Ep 35: [Republish] Dr. Ettie Zilber on Building Inclusive Communities: Lessons from an International School Leader

Ettie has served as an educator and school leader at international schools in Israel, Singapore, China, Guatemala, Spain, and the USA and has also served as Adjunct Professor for various universities.

She has served as Secretary on the Board of the Academy of International School Heads and ECIS and participated on the Advisory Council for AAIE.

As a consultant to internationally mobile communities, she is passionate about sharing her experience, research, and strategies with communities worldwide and assisting them to thrive in a multicultural and multilingual world. After retiring from full-time work in international schools, Ettie devoted her time to Holocaust Education and published a book about her family's Holocaust experiences. She teaches about the Holocaust in schools, universities, and community centers in the USA and internationally.

Ettie has been married for 48 years and has 3 wonderful children and 3 delightful grandchildren, who all share her passion for the big wide world.

Key themes emerging out of our conversation:

• Being different is special. You are unique, and it's a tremendous skill. You fit in almost everywhere you can. You can fit yourself in because you know you. You are already aware of how to survive in these different cultures.

• If you want to assimilate into the majority culture, just let yourself go, and you will assimilate. But if you want to maintain your home culture, your traditions, which many minorities have, you have to work for it.
• If somebody gives you a task, just say yes. You can figure out how later.
• Not everybody is going to love you. If you want to get into leadership, you have to develop a thick skin.
• If you see a path as a leader and want to have a family, you need to make sure you have support. Whether it's from your partner or whether you hire somebody to be that support at home.
• Sometimes it's not just a matter of the amount of work you do; it's about communication, networking, putting yourself out there, and being visible.

Grab the book A Holocaust Memoir of Love & Resilience: Mama's Survival from Lithuania to America by Dr. Ettie Zilber

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