Friday, December 9, 2016

GlobalPittsburgh Holds Immigrant Entrepreneur Celebration


PITTSBURGH, PA, December 8, 2016 – GlobalPittsburgh is hosting the Immigrant Entrepreneur Celebration and Award Ceremony at the Rivers Club on December 14, 2016.

* Thirty-two professionals and entrepreneurs, from every sector of the local economy and every corner of the globe, have been nominated for awards in six categories.

* Mila Sanina, executive director of PublicSource, will be Master of Ceremonies for the event. Formerly deputy editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, she is originally from Kazakhstan but “Pittsburgh owns her heart”.

* Susanne Cook, Senior Partner and chair of the International Business Group at Cohen & Grigsby, will present the awards.

* Councilman Dan Gilman will present a City Council proclamation at the event in honor of the nominees, award winners and GlobalPittsburgh.

The event will showcase the talent, tenacity and innovative thinking of the “newest newcomers” who have made Pittsburgh their home and helped to make it a world-class city. The awards, for lifetime achievement and in six area categories, were determined by a panel of four judges: Terri Glueck, Innovation Works; Max F. Miller, Raise Your Spirits; Rachel Mauer, German American Chamber of Commerce, Inc., and Babs Carryer, Innovation Institute, University of Pittsburgh.

The evening is sponsored by the law firm of Cohen & Grigsby, the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, Istanbul Sofra restaurant, Aesthetic Skin & Laser Center, Brother's Brother Foundation, Highmark and Carnegie Mellon University.

By the time of the 1910 US Census one in five Pittsburghers was foreign-born, and it’s a rare Pittsburgher who can’t share a family story about coming to American and Pittsburgh. Some of our most famous citizens, such as Andy Warhol, Andrew Carnegie, and August Wilson, were immigrants or the children of immigrants.

Mayor William Peduto has said, "I'd like to thank GlobalPittsburgh for creating this opportunity to celebrate and recognize immigrants as valuable contributors to the economic and cultural landscape of our city. Our history is rooted in the contributions of immigrants and our future is based on the innovation of what the next generation of immigrants will bring”.

“We are excited to recognize the achievements of some of the many entrepreneurs who have enriched our region with their talents and tenacity,” said John W. Hindman, GlobalPittsburgh Board Chairman. “We are a region that was built on the hard work and innovation of immigrants, and that continues to this day thanks to newer generations of immigrant entrepreneurs.”

Since 1959, GlobalPittsburgh (founded as the Pittsburgh Council for International Visitors) has cultivated a local network of resources and created valuable contacts for the region worldwide through its work with federally-funded international professional exchanges. GlobalPittsburgh has a network of over 500 members, volunteers, and citizen diplomats who ensure that visiting leaders’ and students’ feel welcome in the Greater Pittsburgh community. For more information about GlobalPittsburgh programs, please visit www.globalpittsburgh.org, call 412.392.4513, or send an email to info@globalpittsburgh.org.

To learn more about the Immigrant Entrepreneur Celebration or to register to attend, please contact Nadya Kessler at nkessler@globalpittsburgh.org or call 412.392.4513.
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