New Women New Yorkers

Category: Portraits & interviews

Portraits & interviews

An interview with Elissa Ha, Women’s March on Washington organizer

By Divya Ramesh Elissa Ha, a marketing associate and activist based in Brooklyn, was one of the key organizers of the Women’s March on Washington on January 21, 2017. Originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Vietnamese refugees who migrated to the US during the Vietnam War, she moved to New York City to attend NYU in 2010. Elissa, age 25, is passionate about intersectionality, reproductive healthcare, protecting refugees’ rights, media representation, and preventing sexual assault. As she entered...

Portraits & interviews

NWNY volunteer profiles: Divya Ramesh, 29, blog contributor

New Women New Yorkers is run by a staff of volunteers. Some work on outreach initiatives to spread the word about the organization’s mission, while others work on the blog team or facilitate events and workshops — among a variety of other jobs. We want to introduce you to each of our fantastic volunteers, one by one. Divya Ramesh, 29, originally from India, is currently based in Harrison, NJ. With a background in publishing and journalism, she is a writer...

Portraits & interviews

How the LEAD program helped Daria Kurdyukova find her confidence in NYC

By Daria Kurdyukova I never wanted to live in the US and I hated the English language, but in Russia we have a proverb: never say never. My husband was offered a job in NYC and told me we had to move. I was a little bit in shock and frustrated. Additionally, I was very scared of flying long distances. Nonetheless, I found myself in the states, and New York City in particular, for the first time in my life in...

Portraits & interviews

From France to England to New York: A passionate actress’ journey to success

By Divya Ramesh   As a child growing up in Strasbourg, France, Elizabeth Maille watched a lot of films. She would memorize her favorite lines and scenes, and often scrunch up her face and say to herself, “I wouldn’t do this scene like this.” Then, the extremely shy girl would run to her room, make sure she was alone, and gleefully act out the same scene to her satisfaction. That is how it all began. Now, that little girl has...