The DreamHour Migrant Series 2020: series of 21 presentations that focus on the migrant experience in America. It will showcase diversity, challenges, struggles, and successes through each individual’s participation highlighting the navigation of the cultural intersection between one’s home country and one’s new home. Today’s Series will consist of three migrants’ presentations from three different countries:
5:30 PM, Doors open
6:00 – 6:45 PM, Mada Al-Jundi (Syria) – “America and Pharmacy have been good to me”
7:00 – 7:45 PM, Genaline Escalante-Valdez (Philippines) – “The American Success Story- Thriving as A Minority in (Corporate) America”
8:00 – 8:45 PM, Jacqueline Okiemute Johnson (Nigeria/Germany) – “MAD” About Life: Why I get “MAD” about life and how I stay “MAD” about life
Speakers’ Bios:
MADA AL-JUNDI
Syrian-American Pharmacist. Born to a well-known poet father and a pioneer college educated mother. She was a top graduate of the Syrian University school of Pharmacy dreaming of getting a PhD from UT and working in pharmaceutical research. Graduate school was not was she had in mind, went back to undergraduate school while her language skills were improving and received my BSc. Pharmacy in 1984. The next chapter of her journey took me to New York city with a former husband. After amazing 11 years in New York city it was to come back to her second home of Texas. Chose San Antonio where most of my extended family lives, and will be a great place to raise her son in relative prosperity. She continues to work in order to afford my costly passion for Travel and attending social and cultural events.
Genaline Escalante-Valez
Genaline Escalante-Valdez, President of the Alamo Asian-American Chamber of Commerce, is a national senior healthcare executive, with over 25 years of experience in the field of strategic & operational development of micro-hospitals, surgical boutique hospitals and free-standing rehabilitation and specialty long-term care hospitals. In 2002, she joined Post-Acute Medical (Mother Corporation of the Warm Springs Hospital Group) and progressively climbed the corporate ladder in her 16 years of service. With the company’s headquarters in Enola, Pennsylvannia, Genaline’s tenure brought diversity into the senior executive team as she is the only Filipino among the top ranks of the company’s core leaders. Fearless as she is, Genaline has operated in several capacities & roles within the company such as Corporate VP of Strategy & Integration, VP of Acquisitions, Hospital CEO, and recently in February, (a new role), as Chief Strategic Market Advisor to Hospital CEOs. Genaline travels extensively on the job and is involved in the oversight of hospitals owned by PAM in several key states namely Pennsylvania, Delaware, Texas, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Nevada, Kansas, Colorado and California. Her professional affiliations include the American College of Healthcare Executives, Post-Acute National Consortium and the Society of Healthcare Leaders International. Genaline’s tenacity and work-ethic is due to her deep Filipino upbringing. Born in Albay, Legaspi City, Philippines and later grew up in Davao City, her values hail from her parents, Dr. Dante and Nini Escalante, whose lifelong work as philantropists in the medical field helped thousands of individuals from all walks of life
Jacqueline Okiemute Johnson
Jacqueline Okiemute Johnson (born Jacqueline Okiemute Shishe; December 10, 1976) is a student of life, teacher of life and lover of life. Jacqueline’s adventure with life began in Warri, Nigeria where she was born to a German mother and a Nigerian father. She has experienced life in Africa, Europe and North America. Nigeria is where she spent the first sixteen years of her life. The following thirteen years were spent in Germany. In 2005, she continued her life’s adventure in the United States of America where she lives today. The many varying ‘ways of life’ she experienced on her life’s journey are all reasons she lives the life she is destined and deserves to live today.
