introduction
Editor ’ s Note
As international businesspeople and citizens from across the globe , the decision of the founders of the magazine was to make iF about the people that keep everyone thriving and cooperating across national boundaries , the people whose mission it is to see what we have in common and how we can all prosper together . In short , it ’ s about diplomacy and the fine art of international relations .
The answer of how to bring something new to the table came from the core of what diplomats do , and that ’ s getting to know the person you ’ re working with in order to see things from their perspective . While the international scene is a constantly changing landscape , a diplomat ’ s strength is their ability to be the calm eye of the storm so that business can thrive and cultures can learn and grow from each other . In that light , the founders felt that diplomats themselves needed to be known . So , our magazine is about getting to know the perspective of the diplomat , who they are as people and what drives them to do what they do . The idea is to provide our readers a starting point from which to build working relationships with the diplomatic community . We expect that after you ’ ve met one of our guests while reading the magazine , you ’ ll feel they ’ re someone you can do business with .
Since this is all about helping people to get to know each other , I thought you should know a little about me .
I ’ m Anita long . I was born in New York city and grew up in San Francisco with deep family roots in Texas . I began my international career while in Europe studying Italian fashion design and importing and exporting clothing between Europe and the U . S .
After Europe , I moved back to Silicon Valley and rebooted as a nonprofit sector project developer . In that arena , I had the privilege of working with the head offices of Adobe , Intel , Hewlett-Packard , IBM , NASA , Apple computer and many other large national and international corporations . While there , I received many awards of distinction from being nominated as one the most influential women in San Jose / Silicon Valley to recognition from the State of California , the U . S . Justice Department , the U . S . Defense Department , and the United States Congress . One of my biggest personal achievements was to be the first woman of color to hold the office of Vice President of International Committee for the San Jose / Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce .
As a filmmaker , examples of my work are in more than 30 museums and libraries around the United States . Some of these works have been awarded medals by the Smithsonian Institution and are a Permanent Research Collection housed at the National Museum of American History and published in the
Library of Congress .
Many people may know my father Huey Long the guitarist from the Ink Spots , vocal group of the 1940s . In his honor , I founded and curated the Ink Spots Museum in the Heights , Houston featuring memorabilia from his life , he was the last surviving original member of the group and lived to be 105 years young . Since resettling in Houston to care for my ailing father , I ’ ve continued my efforts serving as a filmmaker , educator , publicist and media consultant . I am also presently the President of Women in Film & Television , Houston .
My passion is about people , the opportunities we can create , and the voice I can give to those in need of a storyteller . I love people and being a platform for people and organizations to raise support for charitable causes , foster collaborations and inspire changes in the world . iF is a key global platform and it is my hope that iF will be a vehicle for businesses and cultures to cross-pollinate , be a voice for multicultural communities , bring a better understanding of each other ’ s cultures and lifestyles , while fostering collaboration to build bridges of support and commentary .
diplomatically speaking ,
Anita Long , Managing Editor International Focus ( IF ) Magazine
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