Pr. Julieta Gabiola grew up in a poor rural village in the Philippines, with no financial security, no network, and almost no pathways toward higher education. Today, she’s a professor at Stanford.

The distance between these two worlds is filled with turning points she rarely shares — moments of doubt, courage, discrimination, reinvention, and a quiet, relentless determination that changed everything.

In this episode, Julieta opens up about:

• the unexpected event that first pushed her into nursing

• what made her start over again — this time in medicine

• the structural barriers she faced as a first-generation student and immigrant

• the discrimination she encountered in academia, and how she chose to respond

• the mindset that sustained her through years of uncertainty

• why globalizing education is her life’s work

*• the deeper meaning of resilience when starting with nothing

This is not just an inspiring journey. It is a blueprint for purpose, courage, and long-term leadership.

Explore Julieta Gabiola’s work

ABC’s for Global Health (website): https://abcsforglobalhealth.org/

"I wondered if I'd made a huge mistake." That's what Florent Breton thought while driving for Uber in San Francisco, watching his student visa expire, and getting rejected by companies who wouldn't hire immigrants on temporary visas. Ten years later, Florent has led teams at Tesla, launched two venture-backed startups, raised millions, and became a US citizen. This is his real story — the visa struggles, the National Interest Waiver green card process, building a family in America, and what it actually takes to succeed as an immigrant entrepreneur.

KEY TOPICS COVERED:

✓ Student visa to green card pathway

✓ National Interest Waiver (EB-2 NIW) process

✓ Job searching on temporary visas

✓ O-1 visa vs NIW green card

✓ Immigrant founder visa strategies

✓ Fundraising in Silicon Valley as an international founder

✓ Tesla career experience

✓ Venture-backed startup journey

✓ US citizenship process for entrepreneurs

✓ Immigration policy and reform

In this episode, Orestis Trasanidis shares his journey from Greece to Silicon Valley, exploring how purpose and cultural understanding drive innovation across continents. Drawing from his experience leading the EIT Hub in the U.S., he reflects on the contrasts between European and American startup mindsets—and how collaboration bridges those worlds. Together, we unpack what it truly means to “lead with the why” in a global innovation ecosystem shaped by communication, adaptability, and shared vision.