Julianna Gulden, Senior Manager for Global Communications at Graphisoft

Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, my childhood was similar to that of the other kids of Hungarian refugees: Hungarian school on Monday nights, Hungarian scouts on Friday nights, and Hungarian folk dance lessons somewhere between the two.

After graduating from Cleveland’s John Carroll University in 1986, I headed to Washington, DC where I had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to serve as a White House intern in the Office of Public Liaison. Fascinating jobs at the Republican National Committee, Bush-Quayle ’88 campaign, and the State Department followed.

In 1991, I, along with many others of Hungarian origin, traveled to Budapest to witness firsthand the historic end of Communism in Eastern Europe. The original plan was to stay for two years, return to the States, and leverage the international experience. However, as the saying goes, ‘life got in the way’ and I ended up spending 27 years — half my life —…