Profile: Panoltia President Yasmin Wurts Metivier

Yasmin Wurts Metivier knows how difficult it can be to settle in the United States and build a successful career. Now, the North Carolina woman originally from Mexico who works to bridge cultural divides shares her experience and advice.

In 1986 Metivier traveled to the United States from Mexico to seek a better life. Even though she carried a master's degree, she had a very difficult time finding work in the United States. While still without employment success, Metivier volunteered her services to a few nonprofit agencies, translating brochures. Quickly, demand for her services grew and over the past 18 years she has translated over 10,000 documents, ranging from a Golden Corral menu to the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles manual. Her skills as a translator have taken her to prisons and to the upper echelons of government. She has worked as an interpreter for former North Carolina Governor James Hunt and for the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Her company is called Panoltia, a word from the Aztec language Nahuatl meaning "to welcome someone in or assist in their journey." Panoltia provides financial institutions with the knowledge, training and consulting services to empower them to reach Latino communities. With 10,000 legal immigrant workers arriving in North Carolina from Mexico every year, banking and lending organizations know that reaching a Latino audience is profitable.

Metivier considers Panoltia's crowing achievement to be a group of CDs called the BiBi CDs. Through her work as a translator and interpreter, Metivier identified the need for education and financial literacy in the Hispanic community. Produced and distributed for free by BB&T banks, the CDs cover a wide range of topics from driving in the United States to taxes and emergency preparedness. More than 350,000 BiBi CDs have been distributed in 11 states.

When asked for advice to offer new immigrants, Metivier emphasized learning English and becoming involved in the local community. "The first thing we need to do when we come to this country is learn English," she said. "This way we can take full advantage of all the opportunities, and it is very important for our children to see that we are also interested in participating in everyday life in this country." Next, she recommended volunteering as a way to get a foot in the door of a chosen career path. "Volunteering is a great way to meet people," she said. "If you are volunteering, perhaps the organization you are volunteering for could write a letter of recommendation for you." Metivier encourages new immigrants to take advantage of community resources as well as their own skills. "There are many resources in this country and a good way to find out about them is by joining an association in your field of interest," she said. "If you have a skill from your country, see if you can obtain a certification that will validate those skills." Metivier also advocates finding a mentor. "I've found that here in the United States, older people want to help younger people," she said. Her final piece of advice is to be a part of the community. "The best way to start feeling like this is your new home is by participating in the community through schools, churches, etc," she said.

Metivier is an appointed member of the Governor's Council of Hispanic-Latino Affairs and an advisor to the Institute of Mexicans Living Abroad (Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior). Her passion for cultural exchange and empowerment of people constantly keeps her in demand, working doing what she loves.

On May 20, Metivier will host a web call-in program on www.nuapt.tv from 8 to 10 p.m. For the first hour she will discuss Latino Arts and culture in North Carolina, and at 9 p.m she will discuss rights and services for crime victims.

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