On August 1, 2016, the National Federation of Croatian Americans Cultural Foundation (NFCA) announced a nationwide search for nominations for Croatian Americans who are rising stars and notable within their profession. The NFCA Cultural Foundation collaborating with the Croatian Fraternal Union (CFU) and Association of Croatian American Professionals (ACAP), will work together, to find, nominate and then select "40 Under 40" winners who will be announced in late October. This NFCA CF umbrella group initiative was embraced and launched to celebrate and promote younger Croatian American leaders who have excelled and will be endorsed as role models for our community. There will be a number of national or regional events in 2017 to honor these winners and to help this select group network within the Croatian American community.

The NFCA announced that to jumpstart this program, the first "40 Under 40" selected and approved candidate is Ella Mische, a 29 year old actor, screenplay writer and songwriter from New York City. This young Croatian American attended the Philadelphia High School for Performing Arts and then attended the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City to develop her writing and acting skills.

Ella Mische

Ella has made impressive strides within her career over the past ten years, including writing an Off Broadway play and an appearance on Saturday Night Live in a skit with actor Daniel Craig. Ella has written a romantic comedy entitled " Toute Le Vie" and her new company will start shooting the movie this fall. She has another movie project now in consultations with a big name Hollywood producer.

Ella is a proud songwriter who has written fifty songs and loves creating music videos. You can check her out on her web page or within YouTube. Also, her mother, singer Tommi Mischell has helped her to navigate the music world and to hone her songwriting skills and she has an uncle who was with the Croatian Tutti Fruiti Band. This very talented Croatian American found a piano at an early age and is blessed with a family that truly has an artistic flair and love for music.

Ella is a proud Croatian who is a member and attended the first Association of Croatian American Professionals meeting in Washington, DC. Her extended Croatian family hails from Trogir and her early years were spent in Croatia. Ella credits her Croatian grandfather Tome as being very influential and inspirational. She says her success comes from hard work and patience and an overall commitment to excellence which has taken her to the Cannes Film Festival the past few years.

Vlatka Persin, a NFCA "40 Under 40" Nomination committee member, says proudly, "We will be looking nationwide for younger Croatian Americans who may not be famous yet or well known, yet are on the path to success in their field and are truly role models in many ways and of course, are proud Croatians, too." The deadline for nominations is October 15th and any nominated candidate will not have reached forty years of age in 2016.

Lastly, the NFCA encourages all its members and any Croatian Fraternal Union members and NFCA affiliate groups to consider nominating someone who fits this profile. Please go to the NFCA Cultural Foundation web page at: www.nfcacf.org! Please look for the "40 Under 40" heading and there's a nomination form to access and to utilize for any nomination. The NFCA will contact the nominated candidate directly to see if they are interested in the program and want to be considered. We will ask all candidates to send in a mini-biography or answer a few questions about their career and about their Croatian heritage. The NFCA is excited about celebrating and promoting this generation of Croatian American role models.

Formatted for CROWN by Marko Puljic
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