Uprooting Passion Interview Series

Reframing the Past Through African Agency with Lucio A. Bianchi

Lucio Antonio Bianchi is a San Antonio-born, Italian-raised doctoral researcher at Michigan State...

Turning Burnout into a Thriving Business with Ilaria Colasanti 

Ilaria Colasanti is an Italian entrepreneur born and raised on the seaside of Rome. Growing up with...

Asking ‘What Can I Do?’ for Venezuela with Donnatella Bove Parra

Donnatella Bove Parra is an Italian-Venezuelan born and raised in sunny Zulia State. Her background...

Vardon Hamdiu’s on Building Bridges in the Digital Age with Sparkable

Vardon Hamdiu is the Swiss-Albanian Co-Founder of the revolutionary social platform Sparkable. With...

Sandra Kambikambi on Building MyScape and Creating Generational Wealth in Zambia

Sandra Kambikambi is on a deeply rooted mission to transform financial independence for women in...

Kachusha Nkosha’s Tough Roots and Fierce Purpose in Global Health

Fierce and driven, Kachusha Nkosha is a global health expert and WASH innovator. With deep roots in...

What is Home? Alex Poppe on Her New Memoir, ‘Breakfast Wine’

Sally “Alex” Poppe has worked in conflict zones like Iraq, the West Bank, and Ukraine...

From Grit to Governance in Tech with Jonathan Alphonse

Jonathan Alphonse is a Haitian-Canadian-American with a myriad of cultural influences that has led...

Exploring Ethics in the Digital World with Rockwell Clancy

Rockwell (Rocky) Clancy is a Doctor of Philosophy with a rooted passion in applying philosophy to...

Connecting Youth to Opportunity with Giorgia Calvaresi

Giorgia Calvaresi is an Italian entrepreneur based in Brussels. With experience living across...

The Power of ‘Jugaad’ and Rebuilding Trust Online with Swapneel Mehta

Swapneel Mehta is the Mumbai-born and raised Founder of SimPPL- a non-profit providing open access...

How Travel and Adaptability Shaped Rajita Dang’s Global Career

Rajita Dang is an Indo-Canadian, born in India and raised in Vancouver, Canada. From an early age...

Pushing Boundaries Across Continents with Salif Tankoano 

Coding prodigy and self-starter Salif Tankoano was born and raised in Burkina Faso. Studying and...

A Life of Variety and Global Impact with Sarmed Rashid

Sarmed Rashid has demonstrated a diverse and impressive career spanning humanitarian aid in foreign...

How Laura Pioli Transferred Roots in Writing to Authentic Dialogue on LinkedIn

Laura Pioli is an Italian-raised, UK-based Senior Digital Marketing Expert with an impressive career...

Building Networks, Careers, and Confidence with Max Hill

Long Island native Max Hill is a seasoned financial analyst with an impressive career as a published...

A Journey of Tradition and Transformation in Fashion with Diina Engelbert

Diina Engelbert is a Namibian-born fashion designer and CEO of Sparkle Couture. In addition to...

From Ancient Sites to Phygital Worlds with Anna Paterlini

Anna Paterlini is the Co-Founder of NEWU, a creative consulting agency based in Rome, Italy that...

Sustainable Archaeology and Human Connection with Martin Joseph

Martin Joseph is a New York-born archaeology student at the American University of Rome in Italy...

Turning Uncertainty into Adversity with Reydel Castillo

Born in New York and raised across the United States before enlisting in the U.S. Army, Reydel...

Selling Confidence in the Barbershop with Eric García 

Eric García is a Richmond-raised Army Veteran based in Austin, Texas. With deep roots in valuing...

Following the Light of New Opportunities with Sowaida Nezami

Sowaida Nezami is a computer science major and current Master’s student in Peace Studies and...

How Family Values Shaped Jerry Calabrese’s Success at McDonald’s

Before Jerry Calabrese became one of the leading experts in accountability at McDonald’s...

From the Army to Archaeology with Camilo Bayona-Mañosca

Camilo Bayona-Mañosca is a Colombian-born, Canadian-raised U.S. Army Veteran who served in the 173rd...

The Healing Power of Aloe- Serenity Discko’s Mission for Digital Wellness

Serenity Discko is the Founder of Aloe Bud, a self-care and mental health app designed to encourage...

Guarding the Past and Shaping the Future with Ashley Kippley

Ashley Kippley is a current Sustainability and Built Heritage Intern at ICCROM while completing her...

Turning Latvian Legacy into Global Empowerment with Ieva Jākobsone

Ieva Jākobsone is a Latvian-born businesswoman, entrepreneur, professor, and EU lawyer. Across the...

Planting Seeds of Change in Nigeria with Umar Shiru

Umar Shiru is an Employee and Labour relations manager with the Nigerian Ports Authority in Lagos...

Growing Up Multicultural & Sustainable Agriculture Inspired by the RGV with Suzanne El-Haj

Suzanne El-Haj is a Palestinian and Argentinian-American from the Rio Grande Valley. She shares the...

From Healing Hands to Empowered Voices in Afghanistan with Mahboba Islami

Mahboba Islami is one of the strongest women I know. Starting from life in a Pakistani refugee camp...

Capturing Emotion from the Phoenix Streets with Franc’s Photography

Franc Sebantu is an emerging street photographer in Phoenix, Arizona. His work primarily captures...

Peter Merlo on Music and Marketing in the Age of AI

Peter Merlo is a Chicago-area musician, songwriter, and marketing specialist. Learning from the...

Jenna Bonfiglio on Developing Diverse Mental Health Solutions from her Hearing Loss Journey

Jenna Bonfiglio is my longest best friend, my little sister. From a young age, Jenna dealt with...

‘Pain into Paper’ with Chicago native Jordan McDaniels

In the fourth episode of my Uprooting Passion series, I talk with my good friend Jordan McDaniels...

Caffeologie and a Slow-Brew Lifestyle in Puerto Rico with Amaris Mercado

In this interview, Amaris shares the beauty of slow-paced living in Puerto Rico and how it taught...

Elisa Aceri on Natural Beginnings in Ethiopia and The Best Travel Advice

For the second episode of my ‘Uprooting Passions’ series, I had the pleasure of interviewing my good...

How to Stay Faithful to Your Roots With Julissa Quiñonez

Can you talk about your family’s history and where you were raised? I am American-born and my...

Life with Memory Disease: The Soul Remembers What the Brain Forgets

We hear about Alzheimer’s and dementia more than ever as the World Health Organization...

5 Things I Learned After 1 Year of Living with my Italian Nonna

For the last semester of my undergrad, I moved in with my 82-year-old Nonna for a little over a...