Argentinian Immigrant Helps Make Kent County Welcoming for All

When Natalia Kovicak moved from Argentina to Spring Lake, Michigan, at age 25, she quickly realized the challenges of starting a new career as an immigrant. It didn’t matter that she had a resume that included a good job with Coca-Cola in Buenos Aires and her own event-planning company. Kovicak lacked a network. Without strong personal and professional connections, she worried it would be difficult to find her footing. “As a woman from a different country, I had to work extra hard to pave my own way and prove to others that I was equally as capable and reliable as someone who didn’t have a strong accent,” she says. 

After working for nearly six years in Grand Rapids as a corporate trainer, Kovicak got back into the event-planning business and realized her own power to create networking opportunities. As the vice president of conferences and events at The Right Place, an economic development organization in Grand Rapids, she focused on organizing industry summits for companies throughout West Michigan. The region includes some of the nation’s largest clusters in automotive, biopharmaceuticals, metals, plastics and manufacturing. “We want to connect them to the right people in the community to keep those jobs in West Michigan,” she says. 

In the summer of 2020—just as the world was closing down due to the COVID-19 pandemic— Kovicak took the helm of The Economic Club of Grand Rapids. The organization has 1,300 members and includes leaders from across West Michigan industries. Educational programming and networking opportunities, including 14-16 luncheons for over 500 people every year, provide a way for people to connect and learn. In addition, Kovicak encourages the city to participate in forums on fostering economic development among diverse populations. “The city is becoming more inclusive and welcoming and is having the right conversations to continue to grow as a community, but there’s still a lot of work to be done,” she says. 

For her part, Kovicak is helping to make all kinds of connections, especially with people who are new to the area and the country. “As an immigrant, it’s harder to enter the right circles and connect with the right people,” she says. “I want to bring people together in a community where they feel they belong.”