Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Diana. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Diana , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with talking about how you serve the underserved, because in our view this is one of the most important things the small business community does for society – by serving those who the giant corporations ignore, small business helps create a more inclusive and just world for all of us.
Yes, my work is deeply rooted in serving underserved communities—because I come from one. I immigrated to the United States as a child, and through a combination of paperwork errors and a later marriage to my abuser, I became stateless. For years, I struggled to find resources and get the help I needed—both legally and emotionally—because I didn’t have the financial means. Access to mental health support, legal aid, or even safe housing felt out of reach. I lived in a constant state of survival, unseen by the systems that were supposed to protect people like me.
This experience is what led me to found WILDtheNonprofit—an organization dedicated to eradicating domestic violence through education, storytelling, and community advocacy. WILD exists for those who fall through the cracks: survivors without resources, immigrants in legal limbo, people living with trauma who’ve been silenced or stigmatized. We create pathways to healing, safety, and empowerment, especially for those who’ve been historically excluded.
For me, this work is deeply personal. WILD is the space I needed when I had nowhere to turn. Today, I build it for others—so no one has to face that silence and isolation alone..
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I’m Diana Kouprina, a stateless Russian-Armenian-American author, social impact entrepreneur, and advocate focused on mental health, addiction recovery, domestic violence prevention, and the empowerment of marginalized communities. My journey into this work has been deeply personal. I was born in the former Soviet Union and immigrated to the U.S. as a child. Later, due to a combination of paperwork errors and a failed marriage to my abuser, I became stateless. Struggling to find legal identity and financial resources for basic needs, I learned firsthand how difficult it can be to navigate systems when you don’t fit into their defined categories.
That experience inspired me to create WILDtheNonprofit, an organization dedicated to eradicating domestic violence. We provide resources, advocacy, and educational tools for survivors—particularly those who face the compounded challenges of statelessness, displacement, and financial hardship. Our goal is to break the cycle of abuse and offer a path to healing, visibility, and empowerment.
In addition to the nonprofit, I’m the author of Borderline: A Poetic Memoir, where I share my story of overcoming mental health struggles, trauma, and the search for identity. This memoir serves as a bridge for people who may feel alone or broken, showing them that survival is possible and that they are not invisible.
What sets my work apart is the intersection of lived experience and the deep understanding of the gaps in systems of support. I don’t just talk about overcoming trauma; I’ve lived through it. I know the frustrations of being silenced and isolated, and I work every day to create spaces where people can find their voice and reclaim their power. Whether through WILDtheNonprofit, my writing, or my podcast W.I.L.D. the Podcast, I’m committed to raising awareness and offering practical tools for those who need them most.
I’m most proud of the community we’ve built at WILD—our work has changed lives by providing education and tangible resources, but more importantly, it’s given people a space where they are seen and heard. When clients, listeners, or readers reach out and tell me how my story or work has helped them feel less alone, that’s what I consider the greatest success.
What I want potential clients, followers, and fans to know is that my mission is to create lasting, positive change for those who have been left behind by traditional systems. I want them to know that no matter where they are in their journey, there is always hope, and they are never alone. Whether through the stories I share, the services I offer, or the nonprofit work we do, my goal is always to help people rediscover their sense of self-worth and create a path forward, even after experiencing the worst of what life has to offer.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
One of the most defining moments of my resilience happened after I lost my legal status and became stateless due to a combination of paperwork errors and marriage to an abusive partner. At that point, I was caught in a cycle of hopelessness. I had just gotten out of an abusive relationship, had no legal identity, and struggled to access basic resources. I felt invisible in the eyes of the system—no longer an immigrant, but not fully an American either. I didn’t know how to move forward, but I knew I couldn’t stay where I was.
I remember one particularly difficult moment when I was living in fear, wondering if I would ever find a way out. I had no financial resources, no family to turn to, and no one seemed to care about my plight. I felt like a ghost, drifting through life, unsure if I’d ever get a second chance. But in the midst of this, something inside me shifted. I realized that no one was going to save me, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t save myself.
I began researching my options—immigration law, mental health services, spiritual holistic healing, anything that could help me get back to a place where I could live with dignity. It wasn’t easy. I faced closed doors and rejection at every turn, but I didn’t give up. Slowly, I built the courage to ask for help, to speak out, and to fight for my future.
That experience taught me that resilience isn’t just about surviving; it’s about pushing through when every part of you wants to give up. Today, I look back on that time not as a period of victimhood, but as the moment I truly began to reclaim my life. It’s that same resilience that fuels my work today—whether in my writing, my nonprofit, or my podcast. I understand what it means to feel broken, to feel invisible, and to feel as though survival is the only option. But I also know that we can choose to rise, to take back control, and to build something meaningful out of the toughest circumstances.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
One of the most defining moments of my resilience happened after I lost my legal status and became stateless due to a combination of paperwork errors and divorce. At that point, I was caught in a cycle of hopelessness. I had no legal identity, and struggled to access basic resources. I felt invisible in the eyes of the system—no longer an immigrant, but not fully an American either. I didn’t know how to move forward, but I knew I couldn’t stay where I was.
I remember one particularly difficult moment when I was living in fear of deportation, wondering if ICE came for me would it be better to hide under a bed or in the attic, luckily they never came but I was stuck in a stagnant limbo fearful of opening the Pandora’s box of immigration files. I had no financial resources left, my family had exhausted what little they had to help me, and there was no one else that seemed to care about my plight. I felt like a ghost, drifting through life, unsure if I’d ever get a second chance. But in the midst of this, something inside me shifted. I realized that no one was going to save me, I knew I had to overcome my fears and face my demons, to ultimately save myself.
I began studying independently, I studied civil law, criminal law and finally—immigration law. I dove deep into personal development and began to shift my way of thinking. At that point all I knew was that I had to restore my mind, and myself back to who I was before my initial trauma at the age of 12, I tried anything and everything that could help me get back to a place where I could live with dignity. It wasn’t easy. I faced closed doors and rejection at every turn, as I couldn’t afford healing, or legal services, and all non profits were either filled up or unable to help. To this day I am on a waitlist to be embraced by the stateless community even though USCIS and Department of Homeland Security have already identified me as one.
It was a slow process that took about 6 years, but I learned how to self advocate and how to navigate through all my immigration paperwork on my own. I did what no attorney was able to do for me in the past 15 years, I restored my right to live and work in the United States of America.
That experience taught me that resilience isn’t just about surviving; it’s about pushing through when every part of you wants to give up. Today, I look back on that time not as a period of victimhood, but as the moment I truly began to reclaim my life. It’s that same resilience that fuels my work today—whether in my writing, my nonprofit, or my podcast. I understand what it means to feel broken, to feel invisible, and to feel as though survival is the only option. But I also know that we can choose to rise, to take back control, and to build something meaningful out of the toughest circumstances.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://wildthenonprofit.com/
- Instagram: @deanka84
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1004775445
- Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/diana-kouprina-95b66b217
- Twitter: @DKouprina
- Other: https://wildthepodcast.com/
https://www.whatilovedoing.com/wild/dianakouprina
Image Credits
Photo Credits:
Michael Rose Photography
ALR Imagery
WildPress
Ashton Loren Ryan