Michelle Downes is an artist, UX designer, and newbie gardener. She moved to America from Ireland to pursue adventure and continue her education in art and design. Michelle was raised on a farm in the west coast of Ireland which is a huge part of who she is.  

She reflects on her childhood experiences, the cultural contrasts she faced when moving to America, and her passion for art and creativity. Michelle discusses her transition into UX design, the challenges she encountered, and how her personal and professional life has evolved since moving to the U.S. She also highlights the importance of community and family in her life, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In this conversation, Michelle Downes shares her experiences of moving from Ireland, discussing the cultural dynamics of her new neighborhood, the challenges of navigating identity, and the complexities of her work in UX design and construction. She also reflects on the importance of family connections, especially in light of her aging parents. 

The conversation highlights the beauty and challenges of adapting to a new culture while maintaining a sense of identity and purpose.

Ala Stolpnik has lived across three countries, worked at tech giants, and now leads her own startup, Wisary—an AI-powered tool designed to improve collaboration between product and engineering teams.

Born in the Soviet Union, raised in Israel, and now based in Colorado, Ala shares how her global journey shaped her career in tech, her path into leadership, and what it really takes to leave the 9-to-5 and build something from the ground up. In this episode, we talk about identity, reinvention, building with AI, and the deeply human side of software.

You can learn more about Wisary here: https://wisary.ai/

Ala Stolpnik has lived across three countries, worked at tech giants like Google and Roblox, and now leads her own startup, Wisary—an AI-powered tool designed to improve collaboration between product and engineering teams.

Born in the Soviet Union, raised in Israel, and now based in Colorado, Ala shares how her global journey shaped her career in tech, her path into leadership, and what it really takes to leave the 9-to-5 and build something from the ground up. In this episode, we talk about identity, reinvention, building with AI, and the deeply human side of software.

Rebeca Gomez grew up in a small town in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain, and began her career as a coastal engineer. After moving to California in her late 20s, she slowly carved out a new path as a Product Manager. Today, she leads the implementation of a digital twin solution for the largest community college system in the U.S.

In this episode, we talk about starting over professionally, finding your voice in a second language, and raising a bilingual child. Rebeca shares what it’s like to grow in a new environment while holding on to your culture.

Fiona Siseman moved from Australia to the U.S. after winning the Diversity Visa Lottery, trading stability for uncertainty and a chance to start over. In this episode, she shares what it took to adapt to a new country, navigate cultural shifts, and eventually leave corporate life to launch her own coaching practice.

We talk about career reinvention, work culture differences, identity, and what it means to build a life abroad and a business.

Erika Romero moved from Venezuela to Australia in 2010, planning to stay just one year to earn her master’s degree. But when returning home no longer felt like an option, she decided to build a life in a new country.

In this episode, Erika talks about navigating visa uncertainty, landing a life-changing job, and slowly coming to see Australia as home. We talk about work culture, identity, accents, and living far from family. Over a decade later, she’s a citizen with strong roots in both countries.

Ethar El-Katatney is a journalist, strategist, and now Editor-in-Chief of Documented, a newsroom serving immigrant communities in New York. Born in Saudi Arabia and raised in Cairo, she spent the first part of her career reporting through the Arab Spring and working across global newsrooms like Al Jazeera, AJ+, The Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg.

In this episode, we discuss what it takes to start over—navigating U.S. immigration, the grind of journalism, and the cultural shift of leaving a deeply communal society for a country built on individualism. Ethar shares the highs and lows of building a life far from home, the emotional toll of long immigration processes, and how she’s found purpose in journalism that directly serves the communities she came from.

You can connect with Ethar here:

https://digitalwomenleaders.com/mentors/ethar-el-katatney/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/etharkamal/

Documented: https://documentedny.com/about-us/#contactus

Marwa is an Egyptian-born engineer, artist, and entrepreneur who moved to the U.S. for a tech job—and ended up staying. In this episode, she shares what it was like to start over in a new country, navigate isolation, and eventually launch her own startup focused on immersive technology.

We talk about identity, burnout in the tech world, and what she’s learned as a highly sensitive person and neurodivergent woman. Marwa also explains why she believes creativity, empathy, and tech can—and should—coexist.

Where to find Marwa: 

https://www.marwamabrouk.com/

Substack: https://highseasmind.substack.com/