CT Leaders to be Inducted into Immigrant Heritage Hall of Fame

Photo byIHHF

The Immigrant Heritage Hall of Fame (IHHF) proudly announces the 2024 inductees, exceptional individuals whose contributions have enriched Connecticut’s education, health, civic, and cultural landscape. These remarkable achievers exemplify the spirit of immigrant success and resilience.

The Induction Ceremony & Gala, by the National Immigrant Heritage Center, will take place on Thursday, November 14. The 2024 class of IHHF inductees are:

• Prof. Andre Blaszczynski; Educator, business and economics expert, activist in Poland’s Solidarity democracy movement, and founder of the Polish-American Foundation of Connecticut.
• Dr. Azita Emami; Dean of the Yale School of Nursing, global health advocate, and leading researcher in health equity.
• Mr. James Michel; CEO of Access Health CT, U.S. Army Reserve veteran, and leader in the Haitian-American immigrant community.
• Esaul Rodriguez & Family; Founders of the thriving Puerto Vallarta Restaurants, philanthropists, and volunteer fundraisers for charity.

“We are delighted to honor this exceptional group of individuals who exemplify perseverance, commitment to excellence, and remarkable achievement," said Demetrios Giannaros, president of the National Immigrant Heritage Center. "The Immigrant Heritage Hall of Fame Induction Gala celebrates our diverse and multicultural nation and the significant contributions that our inductees and those of immigrant heritage make to our state, nation, and the world.”

The mission of the National Immigrant Heritage Center is to “Celebrate, preserve, publicize, and promote Immigrant Heritage and Cultural Diversity as defining characteristics of the American Nation, and the contributions of Immigrants and Immigration to the American economy, culture, and civil society.”

The IHHF Induction Gala ceremony on November 14 will take place at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville, CT at 5:30 p.m. In addition to a formal dinner, the program will include a Keynote Speaker, brief video presentations about each of the inductees, and cultural presentations reflecting each inductee’s background.

The number of individuals and families honored by the Immigrant Heritage Hall of Fame since its inception will total 41 with the four 2024 inductees. Detailed inductee profiles – for this year’s honorees and previous inductees – can be seen on the IHHF website, immigrantheritage.org.

The IHHF celebrates the diverse ethnic heritage of our state and country by honoring individuals and institutions who exemplify the best of their immigrant heritage and who have made outstanding contributions to the cultural, economic, and civic development of the United States. The IHHF strives not only to preserve heritage but to educate the public about the importance of immigrant heritage to the identity of the United States and the contributions of immigrants and immigrant communities.

Celebrating Hall of Fame Inductees’ Work to Improve the Lives of their Fellow Americans

Andre Blaszczynski, born in Poland, is the founder of the Immigrant Heritage Hall of Fame, which he has envisioned as a program to bring together all immigrant communities in mutual celebration of this nation of immigrants. He has taught for 42 years as a Professor of Business and Economics, most recently at Tunxis Community College. Prof. Blaszczynski was co-founder of the Conference of Solidarity Support Organizations and served as President of Solidarity International in support of the pro-democracy labor movement in Poland. After the fall of communism, Prof. Blaszczynski consulted, taught, and published in Poland, and was honored with Poland's Cavalier's Cross and Commander's Cross in recognition of his work supporting Poland's accession to NATO. Prof. Blaszczynski has dedicated many years to community service as the founder and longtime president of the Polish American Foundation of Connecticut, as a board member of the Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants, and by serving in many other programs and organizations.

Dean Azita Emami was born in Iran, and grew up in Sweden as a refugee. She is the Dean of the Yale School of Nursing, and previously served as executive dean of the University of Washington School of Nursing; dean of the College of Nursing at Seattle University; and head of the Divisions of Nursing and Elder Care at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. Dean Emami’s research has resulted in more than 80 peer-reviewed publications, and she has led a national effort to identify and address issues of racism in nursing healthcare. She is an advocate for equity of access to healthcare for all, and was a leader of the Nursing Now initiative, a global campaign with the World Health Organization that promoted education opportunities for nurses worldwide. Dean Emami serves on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Board of Trustees, and is a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine; an elected member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering; a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing; a trustee of Yale New Haven Hospital; an elected member of the Washington State Academy of Sciences; and a member of the board of the National Clinician Scholars Program.

James Michel is the tenth of 11 children born to Etienne and Simone Michel in Haiti. At the age of nine, James immigrated to the U.S. with his four brothers in 1974, first settling in Brooklyn, New York. He is CEO of Access Health CT, the Health Insurance Marketplace for the Affordable Care Act in Connecticut, after previously serving as Head of Operations and Head of Finance. Prior to joining Access Health CT, James was an Audit Director at Aetna for over 8 years, and CFO of the Metropolitan District Commission in Hartford. James is the former Chair of the Board of Directors of the nonprofit organization Outreach to Haiti, and former Chair of the Board of Trustees for Jumoke Academy, as well as a member of the Board of Trustees of Suffield Academy. James is a veteran of the United States Army Reserve and was honorably discharged in December 2002 as an officer after 18 years of service. James has a MBA from the Barney School of Business at the University of Hartford and earned his BS in Accounting at Brooklyn College.

Esaul Rodriguez and Family came from a farming and ranching village in Mexico, Union de Tula. At age 16, speaking no English and with just six dollars in his pocket, Esaul went to Seattle to work in his uncle’s Mexican restaurant. He learned fast, worked hard, and moved up from busboy to waiter, then to head cook. At age 21, he opened his own Mexican restaurant in Oregon with his brother, Juan. Falling in love with America, they were determined to share the culture and warmth of their beloved Mexico and came East to seek their fortune. In 1999, Esaul opened his very first restaurant in West Hartford, Puerto Vallarta. In the following years, they opened seven more restaurants across Connecticut. The family hosts between 50 and 60 fundraisers a year out of his restaurant, for everything from local sports teams to Autism Speaks. After each fundraiser, they donate 20 percent of the gross profits from that day.

Nonprofit National Immigrant Heritage Center Operates Immigrant Heritage Hall of Fame

The Immigrant Heritage Hall of Fame was initially a project of the Polish American Foundation of Connecticut, Inc., a 501(c)3 charitable organization, which launched and operated the Hall of Fame from its inception in 2013. It was succeeded by the establishment during 2021 of the National Immigrant Heritage Center (NIHC), an independent 501(c)3 organization established as a multi-ethnic Center, inclusive in its mission, structure and governance. NIHC aims to promote and publish research, lectures, and conferences on the many dimensions of Connecticut’s immigrant heritage and the role of immigration throughout the American economy and culture, to expand public awareness and understanding.

Tickets for the 2024 Immigrant Heritage Hall of Fame gala are now available. A wide variety of sponsorships are also available to support the event and the National Immigrant Heritage Center. For up-to-date event, ticket, and sponsorship information, visit immigrantheritage.org or call (860) 817-0368.