Royal Sonesta Boston
Wednesday, November 8, 2023, 6:00 PM
Once a year, the Barry M. Portnoy Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards Benefit invites us to marvel at the ingenuity, bravery and grit of the immigrant entrepreneurs that call Massachusetts home. Founders of biotechs, insurance agencies, cyber security firms and neighborhood bakeries take their noses from the grindstone long enough to share their stories with each other and with business and community leaders who understand their importance to our shared economic success. Join us!
Sponsorship & Tickets
There are many levels of sponsorship opportunities available. For sponsorship and ticket information, click here.
Schedule of Events
6:00 PM Cocktail Reception
7:00 PM Dinner
8:00 PM Awards Ceremony
Nominations
This year we honor 21 nominees from 15 countries who founded businesses in 16 Massachusetts communities, create jobs, serve our neighborhoods and fuel the innovation economy.
Business Growth
Tonn Cao, TCA Counseling Group in Boston
from Vietnam
Wendy Estrella, Estrella Enterprises, LLC in Lawrence
from Dominican Republic
Chris & Lauriete Miller, Millers Professionals Co. in Oak Bluffs
from Brazil
Neighborhood Business
Luiz Thomaz DaCosta, Modular Concepts in Marlborough
from Brazil
Grace Dias, Grace Group Realty, LLC in Ludlow
from Portugal
Anu Gupta Immigration Desk Inc. in Newton
from India
Anna Janik, Janik’s Pierogi Café in Westfield
from Poland
Maria Maria, Los Mágicos Barbershop and Beauty Supply in Boston
from Dominican Republic
Phalla Nol, Phalla’s Produce in Lowell
from Cambodia
Laila Pasha, Alpha Dental in Somerville
from Pakistan
Jorge Marzuca Rosas, Whitemarz Farm in Lunenburg
from Mexico
Tony Tavares, Villa Rose Restaurant & Catering in Ludlow
from Portugal
Sonny Vo, Chashu Ramen & Isakaya in Worchester
from Vietnam
Technology Business
Shimon Elkabetz, The Tomorrow Companies Inc. in Boston
from Israel
Krenar Komoni, Tive, Inc. in Boston
from Republic of Kosovo
Ali Merchant, iQ3Connect Inc. In Woburn
from India
Frank van Mierlo, CubicPV in Bedford
from Netherlands
Life Science Business
Robert Ang, Vor Bio in Cambridge
from Malaysia
Isabel Aznarez, Stoke Therapeutics in Bedford
from Uruguay
Paulo Garcia, Kytopen in Cambridge
from Colombia
Mariana Matus, Biobot Analytics in Cambridge
from Mexico
Judging
The Barry M. Portnoy Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards selection committee reviews nominations and selects one winner in each category. The 2023 selection committee members are:
Business Growth
- Herby Duverné, Windwalker Group
- Jose Luis Rojas Villarreal, Local Enterprise Assistance Fund (LEAF)
- Debi Kleiman, The Upside Angels
Neighborhood Business
- Eduardo Crespo, Hispanic Market Solution
- Mahsa Khanbabai, Khanbabai Immigration Law
- Elsabel Rincon, Mill Cities Community Investments
Technology Business
- Doug Banks, Boston Business Journal
- Abi Barrow, Cambridge Innovation Partners
- Kathleen Hagan, Hagan and Company
- Julianne Zimmerman, Adasina Social Capital
Life Science Business
- Lauren Celano, Propel Careers
- Alison (Ali) Farquhar, GTL Coaching & Consulting, LLC
- Michelle Linn, Linnden Communications
Learn More and Spread the Word
For more details, view our Frequently Asked Questions or Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards brochure.
Use our Awards Social Media Kit to spread the word.
Still have questions? Email The ILC’s Director of Development Mark Correia at [email protected].
About Barry M. Portnoy
Barry M. Portnoy was the founder of The RMR Group, an alternative asset management company, and a founding board member of The Immigrant Learning Center. As a consummate entrepreneur, he built businesses in multiple industries, employed thousands and contributed mightily to local economies. His steadfast support of The ILC gave thousands of immigrants a voice. Because of his unwavering belief in immigrants and the transformational impact of entrepreneurship, The ILC Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards were renamed after his death in 2018.
Previous Nominees and Winners
Two hundred and forty-six Massachusetts business owners and innovators from 69 countries have been nominated and recognized for their outstanding accomplishments in more than a decade of the Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards.
- Fitzroy Alexander, Traditional Breads Inc., Lynn (2014 WINNER)
- Herby Duverné, Windwalker Group, Boston (2016 WINNER)
- Wendy Estrella, Estrella Law Firm, Lawrence (2016)
- Eduardo & German Fernandez, Brothers Market, Inc., Dorchester (2016)
- Francisco Fernandez, Happy Supermarket, Dorchester (2016)
- Boppanda Ganapathy, Boston Services, LLC, Burlington (2018)
- Fausto Garcia, Five Star Plating, Lawrence (2018 WINNER)
- Jose Garcia, Ebi Sushi in Somerville, Sapporo Ramen in Cambridge and Sushi Kappo in Boston (2018, 2019)
- Rafael Guzman, RM Technologies, Inc., Lawrence (2013 WINNER)
- Elias and Juana Interiano, El Potro Mexican Bar & Grill in Lowell, Malden and Somerville (2018)
- Ely Kaplansky, Kaplansky Insurance in Needham and 11 other communities (2019)
- Venkat Kolluri, Chitika Inc./Cidewalk, Westborough (2015)
- Marc-Andre Lebel, FRX Polymers, Inc., Chelmsford (2016)
- Christine Lin, The Cambridge Institute of International Education, Waltham (2014)
- Yan Liu, TVision Insights in Boston (2018)
- Roger Magalhaes, Shades in Place and Trading Up Consulting, LLC, Franklin (2022 WINNER)
- Ravi Meruva, IconSoft, Burlington (2015)
- Lisandra Mones, Glitterati Style, Salem (2013)
- Charbel Najem, Capstone General Contracting, Worcester (2014)
- Vijay Nalamada, Avco Consulting, Worcester (2017)
- Joseph Ngaruiya, A Better Life Homecare in Springfield, Worcester and Suffield, CT (2019 WINNER)
- David Nguyen, US Bedding Inc., Fall River (2017)
- Larry O’Toole, Gentle Giant Moving Company, Somerville (2016)
- Hitendra Patel, IXL Center, Cambridge (2016)
- Dmitriy Peregudov, GiftBasketsOverseas.com, Arlington (2014)
- Daniel Perez, DPV Transportation Worldwide, East Boston (2017)
- Jose de la Rosa, Guardian Healthcare, Jamaica Plain (2017 WINNER)
- Tony Salem, Sea-Dar Construction, Boston (2016)
- Ashish Sangani, GIRI Hotels, Quincy (2012)
- Amir Shiranian, Amelia’s Taqueria, Inc., Boston and Brighton (2017)
- Julia Silverio, Silverio Insurance, Lawrence (2012 WINNER)
- Helene and Thomas Stohr, swissbakers, Allston and Reading (2015 WINNER)
- Sushil Tuli, Leader Bank, N.A, Arlington (2012)
- Son Vo, TTS Trio, LLC, Fiskdale (2019)
- Paolo Volpati-Kedra, Sauces ‘n Love, Inc., Lynn (2013, 2015)
- Rosemary Agbede, Unique You Salon, Lowell (2013)
- Maria Alcantara, Lawrence Training School, Inc., Lawrence (2018)
- Adolfo Alvarado, Tu Y Yo Mexican Restaurant, Somerville (2018)
- Victoria Amador and Rosa and Nisaury Tejeda, Tremendous Maid LLC, Jamaica Plain (2014 WINNER)
- Yovanny Arias, Sharps Barber Shop, Hyde Park (2018)
- Elias Audy, Cypress Automart, Brookline (2016)
- Denise and Sambath Ban, Simply Khmer Restaurant, Lowell (2014)
- Carlos Barbosa, Colors of Cape Cod, Hyannis (2019)
- Victor Barros, Systemize Networks, Stoughton (2014)
- Arturo Barroso, Boston Shoe Service, Boston (2014)
- Edan Barshan, Universal Dental Plan, Boston (2014)
- Umesh Bhuju, Zumi’s Espresso and Ice Cream, Ipswich (2012, 2013, 2018 WINNER)
- Veronice Biscalquim, Outstanding Cleaning, Inc., Somerville (2018)
- Freddy Blanco, Don Quijote Market, Boston (2018)
- Jitka Borowick, Cleangreen, Inc., Barnstable (2017, 2018, 2022 WINNER)
- Brad Brown, The Blue Frog Bakery, Jamaica Plain (2018)
- Alberto Calvo, Stop & Compare Supermarkets, Chelsea (2014, 2015)
- Angelica & Diana Cardona, Chocolafee, Revere (2016)
- Martin Carrera, La Veracruzana, Amherst and Northampton (2015)
- Frank Chan, Chan Insurance Agency, Boston (2019)
- Eva and Nick Chau, Tai Tung Pharmacy, Boston (2016)
- Henry Chung, Pho Saigon, Lee (2012)
- Sebastian Corbat, Del Sur LLC, Lowell (2019)
- Mario Cruz, Mario’s Subs and Salads, Roxbury (2017)
- Luiz DaCosta, Modular Concepts LLC, Marlborough (2019)
- Agusto DaCunha, Ola Cafe, Somerville (2019)
- Tom Dang, Pho Da Lat Restaurant, Lowell (2013)
- Javier Diaz, Rincon Caribeno Restaurant, Hyde Park (2014, 2015)
- Larry Dossantos, 912 Auto, Dorchester (2012 WINNER)
- Margarita Druker, Persona Jewelry in Boston (2018)
- Mai Du, Wah Lum Kung Fu & Tai Chi Academy, Malden (2016)
- Calvin Duong, New Century Auto Collision and Service Center, Lowell (2013)
- Ahmed Egal, Car Service Boston, Boston (2015)
- Edna Etienne, LeFoyer Bakery, Mattapan (2019)
- Yessy Feliz, Tails, Inc., Jamaica Plain (2017, 2019 WINNER)
- Tania and Antonio Forte, Red Fez Bar and Grill, Chicopee (2018)
- Ruth Francis, P&R Ice Cream and Restaurant, Mattapan (2015)
- Julia Frenkle, Opus Design LLC, Brighton (2016)
- Fernanda Ghi and Guillermo Merlo, Artango Dance School, Brighton (2018)
- Shelia Gibbs, Optical Expressions, Springfield (2018)
- Zoila Gomez, Gomez and Palumbo, LLC, Lawrence (2019)
- Jose Antonio Guerrero, Cafe Azteca, Lawrence (2014)
- Suraj Gurung, Asian Star Markets LLC, West Springfield (2016)
- Andres Gutierrez, JP’s Massage Therapy Center, Jamaica Plain (2015)
- Dheyaa Habeed, Baghdad Bakery and Market, West Springfield (2016)
- Eli Hsu, Tepthida Khmer, Lowell (2012)
- Janet Hung and Delia Vildoso, Tiny World Child Care Inc., Brookline (2014)
- Juan Ingles, Imigrante Latino America Services, Chelsea (2013)
- Kham Inthirath, Envision Digital Group, Worcester (2017)
- Mahmud Jafri, Dover Rug & Home, Natick (2013 WINNER)
- Marie Claire Jean-Guillaume, La Ronde de Marie Claire Early Learning Center, Hyde Park (2013)
- Jean Jose, J&R Enterprises, Malden (2019)
- William Joseph, Globo Computer Center, Lynn (2019)
- Fahri Karakaya, Pera Mediterranean Bistro, Williamstown (2018)
- Sandra Katz-Deleon, Center For Bilingual Services, Lawrence (2016)
- Inna Khitrik, Inna’s Kitchen, Boston (2018)
- Rowaid Khudhur, STELA TECH, Worcester (2017)
- Sun Kim, Sun Kim Bop, Springfield (2018)
- Nai Nan Ko, Ko Automotive Group, Wellesley (2014)
- Fatima Langa, Muqueca Restaurant, Cambridge (2016)
- Hong Liu, A Friendly Inn at Harvard, Cambridge (2015)
- Francisco Lora, Tropicana Market, Salem (2013)
- Gerardo Loza and Hilda Torres, My Little Best Friends Early Learning Center, Malden (2016 WINNERS)
- Josefina Luna, CEROcoop, Boston (2017 WINNER)
- Roger Magalhaes, Shades in Place, Franklin (2012)
- Valentin Maldonado, Continental Construction Group LLC, Lynn (2017)
- George V. Markos, Brother’s Deli, Lynn (2015)
- Giuseppe Masia, Giuseppe’s Fresh Pasta & Fine Food, Inc., Newburyport (2019)
- Danaris Mazara, Sweet Grace Heavenly Cakes, Lawrence (2016)
- Ricardo Miranda, Miranda Auto Body, Springfield (2014)
- Moe Mobasherat, Omnidentix & Associates, Medford (2016)
- Mike Mohamed, Il Forno Restaurant, Acton, Fitchburg and West Boylston (2017)
- Miriam Morales, Recreo Coffee, West Roxbury (2019)
- Ekaterina Morozova, Lash Boutique, Hyannis (2018)
- Tarun & Simi Narula, Spice Root Indian Restaurant, Williamstown (2012)
- Anthony O. N. Ngethe, Nursecare Transportation, Methuen (2015)
- Ky Nguyen, Kingston Station, Boston (2015)
- Phong Nguyen, Yoki Restaurant, Medford (2014)
- Phalla Nol, Phalla’s Produce, Lowell (2019)
- Elizabeth Nolberto, Ellie’s CPR and First Aid Training, Lawrence (2016)
- Jignesh Patel, Jay Square, Beverly (2016)
- Colette Phillips, Colette Phillips Communications, Boston (2016)
- Damaris Pimentel, ULTRA Beauty Salon, Jamaica Plain (2013, 2015 WINNER)
- Gildardo Preciado, Tertulias Café, Boston (2019)
- Roger Samkhon Pin and Soben Pin, KhmerPost USA, Lowell (2014)
- Antonio Rodrigues, TNT Cleaning Services Inc., Assonet (2016)
- Elizabeth Rodriguez and Gladys Ruiz, Little Children Schoolhouse, Brookline (2015)
- Maria Rosa, Yeska Cakes, Lawrence (2013)
- Monica Ryan, Strawberry Child Care, Watertown (2017)
- Nabil and Joseph Sater, The Middle East & ZuZu, Cambridge (2014)
- Magbe Savane, Makomas LLC, Revere (2016)
- Harley Silva, Cape Cod Marble & Granite, Inc., Hyannis (2017)
- Manuel Silva, Silva’s Mini-Market, Lowell (2013)
- Marc Silva, Somerville Sustainable Cleaning, Cambridge (2014)
- Shane Smyth, Hugh O’Neill’s Restaurant and Pub, Malden (2019)
- Neily Soto, Soto Real Estate Services, Lawrence (2012)
- Joe de Souza, Modelos Market and Cafe, Somerville (2016)
- Rodrigo Souza, Comeketo Brazilian Steakhouse, Leominster (2018)
- Helene and Thomas Stohr, swissbakers, Reading (2013)
- Abrar Ali Syed, Pine Banks Animal Hospital, Malden (2012)
- Sabrina Tan and Chin Lee, Flavours of Malaysia, Pittsfield (2014)
- Malee Thai, Pailin Market, Lowell (2012)
- Douglas Tran, All Seasons Table, LLC, Malden (2013, 2016)
- Hong Tran, Lehong Attorneys at Law, LLC, Worcester (2019)
- Long Tran, Viet Thai Restaurant, Lowell (2012)
- Huoi Trinh, My Xuyen Corporation, Dorchester (2012)
- Angel Valdivia, Angel’s Painting, Inc., Framingham (2013)
- Carlos Vargas, Vargas & Vargas Insurance, Dorchester and Stoughton (2015)
- Myra Vargas, J & P Cleaners, Jamaica Plain and Roslindale (2017)
- Tania Vega and Jose Roberto Vega, River Grille, Hyde Park (2015)
- Patria Veras Valenzuela, Sonia’s Bridal, Jamaica Plain (2013)
- Yolanda Villamil, Alpha Travel Agency, Worcester (2015)
- Weidong Wang, Baba Sushi and Chuan Sushi Restaurants, Worcester (2014)
- Angela Westen, Angela Westen Insurance Agency, Lowell (2013, 2016)
- Ahmed Yusef, Suitmen LLC, Marlborough (2019)
- Raj Aggarwal, Localytics, Boston (2017)
- Vikram Aggarwal, EnergySage, Cambridge (2014)
- Ahmed Albaiti, Medullan Inc., Cambridge (2017)
- Edison Almeida, eCurv Inc., Cambridge (2016)
- Rajini Anachi, mZeal Communications, Littleton (2016)
- Ash Ashutosh, Actifio, Inc., Waltham (2013)
- Mahmud Awan, Tech Man International LLC, Southbridge (2015)
- Aki Balogh, MarketMuse, Inc., Boston (2018)
- Panos Bethanis, survey.com, Boston (2018)
- Himanshu Bhatnagar, HB Software Solutions, Lowell (2013)
- Sridhar Bogelli, Apps Associates LLC, Acton (2018)
- Vladimir Bulovic, QD Vision, Lexington (2016)
- Dries Buytaert, Acquia, Burlington (2015 WINNER)
- Kris Canekeratne, Virtusa Coroporation, Westborough (2012)
- Sandro Catanzaro, DataXu, Boston (2017 WINNER)
- Lior Div, Cybereason, Inc., Boston (2018)
- Semyon Dukach, SMTP, Inc., Cambridge (2015)
- Joshua Feast, Cogito Corporation, Boston (2015, 2017)
- Max Faingezicht, ThriveHive, Boston (2018)
- Alexander Falk, Altova, Inc., Beverly (2018, 2019)
- Lingping Gao, NetBrain, Burlington (2017)
- Ashifi Gogo, Sproxil, Inc., Cambridge (2013, 2014)
- Bart Heilbron, BlueConic, Inc., Boston (2018)
- Bettina Hein, Pixability, Boston (2014, 2018 WINNER)
- Lissy Hu, CarePort Health, Boston (2017)
- Qichao Hu, SolidEnergy Systems, Woburn (2018, 2019)
- Fauzia Khan and Mansoor Khan, Alere Analytics, Lowell (2014 WINNER)
- Larry Kim, MobileMonkey, Inc., Boston (2019 WINNER)
- Minh (Sam) Le, HeliDirect LLC, Malden (2017)
- Idriz Limaj, connectRN Inc., Waltham (2019)
- Natan Linder, Tulip Interfaces, Inc., Somerville (2018)
- Jennifer Lum, Adelphic Mobile, Waltham (2017)
- Ling Chai Maginn, Jenzabar, Inc. and All Girls Allowed, Boston (2022 WINNER)
- Mihael Mikek, Celtra, Inc., Boston (2016 WINNER)
- Gaugarin Oliver, RedEgg Solutions, Waltham (2012)
- Bhaskar Panigrahi, Unique Computing, Cambridge Technology, CellExchange, ConnectM Technology Solutions, Ecovent Systems and Cambridge Energy Resources (2017)
- Christina Qi, Domeyard LP in Boston (2018)
- Vasu Ram, Content Raven, Marlborough (2015)
- Rama Ramakrishnan, CQuotient, Cambridge (2015)
- Markus Rex, ownCloud, Lexington (2016)
- Pedro Santos, OsComp Systems, Somerville (2014)
- Anil Shah, MRCC Solutions, Billerica (2017)
- Swapnil Shah, FirstFuel Software, Lexington (2014)
- Omri Shor, Medisafe, Boston (2016)
- Elad Shoushan, Ready4, Boston (2017)
- Marin Soljačić, WiTricity Corporation, Watertown (2013)
- Venky Soundararajan, nference, Cambridge (2019)
- Nagarjuna Venna, BitSight Technologies, Cambridge (2017)
- Massimiliano Versace, Neurala, Inc., Boston (2019)
- Dinesh Wadhwani, ThinkLite LLC, Natick (2015)
- Anita Worden, Solectria – A Yaskawa Company, Lawrence (2015)
- Xavier Xicay, Tuatara Corp., Boston (2014)
- Sudhir Agrawal, Idera Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge (2016)
- PJ Anand, Alcyone Lifesciences, Lowell (2016, 2019)
- Patrick Anquetil, Portal Instruments, Inc., Cambridge (2019)
- Garo Armen, Agenus, Inc., Lexington(2016 WINNER)
- Bela Asztalos, PhD, Boston Heart Diagnostics Corporation, Framingham (2014, 2015)
- Pravin Chaturvedi, PhD, IndUS Pharmaceuticals, Woburn (2014)
- Laxman Desai, Toxikon Corporation, Bedford (2015 WINNER)
- Johannes Fruehauf, BioLabs and LabCentral, Cambridge (2017 WINNER)
- Guangping Gao, Voyager Therapeutics, Inc., Cambridge (2018)
- Waleed Hassanein, TransMedics, Inc., Andover (2019)
- Avak Kahvejian, Rubius Therapeutics, Cambridge (2022 WINNER)
- Jan Kieleczawa, Wyzer Biosciences, Cambridge (2019)
- Michael Koeris, Sample 6 Technologies, Woburn (2017, 2018 WINNER)
- Magdalena Leszczyniecka, STC Biologics, Cambridge (2016)
- Chiang J. Li, Boston Biomedical, Inc., Cambridge (2013 WINNER)
- Vincent Linder, Claros Diagnostics, Woburn (2012)
- Alexey Margolin, Allena Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Newton (2017)
- Davide Marini, Firefly BioWorks, Inc., Cambridge (2014)
- Salvatore Mascia, CONTINUUS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Woburn (2017)
- Krishna Menon, Innovation Pharmaceuticals Inc., Beverly (2015)
- Babak Movassaghi, InfiniteMD, Inc., Boston (2019)
- Bernat Olle, Vedanta Biosciences, Inc., Cambridge (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 WINNER)
- Marta Ortega-Valle and Andrey Zarur, Greenlight Biosciences, Inc., Medford (2019)
- Ajikumar Parayil, Manus Bio, Cambridge (2017)
- Elisabet de los Pinos, Aura Biosciences, Cambridge (2016)
- Shahin Pourrahimi, Superconducting Systems, Billerica (2017)
- Josef von Rickenbach, PAREXEL International Corp., Waltham (2014 WINNER)
- Derrick J. Rossi, Moderna Therapeutics, Cambridge (2015)
- Amarpreet Singh Sawhney, Ocular Therapeutix, Inc., Bedford (2012 WINNER)
- Ram Sasisekharan, Visterra, Inc., Waltham (2019)
- Sharon Shacham, Karyopharm Therapeutics, Newton (2019)
- Jonathan Thon, Platelet BioGenesis, Cambridge (2018)
- Bin Wu, Phosphorex, Inc., Hopkinton (2019)
- Oliver Yu, Conagen, Bedford (2016)
- Andrey Zarur, Greenlight Biosciences, Medford (2014)
- Vincent W. Coljee, Excelimmune, Inc., Woburn (2012)
- Yang Zhao, Memsic, Inc., Andover (2012, 2013)
