We engage diaspora communities through dialogue
We spark curiosity through open and honest conversations
We champion sharing meaningful life stories and ideas
We establish and encourage partnership and collaboration
ARCHER has an inspiring story. It’s the story of a cultural blend for a greater cause: Humanity. We, at ARCHER, Romanians, and Americans, came together motivated to bring change. Energized after more than 30 years of the 1989 Revolutions in Romania and Eastern Europe, and inspired by the BLM movement we felt the need to free ourselves and express disapproval of social and racial injustices. Our freedom of speech, against social injustice and discrimination, was suppressed for too long. Today, we want to have all voices heard, loud and clear without following in the footsteps of our previous history of silence. We invite Romanians, Americans, and all others who wish to join and participate in our historical mission for a more just and equitable society. The more we are united in our beliefs and actions, the stronger we become!
President
I feel passionate about learning, implementing, and sharing about social justice and human rights. My belief system is founded upon the concept of collective striving for excellence through equal rights. As humans, we learn and grow in an environment that supports and encourages equality. This philosophy has been the main guiding principle for my family, my work, my friendships, and my citizenship. ARCHER is a dream come true.
Roxana Cazan teaches at the University of Oklahoma. She graduated with her PhD degree in English from Indiana University, an MFA degree in Creative Writing (Poetry) from Indiana University, an MA degree in English from the University of Louisville, KY, a MBA degree from St. Francis University, and a BA degree from Lucia Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania. Roxana’s scholarly work focuses on ethnic and postcolonial literature and women’s studies. Her articles appeared in Neophilologus, Women’s Studies Quarterly, Comparative Literature Studies, Studies in American Jewish Literature, American Journal of Undergraduate Research. She has two chapters is Mothers, Mothering, and Globalization (Demeter Press, 2017) and Remembering Kahina: Women, Representation and Resistance in Post-Independence North Africa (Routledge, 2020). Roxana is the author of two poetry books The Accident of Birth (2017) and Tethered to the Unexpected (forthcoming 2022). Along with Domnica Radulescu, she is the co-editor of Voices on the Move: An Anthology by and about Refugees (2020). Her poems have been featured in Poets Reading the News, Connecticut River Review, Construction Magazine, Cold Creek Review, and others. To learn more about Roxana or to read some of her work, please visit https://roxanalcazan.weebly.com/.
Treasurer
I have been volunteering and working in human rights and social justice organizations and initiatives for the past 25 years. I have a strong professional and personal passion to advocate for the rights of vulnerable groups, such as people with disabilities, the elderly, the Roma population, and others. I am grateful to join ARCHER and its energetic group of visionary people committed to fight for social justice. I am ready to serve in this process of change.
My passion is learning to do business in a way that is win-win, where nobody loses. Not the employees, not the customers, not the company, not the community, not the environment. I resonate with Archer’s mission because I was born in Romania, and for as long as I lived there, as part of the majority, I was blind at all the discriminations, and I would recoil and distance myslef whenever somebody compared me to a Roma person. Educating myself about the strugles of people of color in U.S., I started to understand how I am part of the problem. Through Archer, I want to be part of the solution.
I am interested in understanding the complex network of issues, dogmas, beliefs and taboos that characterize contemporary Romanian society, both inside Romania and in the diaspora. As a Romanian born and raised in democracy, I have a chance to question some of the assumptions and myths we are all told about our country, about its history and about its present. I am particularly interested in issues related to ethnic and sexual minorities, as well as the ways in which we can build a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive society.
Board Member
While I studied sociology at UC Santa Cruz, I became passionate about fighting for marginalized people and the issues that affect them. I am now putting that into practice as a sexual assault advocate. I am proud to be a part of such an incredible group like Archer as I am able to put together my Romanian identity and my earning to learn more about discrimination and how to combat it. I am very grateful for this group!
Board Member
Kwabena Larbi-Siaw is an attorney licensed in Illinois and Texas who focuses his entire practice
on immigration law and immigrant related issues. Mr. Larbi-Siaw is also an adjunct law
professor at the Chicago Kent College of Law where he teaches legal writing. Mr. Larbi-Siaw
has exhibited his passion for educating, defending, and ensuring representation for underserved
communities by proving free “know your rights” presentations to immigrant communities and by
providing pro bono services.
A graduate of Beloit College, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Management,
Mr. Larbi-Siaw then went on to DePaul University College of Law in Chicago, Illinois to earn
his Juris Doctor. He then planted roots in Chicago, where for over a decade he has handled legal
issues for unlawful/undocumented aliens, asylum-seekers, and victims of crimes victims.
When not working, Mr. Larbi-Siaw enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, dining at
various restaurants, and watching his favorite sports teams.
Vice President
Award-winning Romanian-American historian, theatre artist and spoken word poet living and creating in Denver, Colorado. She grew up in Durham, North Carolina, and received her BA in Philosophy (Honors) from Northwestern University, where she also studied theatre. An Oxford DPhil and a recipient of the Rhodes Scholarship and a Fulbright, she has held fellowships at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Georgetown University, and the Woodrow Wilson Center, and has taught history at five institutions of higher education, including Duke University. She currently teaches history at Metropolitan State University of Denver where she was selected as a Finalist for the 2021 Faculty Senate Teaching Award. A playwright, Bejan has written nineteen plays, many of which have been produced in the United States, Romania, the United Kingdom and Vanuatu. She writes creatively in five languages and has been published internationally in every genre she writes in: academic, theatrical, and poetry.
Board Member
Marius Turda is Professor at Oxford Brookes University (UK). He published widely on the history of eugenics, racism and race. His recent curatorial work includes a travelling exhibition on the legacies of eugenics (www.confront-eugenics.org)
Board Member
Dana R. Bucin is the Chair of the Murtha Cullina Immigration Practice.
Dana regularly provides multi-lingual legal representation in English, Spanish, French, and Romanian. She also has a basic knowledge of Italian, German, Hungarian and Latin. She is often quoted as an expert by reputable publications such as Bloomberg/BusinessWeek and the Hartford Business Journal on topics of Immigration Law.
Editor in Chief
Ana Hojbotă is a social science researcher with experience in academic, nonprofit, and corporate settings. She holds a Ph.D. degree in the psychology of creativity from “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași, Romania, and has published various papers in the area of social and political psychology, with a focus on morality, group norms, and conflict. She is currently interested in exploring topics such as immigrant integration (especially emotional acculturation), multicultural identities, authenticity, and linguistic and affective injustice. Volunteering as a Research Analyst at the Honorary Consulate of Romania to Connecticut, she works on projects aimed at supporting the Romanian community and other ethnic groups, visa and immigration policies, immigrant integration, and cultural heritage maintenance.
Founded in the second half of the tumultuous 2020
Our Vision
A diaspora community that recognizes and includes all historically marginalized groups, regardless of their racial, ethnic, gender, and sexual identity.
Strategic directions
Web design by Implicit Success Marketing implicitsuccess.com
Web design by Implicit Success Marketing implicitsuccess.com
Input your search keywords and press Enter.
