Storyteller. Philanthropist.
Global citizen.

Beautiful Journey Series

Alya Michelson's deeply personal experience of finding home in a new country, creating a community, and seeking a sense of belonging has called her to a lifelong commitment to support, elevate, and honor women who are also on this journey. Beautiful Journey offers a mix of written, podcast, and video interviews that focus on the lessons these brave, beautiful, generous women have learned while building lives in a new home.

Beautiful Journey Series
Sylwia Wisenberg
Sylwia Wisenberg

In this episode of Beautiful Journey, host Alya Michelson welcomes Sylwia Wiesenberg, a beauty entrepreneur and the founder of BAWDY Beauty, DOPE Naturally, and TONIQUE Fitness.

Sylwia's story is one of resilience and determination. Born in Poland, she embarked on a global adventure to pursue her college education. After graduating from the University of Notre Dame, she built a successful career in finance and advertising before leaving it all behind to create her beauty line.

Lola Adeyemo
Lola Adeyemo

Alya Michelson joins Lola Adeyemo, CEO & Founder of EQIMindset, who embarked on a life-changing adventure from Nigeria to the United States to pursue a university degree. But her journey was about more than academics; it was a transformative experience that revealed unexpected lessons along the way.

Ksenia Turkova
Ksenia Turkova

Alya Michelson welcomes Ksenia Turkova, a Voice of America journalist with over 20 years of experience in TV and radio. Join them as they journey back to their early days in Moscow, where they both served as journalists for different media outlets during a time of profound change and growth.

Jina Krause-Vilmar
Jina Krause-Vilmar

In this inaugural episode of the “Beautiful Journey” podcast, Alya Michelson asks Jina Krause-Vilmar of Upwardly Global about the Career Skills Program they’ve partnered on, the challenges immigrant women face in pursuing their careers, the impact of harmful stereotypes, the emerging humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, and more.

Gisele Fetterman
Gisele Fetterman

In this conversation with Alya Michelson, Second Lady of Pennsylvania Gisele Fetterman discusses how her life changed during the pandemic and ways she continues to support the most vulnerable in her community.

Vanessa Luna
Vanessa Luna

Vanessa Luna is the co-founder and chief program officer of ImmSchools. Alya and Vanessa engage in a meaningful conversation on access to educational resources and technologies in the COVID era.

Zeba Talkhani
Zeba Talkhani

Intersectional feminist and author Zeba Talkhani talks with Alya Michelson about her experience leaving her native Saudi Arabia, finding her voice and passions, and her hopes for a more connected post-COVID world.

Reyna Montoya
Reyna Montoya

Reyna Montoya is the founder and CEO of ALIENTO. In this episode, Reyna talks with Alya Michelson on a range of topics, including the hardships she experiences as an immigrant woman and the importance of a strong community to get through challenges.

Natasha Nguyen
Natasha Nguyen

Alya Michelson interviews Natasha Nguyen, Los Angles-based floral artist and entrepreneur who created the flower crowns for Alya’s “Beauty of Seven Continents” photo series.

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Helping immigrant women professionals regain their career momentum

Alya Michelson and Michelson Philanthropies are partnering with Upwardly Global, a non profit dedicated to eliminating employment barriers for immigrant and refugee professionals, to launch their first Southern California cohort to help place recently immigrated women into successful careers in the US.

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