Saturday, February 21, 2009

Speaker Bio

JACQUELINE DECARLO:

Jackie's professional background is in education and not-for-profit management, and she has promoted economic and social justice within communities around the United States, in Africa, Latin America, and Europe.  Originally an elementary school Social Studies teacher, Jackie became involved in international economic and justice work at the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), developing USCRI’s first overseas direct service programs, first for displaced Bosnian refugee youth and then survivors of the Rwandan genocide.   Jackie encountered Fair Trade while traveling in Mexico in 1999 and soon thereafter became a volunteer with the Mut Vitz Coffee Cooperative in Chiapas.   

Through her travels and explorations Jackie came to understand first-hand the benefits of Fair Trade relationships to both 

producers and consumers.   Convinced that Fair Trade offers a sustainable and empowering framework for understanding consumption and trade, Jackie returned to the United States determined to help educate other consumers about Fair Trade’s power and potential. She became the director of the newly independent Fair Trade Resource Network in 2001.  She led that organization’s growth and development for several years and was co-convenor of FTRN’s Fair Trade Futures conference, which drew 750 participants.  Jackie is currently a Senior Program Advisor on the Economic Justice Team of Catholic Relief Services.  Jackie also developed her understanding of migrant issues, particularly child labor, while working with fa

rmworkers through a pesticide safety program funded by AmeriCorps and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.   

Jackie’s ongoing commitment to Fair Trade and responsible consumption is nurtured through her place of worship, the Friends (Quaker) Meeting of Washington, D.C.  In her free time Jackie enjoys jogging, drumming, volunteering, and spending time with friends and family.  In addition to her studies at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, Georgia, Jackie earned her Master of Science in Administration from University College at the University of Maryland.  Jackie returned to Agnes Scott to lecture as the 2007 alumnae-in-residence. Fair Trade: A Beginner’s Guide, Jackie’s first book, was released on May 12, 2007, World Fair Trade Day and is in its second printing. 

Check out her blog or send her an email.

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