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Staff
Carrie
Hawthorne, Executive
Director
Carrie was hired as the first employee for Partners for Just Trade and has served as its Executive Director since April 2007.
Carrie graduated from Ohio State University in 2001 with a dual major in Spanish and International Studies and a specialty in World Economy and Business. After living in Spain for 6 months, Carrie then spent three years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala. She worked for two years in education as an Environmental Management Specialist but once Carrie learned to weave with a traditional Mayan backstrap loom, she began assisting Guatemalan weavers in product design and business development. Carrie extended her service by a year to start up a small business of female weavers, Tejedoras de Salacuim, in a remote village in Alta Verapaz.
After traveling throughout Latin America for 5 months, Carrie returned to the U.S. and worked in Washington DC with the Fair Trade Federation and Fair Trade Resource Network planning the first national Fair Trade conference in 2005. She then worked as Marketing Coordinator at Co-op America before moving to St. Louis to work with Partners for Just Trade. During her time in DC, Carrie was involved in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, helped found the Project for the Aid and Reconstruction of Central America (after Hurricane Stan), and organized screenings of Black Gold and An Inconvenient Truth.
Carrie now runs PJT out of her home office in a small town nestled in the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains in Northern California. She enjoys traveling, scuba diving, hiking, laughing, and being green.
Marcia Conaghan, Office and Inventory Manager
Before her interest in Fair Trade programs began, Marcia owned and operated her own retail gift shop for 16 years. She loved the buying and merchandising activities of shop ownership, and remembers working with many excellent employees and happy customers. During her early years at The Greeting Gallery, customers became interested in paper recycling, and Marcia looked for products that were either produced from recycled materials, or that could be reused in some way. Marcia was also interested in working with artisans. She was one of the first to provide a permanent market to people who were making jewelry and other beautiful handmade gifts.
After closing her shop in 2004, Marcia’s background in financial analysis and interest in finding solutions for small business owners led her to a consulting career and to her work with the Woman Entrepreneur program at St. Louis Community College. Marcia is the facilitator for the WE program and manages four workshops each semester covering legal, accounting, technology, employment, sales, financing and personal issues related to business ownership.
Marcia is pleased to be a part of Partners for Just Trade and hopes that her involvement will continue to grow. Her goal is to find new ways for Fair Trade products to enjoy a strong presence in the abundant lives of people living in this country.
Carrie was hired as the first employee for Partners for Just Trade and has served as its Executive Director since April 2007.
Carrie graduated from Ohio State University in 2001 with a dual major in Spanish and International Studies and a specialty in World Economy and Business. After living in Spain for 6 months, Carrie then spent three years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala. She worked for two years in education as an Environmental Management Specialist but once Carrie learned to weave with a traditional Mayan backstrap loom, she began assisting Guatemalan weavers in product design and business development. Carrie extended her service by a year to start up a small business of female weavers, Tejedoras de Salacuim, in a remote village in Alta Verapaz.
After traveling throughout Latin America for 5 months, Carrie returned to the U.S. and worked in Washington DC with the Fair Trade Federation and Fair Trade Resource Network planning the first national Fair Trade conference in 2005. She then worked as Marketing Coordinator at Co-op America before moving to St. Louis to work with Partners for Just Trade. During her time in DC, Carrie was involved in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, helped found the Project for the Aid and Reconstruction of Central America (after Hurricane Stan), and organized screenings of Black Gold and An Inconvenient Truth.
Carrie now runs PJT out of her home office in a small town nestled in the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains in Northern California. She enjoys traveling, scuba diving, hiking, laughing, and being green.
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Marcia Conaghan, Office and Inventory Manager
Before her interest in Fair Trade programs began, Marcia owned and operated her own retail gift shop for 16 years. She loved the buying and merchandising activities of shop ownership, and remembers working with many excellent employees and happy customers. During her early years at The Greeting Gallery, customers became interested in paper recycling, and Marcia looked for products that were either produced from recycled materials, or that could be reused in some way. Marcia was also interested in working with artisans. She was one of the first to provide a permanent market to people who were making jewelry and other beautiful handmade gifts.
After closing her shop in 2004, Marcia’s background in financial analysis and interest in finding solutions for small business owners led her to a consulting career and to her work with the Woman Entrepreneur program at St. Louis Community College. Marcia is the facilitator for the WE program and manages four workshops each semester covering legal, accounting, technology, employment, sales, financing and personal issues related to business ownership.
Marcia is pleased to be a part of Partners for Just Trade and hopes that her involvement will continue to grow. Her goal is to find new ways for Fair Trade products to enjoy a strong presence in the abundant lives of people living in this country.