
IWD Celebration
The event highlights the impact refugee and immigrant women have on our economy and our communities, and it celebrates the achievements of women everywhere. The high point of the event is a lively conversation between the three honorees about their careers, work-life balance, and their success in fields traditionally dominated by men.   
Why International Women’s Day?

IINE serves nearly 2,000 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. 
Women's event at IINE
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.

2019 International Women’s Day Committee

Committee Co-chairs

Hillary Brown, Fairlane Properties, Inc.

Debbie Hsu, Wells Fargo

Committee Members

Boitshoko Phalatse, Suffolk University

Catherine Karatzas, Wells Fargo

Christina Bai, CollegeFindMe

Ellen McLaughlin

Jane Berman

Lori Lander

Nazda K. Alam, Nazda Alam Foundation

Pamela Chang, Welch & Forbes, LLC

Shiva Damghany

Tabetha McCartney, Two Life Communities

Women's Day Committee

Leadership Sponsors

Wilmer Hale

Advocate Sponsors

Partner Sponsors

Ally Sponsors

Supporters

Mary Bevelock Pendergast
Casebia Therapeutics, LLC
Chartered Alternative Investment Assoc (CAIA)
Will & Katie Krause
Ernst & Young

Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP
Goodwin Procter LLP
Ern Haddad
Invest in Girls
J.P. Morgan

KSQ Therapeutics
Lyft
Millipore Sigma

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, A Sudanese-American, founded the African Women’s Health Practice at Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Ambassador Swanee Hunt, Founder & Chair of 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 of AARP
Geeta Ayer, President, and Founder of Commonwealth Management Asset
Rupa Shenoy, Host and reporter for NPR and founder of Otherhood podcast

Event Gallery