eaking tradition A
eaking tradition A nomadic life in entertainment suits Lisa Bashi By Ken Marten Making a break with tradition invites a host of descriptive words: Challenging, exciting, risky, perhaps even treacherous. But for Lisa Bashi, 31, non-traditional has been a way of life. This Chaldean woman rose from humble beginnings in suburban Detroit, worked her way through college, and climbed the proverbial corporate ladder. She’s now director of accounting and finance for Live Nation Music North America, one of the planet’s largest live entertainment companies. “My dream was always to be in entertainment,” Bashi said. “I wanted to be an actress. I would dip into things here and there in Michigan, but it was difficult. My family didn’t have the money.” Breaking with tradition started while Bashi was a child growing up in Oak Park; her parents divorced while she was still in elementary school. Bashi and her younger brother lived with their mother. At age 14, Bashi started working at Baskin Robbins while juggling studies and extracurricular activities. She was a diver on the swim team and also a cheerleader, both of which her father encouraged. “That wasn’t common for Chaldean girls, at least not at that time,” Bashi said. “I feel like my generation kind of broke the mold.” She graduated high school in 1998. By the time Bashi started college as a full-time student, she also worked 40- hour weeks for a Chaldean family — she declined to name names — that owns an assortment of business enterprises. Bashi worked during the day as the self-titled “business operating manager” and attended evening classes at the Detroit College of Business (now Davenport University) in Warren, eventually graduating with an accounting degree and a 3.9 grade-point average. One evening during her last year of college, Bashi attended a Detroit Pistons game at the Palace of Auburn Hills. She loved the atmosphere. “I thought, ‘this would be a great place to work,’” Bashi recalled. She applied for five different jobs at the Palace. After three months of waiting, Bashi was called for an interview. She was offered the position of events accountant and jumped at it, even though it paid less than her job with the Chaldean family. “Breaking the mold doesn’t mean you’re turning your back on your community.” – Lisa Bashi Being employed at a major entertainment venue like the Palace, Bashi often worked closely with Live Nation. “I had a lot of communication with people there, and they knew that I liked to travel,” Bashi said. “They knew I liked to go to Florida, and they told me about an open position [with Live Nation] in Palm Beach.” Bashi applied and was offered the position of staff accountant. She’d been a Palace employee for two years, and a Michigan resident all her life. This was going to be a big change. “Up to then, my future was to get married and have kids,” Bashi recalled. “Being a part of the Chaldean community in Michigan, I knew there would be so much gossip about me. Leaving, I was so concerned with, ‘what are people gonna say, what are people gonna think?’” Bashi excelled at Live Nation. She earned five Live Nation promotions in five years, and made more moves — Fort Lauderdale, Miami, then Los Angeles and finally New York City. Bashi is now the director of accounting for all Live Nation concerts in the northeast — the company’s biggest market — with a staff of 18. She lives in Manhattan. “Being away for five years and coming back to visit Michigan, it makes me see how different the world is,” Bashi said. “So many Chaldean girls don’t move out of their parents’ home until they’re married. They miss learning about how to be independent, supporting yourself, paying your own bills. It was kind of a blessing that I wasn’t able to go to work for a dad that owned a business. My situation pushed me to strive and pushed me to go to college.” Bashi has received her share of blank stares and quizzical looks whenever the topic of ethnicity pops up. “Everybody assumes that I’m Latin at first,” Bashi said. “I’ve educated so many people in Florida, Los Angeles and New York about Chaldeans. It’s always a conversation. But even then, a lot of people still don’t get it. “Breaking the mold doesn’t mean you’re turning your back on your community. You can succeed and also represent your community.” A friend of hers in the entertainment business even conjured up the idea of a reality TV show about Bashi, in which ethnicity would presumably be discussed. However, Bashi described it as “just an idea.” Despite the naivety that so many non-Chaldeans display, Bashi discovered that it wasn’t difficult locating others who share her ethnicity. “In every other state I’ve lived in, the three other than Michigan, I’ve found my own little Chaldean crew,” she said. “That kind of gives me that homey feeling. But in all the places I’ve lived, there are no Chaldean churches. Instead I go to Lebanese Maronite churches.” 38 CHALDEAN NEWS DECEMBER 2011
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