Tuesday

Jun 25, 2019 at 3:00 PM


The Immigrant Learning Center Inc. seeks outstanding immigrant entrepreneurs to be honored at the 2019 Barry M. Portnoy Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards.

Nominations are being accepted now through Sept. 2 for outstanding immigrant business founders in four categories of business growth, neighborhood business, high-tech business and life science business. Self-nominations are encouraged.

The only one of its kind in New England, these awards are a special opportunity for Massachusetts to showcase the entrepreneurial talent of immigrants who are drawn here. These entrepreneurs enhance Massachusetts’ neighborhoods, grow the economy and cement the commonwealth’s reputation as an innovation hub. In his role as Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Economic Development, Jay Ash, currently president and CEO of the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership, has been a frequent speaker at previous Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards Ceremonies.

“Our ability to attract and retain the best talent from across the world is a critical component in keeping Massachusetts competitive in the global economy,” Ash said. “These Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards are a potent reminder of that. I’m looking forward to being inspired by this year’s nominees.”

Winners will be chosen by a selection committee that reviews the nominations and selects one winner in each category.

2019’s committed members are:

• Business Growth: Herby Duverné, Windwalker Group and former Immigrant Entrepreneur Award Winner; Debi Kleiman, Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship, Babson College; Denzil Mohammed, Public Education Institute at The Immigrant Learning Center Inc.; and Jose Luis Rojas Villarreal, Boston Private Bank.

• Neighborhood Business: Leandro Freire, Accion East; Denzil Mohammed, Public Education Institute at The Immigrant Learning Center Inc. and Theresa Park, City of Lawrence.

• High-Tech Business: Doug Banks, Boston Business Journal; Abi Barrow, Cambridge Innovation Partners; Kathleen Hagan, Hagan and Company; Denzil Mohammed, Public Education Institute at The Immigrant Learning Center Inc.; and Julianne Zimmerman, Reinventure Capital.

• Life Science Business: Lauren Celano, Propel Careers; Alison Farquhar, GTL Coaching & Consulting, LLC and Denzil Mohammed, Public Education Institute at The Immigrant Learning Center Inc.

2018’s award winners were: Fausto Garcia of Five Star Plating in Lawrence for business growth, Umesh Bhuju of Zumi’s Espresso in Ipswich for neighborhood business, Bettina Hein of Pixability for high-tech business in Boston and Michael Koeris of Sample6 Technologies in Boston for life science business. To see a complete list of nominees and award winners for the past seven years, visit The Immigrant Learning Center’s website.

The Immigrant Learning Center invites everyone to take a stand for welcoming the best talent in the world and participate in the 2019 Barry M. Portnoy Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards. The Awards Ceremony will take place on Oct. 24 at the Royal Sonesta Boston, 40 Edwin H. Land Boulevard, Cambridge.

Nomination forms as well as sponsorship and ticket information can be found on The Immigrant Learning Center’s website at http://ilctr.org.