When Gisele Barreto Fetterman got called for jury duty in 2016, she said it was a dream come true. Formerly an undocumented immigrant, Fetterman said the experience made her feel accepted in the United States.
“Our appreciation is much more profound because this is the country we chose,” she said about immigrants like her. “We knew what it took to get here, and my life has been dedicated to showing that I’m grateful to be here.”
Fetterman, her brother, and their mother left Rio de Janeiro when she was eight years old due to insecurity and violence in their community, landing in a one-room apartment in New York City. She took ESL (English as a Second Language) classes, and her family furnished their apartment with furniture that had been discarded on the street. When she saw trucks hauling away perfectly useful items on bulk garbage day, she was determined that there had to be a better system.
One of the nonprofit organizations she founded, Free Store 15104, distributes donated goods, helping those struggling with food and clothing insecurity while promoting the recycling and reuse of discarded materials. She also cofounded 412 Food Rescue, which seeks to end hunger and reduce food waste, and For Good PGH, which promotes diversity and inclusivity.
Fetterman is married to the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, but instead of moving into the state-owned mansion in Harrisburg, the couple lives in a remodeled car dealership in Pittsburgh. At the state residence in the capital, they opened the swimming pool to nonprofits and summer camps and started a program that teaches water safety.
“With a shift in perspective,” Fetterman said in a 2018 TED Talk, “we can all find value in the devalued, in that decommissioned shipping container, in last season’s wardrobes, in that perfectly good food that’s about to be wasted. But also in immigrants, just like myself, and in every single one of you.”
