Entry 02 // Meet Elizabeth, President of IWRC’s Board of Directors.
Hi, I’m Elizabeth Levoy, President of the Board of Directors at the International Women’s Resource Center. I joined IWRC because I deeply believe in its mission—to provide support and community for refugee and immigrant women, and by extension their families, and to help them integrate into their new communities here in Los Angeles.
I grew up in an American mixed-race family. Though my friends and family were warm and welcoming, I often felt excluded and “othered” by American society. In the United States, interracial marriage was not legalized nationwide until 1967, more than a decade after my parents were born and just nine years before their marriage.
Growing up in the 1990s and early 2000s, there were rarely mixed-race families on TV or in movies and if there was a mixed-race couple, the entire movie was about how challenging it was for them to exist in American society—think the 1967 movie, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” and the 2005 remake, “Guess Who.”
As a kid, I vividly remember how much I wanted to live in a world that was fully integrated, where people felt at home—no matter what they looked like, who they married or where they came from. As an adult, I’ve spent more than a decade working in nonprofit, learning how I can best help people and make the world I want to see.
After meeting IWRC founder Katie Callahan Neginskiy in Chicago, I volunteered at Heartland Alliance, where Katie was working at the time. I mentored refugees, helping them learn the logistics of living and working in Chicago—for example, using public transportation and visiting cultural landmarks.
When Katie asked if I would consider joining the IWRC Board of Directors, I was excited and truly honored. IWRC provides a variety of programs, including workforce preparation and adult education. These programs help women improve their economic status and become empowered members of their new communities.
By promoting inclusivity, IWRC is helping to combat bigotry and xenophobia, so one day, mixed-race children and immigrant women will see themselves in their community leaders and feel at home. To learn more about this amazing organization, explore this website and follow IWRC on Instagram (@internationalwomenscenter).
