An Immigrant Making Other Women Stronger & Why that Matters Today
Meet Ana-Barreto in this episode of This Kaleidoscope Career
It’s the Day After.
Immigration has been and continues to be a huge issue.
One political party makes it sound like we have Barbarians at the gates on our southern border. People who come to pillage America rather than slip silently into the melting pot to create lives for themselves and their families that will be better than what they left behind.
Four or five generations ago, in the 1800s, my father’s family left the warring factions of the German and Danish states, dodging a draft, and renouncing their citizenships to make it in America. In the early 1900s, my mother’s parents left the poverty of Ireland to work as a maid and tradesman and were introduced by mutual friends from nearby tiny towns in County Cork. My sister-in-law came to America as a war bride in 1969 leaving the poverty of war-torn Southeast Asia to raise her children here in a way she could not have imagined. My brother-in-law came to the US as a 12-year-old in the early ‘60s when his parents left behind their scratch farm in the mountains of Italy to join their family in Connecticut and figure out how to make a living without carrying water from a well.
None of these are demons. Some came legally. Some maybe not. But either way, their moved to America with a dream of work, food, safe housing, and a better future still drives immigrants to find their way to these shores and borders.
This week on This Kaleidoscope Career, my guest, Ana Baretto, shares why she left Brazil as a young woman and saw the promise of America. She earned money babysitting and cleaning houses (just as my grandmother had done).
Ana grew up in what she calls “a strict home and a non-women inclusive culture in Brazil” and that’s what led her to come to the United States and earn an education. She learned English well enough to attend college and later obtained an MBA. That set the stage for her successful career in the hotel and restaurant industries.
But something was missing. The promise and confidence she found in herself was lost on other women she worked with. She saw them stall even when opportunities were presented.
Ana Barreto has made it her personal mission to empower women with confidence through teaching courses and her writings. Ana is the author of multiple books focused on women, leadership and spirituality. She is also a working mother of two young women with whom she shares the world.
Ana’s Mission: “Empowering Women to Overcome Self-Doubt, Break Free from Self-Sabotage, and Cultivate Lives Filled with Purpose, Fulfillment, and Well-being.”
Her newest book, released this month (11/21/24), The Umbrella Effect, offers a holistic approach to leadership, guiding women to cultivate the confidence, skills, and mindset needed to thrive in all aspects of their lives. Ana provides practical strategies for developing emotional intelligence, building resilience, and maintaining balance while pursuing professional excellence.
BOOK
Her story, her resilience, her candor and confidence make her the perfect mentor for immigrant women, seasoned businesswomen, college women and others finding their way in a world still dominated by men.
Learn more about Ana and her work in our conversation on This Kaleidoscope Career.
Learn more about Ana here.
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