Through our work we have had the good fortune of seeing firsthand how success comes in every shape, size, color, faith, and orientation. More importantly we’ve learned that success is often the result of people embracing their unique backgrounds and so we’ve asked the community to tell us about their background and how it has impacted where they are today.

Sarita Buer

I was born in El Salvador and came to the United States through international adoption. I was 3 years old when I left my country, language and culture to be adopted into a family by a white single mother in the Midwest. The term for my identity is a Transracial Adoptee meaning someone who is adopted into a family where their caretaker is of a different culture or racial origin of themselves. Read More>>

Iara Almeida

Hello, my name is Iara. I’m Brazilian and part of the new division at ROOF LA.

At Roof Design + Build, I see my background as an immigrant as a source of resilience, allowing me to deeply understand people’s stories and create highly personalized designs. Read More>>

Imanol Delgado

I was born in Mexico City, but I was raised between Mexico City and a tiny city in the northern part of Mexico, in the middle of the desert called Torreón Coahuila. The two cities are completely different, Mexico City has rainy weather, a lot of traffic, and a fast-paced life. Torreón is the complete opposite, it is very hot, there’s not much traffic and people like to take their time. Growing up in 2 different cities helped me to understand how even in the same country there can be different cultures and how we relate to each other. Read More>>

Dana Wayne

I grew up in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. I spent my time surrounded by the natural world, whether that was sailing on the bay, turning over rocks at low tide to find crabs and limpets, playing in the woods, or skiing down the mountains. Even in public school, nature was a common theme in our lessons. I was raised to care about the world around us and to be endlessly curious about everything I encounter. Read More>>

Nico Elia

I am from the small but mighty country called Switzerland. I mostly grew up in smaller towns outside of bigger cities, which means I had to take my bike to school or dance classes, regardless of how cold and/or wet it was.
My first stage experience was when I started dancing various different styles in a troupe outside of school. Read More>>