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Taking it to the streets: Prosperity through entrepreneurship

Latino immigrants coming to New York City seeking economic stability and mobility turn to street vending as a means of survival

This WorkingNation documentary explores the stories behind the Latino immigrants turning to street vending as a means of economic mobility
This WorkingNation documentary tells the personal stories of Latino immigrants who are striving for stability for themselves and their families. It also looks at a new generation advocating for economic change.
Director: Alejandro Ravazzola
Producer: Fernanda Sancho, Ilan Numhauser, Sofia Bonavia, Valentina Nuñez, Gabriela Gonzalez, Alejandro Ravazzola, Melissa Panzer, Stephanie Tobey, Mike Zunic
Cinematographer: Jorge Sebastian Dietsch
Editor: Elías Saez, Tomás Elizondo
Executive Producer: Art Bilger, Joan Lynch, Melissa Panzer, Carlos Enrique Cuscó, Ari Taboada

Food for Thought sheds light on the immense challenges faced by Latino immigrants in New York City, as well as the efforts of the next generation who now advocate for these communities. This WorkingNation documentary explores the personal stories of immigrants who have sought refuge in New York, drawn by the promise of opportunity and security. Yet, for many, the reality has been different. Rising inflation, an astronomical cost of living, and stagnant wages make it nearly impossible for many immigrant families to thrive in the city.

As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month 2024 with the theme Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together, this film underscores how Latino immigrants have been pioneers of resilience, with many turning to street vending as a means of survival and entrepreneurship. These vendors not only provide fresh, affordable food to their communities but also navigate the intricate web of permits, licenses, and regulations that often leave them on the fringes of legality.

Food for Thought goes beyond the immigrant experience to highlight how the next generation – those who have witnessed their parents’ struggles – are now advocating for immigrant rights and working to reform the very systems they say held their families back. Through stories like Alex’s, who transformed his life through hard work and determination, and the advocacy efforts of leaders pushing for street vending reforms, the film reveals both the immigrant struggle and the rising movement to create equitable opportunities for all.

By shining a light on these intertwined stories, Food for Thought captures the ongoing challenges faced by immigrant families while showcasing how their children, the next generation, are fighting for justice and change. It serves as a reminder of the strength, perseverance, and entrepreneurial spirit that drives immigrant families, and the crucial role their advocates play in shaping a more equitable future for New York City.

Watch other films in the series here: Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together

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Dana Beth Ardi

Executive Committee

Dana Beth Ardi, PhD, Executive Committee, is a thought leader and expert in the fields of executive search, talent management, organizational design, assessment, leadership and coaching. As an innovator in the human capital movement, Ardi creates enhanced value in companies by matching the most sought after talent with the best opportunities. Ardi coaches boards and investors on the art and science of building high caliber management teams. She provides them with the necessary skills to seek out and attract top-level management, to design the ideal organizational architectures and to deploy people against strategy. Ardi unearths the way a business works and the most effective way for people to work in them.

Ardi is an experienced business executive and senior consultant who leverages business organizational transformation through talent strategies. She uses her knowledge and experience to develop talent strategies to enhance revenue and profit contributions. She has a deep expertise in change management and organizational effectiveness and has designed and built high performance cultures. Ardi has significant experience in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, IPO’s and turnarounds.

Ardi is an expert on the multi-generational workforce. She understands the four intersecting generations of workers coming together in contemporary companies, each with their own mindsets, leadership and communications styles, values and motivations. Ardi is sought after to assist companies manage and thrive by bringing the generations together. Her book, Fall of the Alphas: How Beta Leaders Win Through Connection, Collaboration and Influence, will be published by St. Martin’s Press. The book reflects Ardi’s deep expertise in understanding organizations and our changing society. It focuses on building a winning culture, how companies must grow and evolve, and how talent influences and shapes communities of work. This is what she has coined “Corporate Anthropology.” It is a playbook on how modern companies must meet challenges – culturally, globally, digitally, across genders and generations.

Ardi is currently the Managing Director and Founder of Corporate Anthropology Advisors, LLC, a consulting company that provides human capital advisory and innovative solutions to companies building value through people. Corporate Anthropology works with organizations, their cultures, the way they grow and develop, and the people who are responsible for forming their communities of work.

Prior to her position at Corporate Anthropology Advisors, Ardi served as a Partner/Managing Director at the private equity firms CCMP Capital and JPMorgan Partners. She was a partner at Flatiron Partners, a venture capital firm working with early state companies where she pioneered the human capital role within an investment portfolio.

Ardi holds a BS from the State University of New York at Buffalo as well as a Masters degree and PhD from Boston College. She started her career as professor at the Graduate Center at Fordham University in New York.