🇺🇸🗽👍🏼 IMMIGRANT NATION: TEÃ’S TRUTH & WISDOM: “Americans’ views on immigrants and immigration are overwhelmingly positive. However some get swayed by some of the myths and misinformation that’s out there! One way that you can fight against this intolerance is to educate yourself on the topic!” — The Ever-Amazing Téa Ivanovic of Immigrant Foods is “Courtside’s Latest NDPA Hero 🦸‍♀️ Of The Day.”🎖😎🗽

Immigrant Food
The essence of life, food has been a unifying force throughout history. Téa Ivanovic and Immigrant Food are using it to welcome and unify America for social justice!
PHOTO: IF website

From the September Edition of Immigrant Food:

Editor’s Note – September

Dear Reader,

With November’s midterm elections just around the corner, immigration will (again) become a hot national topic. Is immigration really as controversial as America’s politicians want us to believe? In this month’s issue, we explore the question: “Do Americans Support Immigrants?”.

Official immigrants account for 14 percent (40 million people) of the US population, making them an integral part of American society. Immigrants have always been part of the American identity, contributing to the economy, creating employment, and molding America’s unique culture. After all, unless you’re native American, you or your family came from somewhere.

This month, we speak to Nazanin Ash, CEO of Welcome.US, an incredible new national initiative built to inspire, mobilize, and empower Americans from all corners to welcome and support those seeking refuge. We also spoke with people on the street to understand how real Americans think and feel about welcoming immigrants.

Hope you gain new insights,

Téa

Here’s the link to Téa’s latest great video, “Téa’s Coffee presents:  Are Americans Welcoming Immigrants?”

https://youtu.be/HCX5yIniTT4

******************

Get to know “Courtside’s NDPA Hero of the Day, Téa Ivanovic!”

Tea Ivanovic
Téa Ivanovic
Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Director of Communications, “Chief Cook & Bottle Washer”
Immigrant Food
PHOTO: Immigrant Food

An immigrant herself, social justice dynamo Téa Ivanovic came roaring out of Virginia Tech only eight years ago and hasn’t looked back! No time for anything but moving forward and taking on new challenges! 

The former Hokie D-1 tennis player is busy leading, innovating, and using her amazingly broad liberal arts skill set to serve our DMV area and make America better! 

She’s a successful businesswoman, media presence, organizer, advocate, historian, ethicist, humanitarian, innovator, journalist, educator, practical scholar, foodie, sportswoman, financial manager, and all around cheerleader for the immigrant community of which she is a part! As you might expect, her omnipresent passion for life and community is tempered by a sense of humor, perspective, and self-awareness.

Tellingly, the themes for the Immigrant Food website and for their logo run heavily to “burnt orange and maroon” undoubtedly a product of her “Hokie heritage.”

Immigrant Food
“Hokie Nation” might get a certain nostalgic feeling when they visit the Immigrant Food website!

Téa’s a promotional icon for another one of my “crusades” — recognizing and nurturing the enduring value of liberal arts education in America.

That’s NOT the BS, “whitewashed” (in more ways than one) version of education promoted and foisted upon us by the far right and its highly motivated yet badly misguided acolytes, but rather the “real deal.” Honesty about our past, knowledge, applied scholarship, versatility, flexibility, communication, reasoning, debating, critical dialogue, problem solving, business acumen, financial skills, multiculturalism, language skills, agriculture (Tech is Virginia’s “land grant” college), moral courage, sports, scientific and environmental truth, leadership, compassion, creativity, artistry, humane values in action — Téa’s got all of this going on!  Folks, she’s the “complete package” – a one-woman “Liberal Artists’ Dream Team.”

Let’s start with first impressions. Clearly a powerful intellect — summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, ACC All-Academic — Téa radiates energy, competence, creativity, personality, kindness, infectious enthusiasm, good humor. Some of it undoubtedly stems from her Hokie varsity tennis days where she also honed her competitiveness, sportsmanship, and performance skills. But, as I’m sure she did on the tennis court, Téa plays hard, to win, but respects the rules of the game.

Tea Tennis
A formidable presence on and off the court, Téa never achieved the athletic recognition of her Serbian almost namesake, Ana Inanovic, a former World #1. But, Téa is “World Class” in her own right. Somewhere, a whole bunch of Ivanovics must be really proud of their social justice prodigy!
PHOTO: coretennis.net

How dynamic, talented, and committed is Téa? Here’s the “lede” on her “official Immigrant Foods bio:”

Téa started as the hyper-talented head of communications for Immigrant Food, but as the pandemic took its toll, it became clear that she had to become Jack of all Trades. So she took on management.  And then took on operations.  And then took on financial responsibility.  So, she became the COO.

In other words, Téa awoke one day and decided “the best way I can help my organization and my team is by taking on the additional responsibility of Chief Operating Officer.” So she did it! No waffling or second thoughts about whether someone less than a decade out of college could pull off this stressful, yet rewarding, “high wire act!”

Tightrope
Walking a tightrope requires skill and courage. Téa’s never afraid of new challenges!
PHOTO: Creative Commons

Somewhere along the trip from Blacksburg to DC, Téa picked up a M.A. at Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Born in Belgium, the daughter of former Yugoslavians, she’s fluent in English, Flemish, and Serbian. Téa describes herself as “an immigrant squared” (quite different from a “square immigrant,” which she certainly isn’t).

The first Washington correspondent for Bosnia and Herzogevina’s leading newspaper, Téa has worked at think tanks, written for various online publications, and been a researcher and fellow. She’s lived a lifetime, accomplished great things, undertaken new challenges, and helped lead the charge to blow away the myths and achieve social and legal justice for migrants and everyone else in America. Hers is a life already laser focused on her larger community, making the world better, and helping others!

Folks, Téa’s 30th birthday is still on the horizon! Her “full due process potential” is breathtaking, inspiring, encouraging, and reassuring (particularly for those of us “on the bell lap” of life’s journey, concerned for American’s future)!

Téa is confident, not arrogant or imperious. She’s just as comfortable interviewing some of the “movers and shakers” of the DC area about profound national issues as she is connecting with a recent immigrant working in a bistro about their American experience. And, despite her obvious love of the kitchen, I’m sure the immigrant Food books aren’t “cooked” with Téa as COO!

Immigrant Food
Mutual Support: Meet Immigrant Food’s Leadership: L-R, Mile Montezuma, Chef; Peter Schecter, Co- Founder; Enrique Limardo, Co-Founder & Executive Chef; Téa Ivanovic, Co-Founder & COO
PHOTO: IF website

You can keep up with Téa and her talented band of social justice/good food brothers and sisters by subscribing to Immigrant Food (“IF”) here:  https://immigrantfood.com/. 

Like “Courtside,” it’s free — making it one of the best bargains in a town not necessarily known for them! 

In addition to connecting you with some great local immigrant cuisine, IF also highlights local events and ways to connect with immigrants in the community.

Immigrant Food
Getting down to business, the food is tasty and tastefully presented!
PHOTOS: IF website

Immigrant Food

For example, each week, the “IF Team” shows you five ways to engage with the immigrant community. It might be through a donation, volunteering, or educating yourself about immigrant issues (Téa’s above video is a terrific example). 

There are so many ways you can make a difference! This week’s “Engagement Menu,” features volunteering, donating, and educational opportunities, like supporting the Afghan Adjustment Act! Something good is always “cooking in the kitchen” at IF! Téa Calls it “gastroadvocacy!” What a great concept!

Additionally, IF has partnered with five amazing immigrant justice NGOs in the DMV area: AsylumWorks, AYUDA, CAIR Coalition, APALRC, and CARECEN. Imagine having the expertise, kinetic energy, and social justice firepower of giants like Paula Fitzgerald (AYUDA), Joan Hodges Wu (AsylumWorks), Adina Appelbaum (CAIR Coalition, one of my “best ever” Georgetown Law “Refugee Law & Policy” alums), Laura Trask (AYUDA), Téa, and other immigrants’ rights advocates from these venerable organizations on your side. Truly, a “Social Justice Dream Team.”

As my Georgetown Law students know, I’m always “preaching”  about the “big five life values” — fairness, scholarship, timeliness, respect, and teamwork. Téa, and her equally spectacular colleagues at IF embody all of those. They inspire, energize, and show us how the “new generation” of the NDPA can make an immediate impact in the never-ending battle for social justice in America and help forge a better world.

Thinking like Téa.  Earlier this week, I highlighted the work of Beth Baker and United We Eat in Missoula, Montana.  Beth is another innovative thinker and doer creating “win-wins” for America! https://immigrationcourtside.com/2022/09/08/courtside-food%f0%9f%a5%99%f0%9f%8d%b1%f0%9f%a5%98%f0%9f%8c%ae%f0%9f%8d%9d-does-the-road-to-national-unity-go-through-our-stomachs-immigrant-kitchen-brings-missoula-montana-together/

Maybe it’s time to take “gastroadvocacy” to the next level: a nationwide network — call it the “Social Justice Food Network” (“SJFN”).

Get a YouTube channel! Create an app! Folks can hook up their mobile phones and “eat their way from coast to coast” while promoting unity and equal justice for all!

As somebody who still loves the “American road trip,” the idea of hitting the next roadside eatery where we can get good food (some vegan entrees, please), meet great immigrants, and chat with local folks about social justice is hyper-appealing! Outdoor seating and/or carryout for those of us traveling with our dogs would also be a huge plus!

Duncan
Duncan, pictured here on the outdoor patio are the Whale’s Tales Pub in Boothbay Harbor, loves road trips and outdoor seating!

Téa, thanks again from all your NDPA colleagues and friends for all you do! I hope that this “mini-profile” will inspire others to get to know you, either online or in person, and join your fight for a better America — one where the unfulfilled promise of “equal justice for all” will finally become a reality!

One thing’s for certain. Téa’s time on the front lines of the fight for social justice is just getting started. I can’t wait to find out what she has up her sleeve next! Whatever it is, I know that it will be creative, energetic, and dedicated to helping others.

There is no mountain that Téa and her team can’t climb. I’m just grateful that she and others like her have chosen to “throw in their lot” with the NDPA! Hats off to you, Téa, and other immigrants, past, present, and future, who “make” our nation!

Immigrant Food
The Team @ Immigrant Food serves up social justice and good grub!
PHOTO: IF website

If, indeed, “we are what we eat,” I encourage everyone to order up an extra big helping of social justice at Immigrant Food!

To close this circle, I started out to write a profile of my friend and NDPA colleague, Téa. By the time I finished, I had connected all kinds of dots from my own life (e.g., my dad was a physician at the student health center at Tech before Téa was born, and remained an avid Hokie fan till the end), my relationships with other NDPA colleagues, former students, NGOs that played a role in my life on and off the bench, public service, “gonzo journalism,” vegan eating, road trips, dogs, the future fight for social justice, and “the heart and soul of America.” That’s what makes the enlightened leadership of folks like Téa so special and generates optimism for a better, more just and unified, America for the future.

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

09-09-22

 

COURTSIDE FOOD🥙🍱🥘🌮🍝: DOES THE ROAD TO NATIONAL UNITY GO THROUGH OUR STOMACHS? — Immigrant Kitchen Brings Missoula, Montana Together! — NBC News Reports!

United We Eat
United We Eat Chef Haroon Eshani
United We Eat
United We Eat Program Manager Beth Baker
United We Eat
United We Eat Kitchen Assistant Rozan Shbib
United We Eat
Eshani and Shbib hard at work in United We Eat. Kitchen
Unite We Eat
Sbib Shows NBC News Reporter Steve Patterson around United We Eat Kitchen
United We Eat
United We Eat Kitchen Manager Casey Chapman has a tough job, but keeps smiling!

Check out this inspiring video on great people working together, helping each other, and integrating the skills, enthusiasm, and energy of new Americans into the community:

https://youtu.be/dIPAkTXzqJ8

*****************

Great story! Congrats to the people of Missoula!😎 A nation of immigrants needs new immigrants and their human potential! Everybody wins when we welcome immigrants to our communities!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

09-08-22