Anna Zemskova
Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Anna moved to New York in 2017. She holds a Master Degree in Management. Before moving to the U.S. Anna worked in recruiting, but in New York her career made a twist and now she supports future workers by teaching English as a Second Language.
Despite all the challenges of immigration, moving to the US helped Anna to rediscover herself and to learn more about her real abilities. She wants to help as many women as possible to experience this wonderful feeling that you can make a change in this world.
In her free time, Anna studies arts management, practices Oriental dances, like Bollywood and bellydance, and volunteers for Brooklyn Public Library (before the pandemic you could see her teaching English or crochet. In May 2020, she joined Our Streets, Our Stories COVID-19 Oral History Project ). She is also a graduate from NWNY’s Storytelling program.
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Anamaria Ferferi
Anamaria was raised in the melting pot known as Queens, NYC, from the age of six. She spent the first years of her life in Constanta, Romania, and the exposure to multiple cultures early on encouraged a lifelong curiosity about other people and their perspectives.
After graduating from Georgetown with a Marketing degree, Anamaria came back to NYC and started a career in financial services which would soon take her overseas. In 2013, she moved to London and spent almost five years there exploring Europe and beyond. However, the pull of NYC was hard to resist and Anamaria came back in 2018.
She currently works in digital financial services and was introduced to New Women New Yorkers through a volunteering session. Anamaria believes strongly in the organization’s mission and is excited to use her passion for writing to help NWNY members tell their stories on our blog.
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Allie Ginwala
Allie is a journalist, editor and creative writer originally from New Hampshire. Her work has appeared in Hippo Press, The Keene Sentinel, The Boston Herald, Timeout Shanghai and The Felt literary journal. She earned her BA in English/Journalism and International Affairs from the University of New Hampshire and her MFA in Writing from Pratt Institute, and has spent time living in Cambridge, England, and Shanghai, China.
Allie grew up in an environment where women were told not to reach too high or to use their voices too much, which drove her desire to become a journalist and seek out opportunities dedicated to supporting and empowering women.
She is currently working as a coordinator for The Open Newsroom, a collaborative local news partnership between nonprofit news outlet THE CITY and Brooklyn Public Library. In her free time, Allie enjoys salsa dancing, walks in the park, and cuddling with her cats Neko and Moshi.
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Elizabeth Dickson
Born in Warrnambool, Australia, Elizabeth moved to New York in early 2019 when she graduated from university. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, and wrote a thesis on the effect of diet on quality of life.
Elizabeth joined New Women New Yorkers’ blog as a volunteer because she enjoys writing, sharing, and listening to stories about moving to, and living in, New York City.
In her free time, she enjoys reading, wandering around second-hand bookstores, visiting galleries and museums, taking long walks in the city, and traveling.
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Irene Archos
Irene Archos is a writer, teacher, and artist. Born in South Africa to Greek parents, she has lived and worked in several countries, from Germany to Israel. She has written several pieces about the bicultural push-pull of existing in more than one geography and currently publishes www.greekamericangirl.com, the only place online that caters to the issues, needs and accomplishments of women of Greek heritage. As an immigrant more than once in her life, she feels affinity with others who have undergone the immigrant experience. Irene has also been a life-long champion of women’s and girl’s rights.
Irene has taught writing, literature, Spanish, and digital publications for public high schools in all boroughs of NYC except Staten Island. She also adjuncts at local community colleges. She is an active encaustic painter and photographer exhibiting largely in galleries around Long Island City. She also organizes “Connect to Your Inner Goddess Retreats” on the Cycladic islands in the summer brining diverse women together for workshops in healthy living, photography, walking meditation, encaustic painting, soap making and herbal infusions. Follow her on www.greekamericangirl.com.
In her free time she likes getting connected to nature, exploring remote destinations, and writing/illustrating children’s books.
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Maria Pyaterneva
Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Maria immigrated to New York with her family in 2017. She has a degree in Journalism and studied Film and Photography in Italy for one year. In Russia, she worked as a reporter and editor, covering a wide range of topics, including travel, architecture and fashion.
Maria dreams of making her own documentary films. Her love for the movie industry led her to work as a background actress when she came to the US. She has done more than 40 TV shows, including Mrs. Maisel, Law and Order and Billions.
A graduate from NWNY’s LEAD and Storytelling programs, Maria is passionate about telling stories. In her spare time, she also enjoys practicing – and teaching – yoga.
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Natalia Rolim
Born and raised in Brazil, Natalia moved to the United States in 2016 to continue her studies and pursue a career in retail technology. She is passionate about Brazil’s cultural diversity and proud of her heritage that comes from many different parts of the world. Natalia holds a Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design and wrote her thesis on the influence of Italian immigrants on the culture of the city of São Paulo.
She currently works as a Content Marketing Executive for a startup technology company that empowers retailers to create a better shopping experience. In her free time, she likes visiting museums, walking through historic neighborhoods, and going hiking with her husband and dog, Birdie.
Natalia joined NWNY to support and inspire other immigrant women to write and share their own stories.
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Stephanie Panico
Stephanie is an attorney who was raised in New Jersey. She has a BA in English and Criminal Justice from Rutgers College and went on to Rutgers Law School- Newark to receive her J.D. degree. After receiving her law degree, Stephanie was a litigator at a New Jersey law firm for over six years. She left private practice to become in-house counsel in the insurance industry.
Stephanie is currently VP, Associate General Counsel at QBE Insurance, where she also co-chairs the Women’s Initiative Network (“WIN”) business resource group. Stephanie believes strongly in supporting women in their career advancement and empowering them through mentorship and leadership development. After watching a female family member enroll in college after raising a family and obtain college and graduate degrees, she was inspired to help women achieve their career ambitions. She was introduced to New Women New Yorkers through a volunteering session at her company and was inspired by the NWNY mission and participants.
In her free time, Stephanie enjoys running, reading and hiking with her husband and two dogs.
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