Where you grew up and your background can often have surprising effects on our lives and careers. We’ve asked folks from the community to tell us about how their background has affected them.

Moran Lev-Ary | Bilingual Speech & Language Therapist

My name is Moran. I was born in Israel and moved to Montreal, Canada when I was 6 years old. I grew up in a trilingual environment; speaking Hebrew at home and French in school with some English thrown in. I pursued my bachelors degree in social work at McGill University. Read more>>

Donna Torres | Painter and Illustrator

I was born in Nova Scotia, Canada of a Canadian father and Colombian mother. Traveling every summer to Colombia gave me the language skills and love of the tropical environment that has influenced my work. Read more>>

Luli Gamburd | Founder of Kalmateh

I am from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and this upbringing impacted who I am today because I launched my business, Kalmateh, as a result of the customs and traditions of my Argentinean upbringing. Kalmateh is a modern Yerba Mate drinkware company, and I started it because I wanted to blend the traditional world with the modern world and to introduce Yerba Mate here in the US.
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Yanelis Torres | Owner & Lead Photographer

Both my parents were born in Sagua la Grande, Cuba, where they met, married, and had me in their early to mid-twenties. I spent the first nine and a half years of my life not knowing much of what goes on outside the island, so you can imagine my surprise when we moved to Miami in 1995. Read more>>