In honor of the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, Melissa Lee sits down with Celine Amilien and Ingrid Pasco of The Elles Collective to share their journeys of rebuilding, belonging, and thriving as French-speaking women in the U.S. Rebuilding their professional lives from scratch and relaunching themselves onto a successful career path has taken resilience, a shift in mindset, and the power of community.
While their stories reflect a familiar journey to other female entrepreneurs, Celine and Ingris illuminate the unique pain points of immigrant women. They discuss the cultural transitions, professional sacrifices, and shared victories that unite the women who are navigating a new life. Listen to their conversation, exploring the importance of mutual support, open dialogue, and embracing diverse perspectives.
Contributor Biographies
As President of The Elles Collective, Céline serves with humility and determination as a guide for the organization’s development. Her mission is to coordinate collective efforts to provide personalized support to French-speaking women entrepreneurs in the United States, facilitating the development of their potential and professional growth.
Ingrid provides high-touch real estate services to her clients – home sale, home purchase, real estate investment and relocation. Her commitment to achieve record-breaking prices on a home sale and winning bids on a home purchase is unsurpassed. Ingrid is strongly results oriented. Thanks to her sharp negotiation skills and thorough market value analysis she consistently accomplishes milestones for her home sellers even in neighborhoods where she has not sold before. Ingrid is trilingual – English, French, and German.
Growing up in the high desert area of southern California, Melissa Lee loves warm weather and wide open spaces. In college, she developed a deep sense of connection and belonging through community, which only expanded as she traveled abroad and taught English to people from all over the world here in San Diego. With a unique, integrative studies degree in the creative process and 10 years experience in teaching and education management, she is now an entrepreneur – learning to use business as a force for good. Beyond taking deep inspiration from the empowered entrepreneurs of the Hera Hub community, Melissa feels at home as a connector, resource, and cheerleader for the members and their business needs.
