Amee Sheldon was born and raised in Mansfield, Texas, to a pair of Iranian immigrants. In Mansfield, Amee and her family found themselves in the minority amidst the white homogeneity of the city.

Nasim Mullen is many things, and first and foremost, she is powerful. She is a wife and mother of three young girls, ages 5, 3, and 1. She has her PhD, a robust career in building sustainability and environmental accountability within corporate America.

Felicitas was born in the US to a Swiss father and a German mother. They were in the country pursuing their higher education and met together at school. When they completed their degrees and had some work experience, the family knew they wanted to be in Europe.

Anna Nahashon is from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her mother is a professional musician and a violinist. She toured with various country bands, and Lorie Line was one of the more known Minnesota pianists that she toured with for many years.

Marion Ore grew up in a small city in Peru, amidst the Andes Mountains, 11,000 feet \above sea level. She was the youngest of five children born to a pair of hard-working parents, her mother a payroll assistant for an educational ministry and her father an instructor at a school for blind persons.

For Nava Kavelin, service to her faith and to wider society has been at the core of her life’s pursuits and her family’s foundation. She was born in California to a pair of dedicated Bahá’í parents who instilled the importance of service in her and her sister early on.

My name is Christine Marie, I live in Freiburg im Breisgau, a small city in Germany. It’s a really beautiful place surrounded by mountains. I am thirty-nine years old, and I am the middle of five and the oldest of three.

From a young age, Jamie Higgins found her way on her own. As the only child to her mother, Linda, she found a community amongst the neighborhood children in San José, and solace in her art.

Sharon Yavrom was born to immigrant parents, her mother from Costa Rica, and her father from Iran. Growing up in a multicultural household, she developed a strong understanding of the Spanish language.

Adwoa was born in the Greater Toronto Area but her parents immigrated to Canada from Ghana in the early 80s so she’s Canadian but of Ghanaian heritage. Her family moved to the US when she started high school and for one year when she was in the fourth grade.

Leslie was born in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador, in 1976, 2,850 feet above sea level. Her parents, born worlds apart–her father in Ontario, Canada, and her mother in Bogota, Colombia–had met at a Baha’i youth conference and, after they were married.

Leila Gates was born and brought up in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was the third daughter of four sisters. Her father is from California, while her mother is from the Argentine province of Salta and is part of the Indigenous Wichí tribe.

I was born Shirley Anne Pruitt. I was the fourth child of my mother and father. I have three big brothers and three little brothers as well. I have one sister so there was a total of eight of us. Growing up together, we had a marvelous childhood.

anything you want to tell me about your early life. Growing up in my childhood, my family was always surrounded by people who were from other parts of the world so I think that sparked real curiosity in my siblings and me. I have four siblings.

Born in Indonesia on the island of Java, Felicia Widjaja is the elder child amongst two younger sisters and one younger brother. Her grandparents, both maternal and paternal, immigrated to Indonesia and settled in Jakarta from China.

After more than a decade working high-power jobs in publishing and event management, Karina Wilhems has a great deal of impressive experience under her belt. However, over the years, the UC Berkeley graduate has never lost sight of her humanitarian values.

My parents are originally Iranian and Baha’i. Because of the persecution, they had to leave Iran in the 70s. My mom grew up in Spain, my dad grew up in the Philippines and they randomly met in Nigeria, got married in Equatorial Guinea and had me in Canada.

“I always knew I wanted to be a teacher because I wanted kids to have someone like them. I had always wanted a teacher that looked like me, that understood me more.” – Karina Vela

“Listen to your inner voice, explore, try things, do your best — always do your best because you deserve the learning that comes from that and they deserve the outcome,” said Liz Herth.

Not many artists, musical or otherwise, can claim that this day job became their true calling later on in life. Claire Harding, however, was able to combine her musical talents with her experience in marketing and technology to create the unique niche that she currently resides in.

Connie Yu is the Associate Chair for Administration & Finance of the Department for the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Reproductive Sciences. She is the boss of OBGYN, in other terms.

Lianne Zhang was born in Berkeley and raised in Palo Alto, California. She spent most of her formative years in Palo Alto, living through the dotcom burst. A product of two Chinese immigrant parents, they mined the importance of hardwork, a quality education and stronger math skills.

“I was on the journey to figure out what I loved for quite some time.” And what a journey it has been. In many ways, Leah Straley’s story exemplifies the value of never being afraid to reinvent yourself to achieve personal growth.