Organizational Structure and Leadership

A board of seven directors provides leadership for FTRN. These dedicated volunteers donate their time, their money, and their passion for economic justice to develop our growing organization. The members of the Board and our Executive Director have experience in developing countries and important personal and professional relationships with artisan and farmer groups. A team of part-time staff, consultants and interns execute the day-to-day operations of FTRN.

FTRN’s Team

Staff

Anne Lally- Executive Director  Anne brings to her work at FTRN a background in corporate accountability and multi-stakeholder engagement, having worked for such initiatives as the Fair Labor Association, Global Reporting Initiative, and Clean Clothes Campaign.  She has also monitored human rights issues in the United Nations system.  Anne has a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University and has worked on social justice issues in various countries, including Turkey, Guatemala, and Senegal.

Administrator- Steven Kretzman (aka “Stevik”) is a pacifist and conscientious objector to military taxes. He is active in his local Quaker Meeting and food co-op, as well as various political, environmental and social change causes. Stevik has worked with FTRN as an assistant to the Executive Director since June 2002.

Fellow

Campaign Assistant- Lucy Mitchell has joined the FTRN team from Auckland, New Zealand where she worked for Trade Aid, a retail based Fair Trade organization heading up their Outreach Program to the Auckland region. Her background includes campaigning for Fair Trade on local and national levels as well undertaking a Masters degree in Development Studies. She is thrilled to be working with FTRN on the World Fair Trade Day 2008 campaign.

FTRN’s Board

Board Chair- Kimberly Grimes is an anthropologist at the University of Delaware and the director of Made By Hand International Cooperative in South Bethany, Delaware. She is the author of A Guide for Retailers: Creating a Successful Fair Trade Business and Crossing Borders: Changing Social Identities in Southern Mexico, and is co-editor of Artisans and Cooperatives: Developing Alternative Trade for the Global Economy.

Board Treasurer- Dick Meyer owns two Fair Trade retail stores: Traditions Cafe & World Folk Art in Olympia, Washington and Traditions Fair Trade in Tacoma, Washington. He is FTRN’s Treasurer and teaches Fair Trade at Evergreen State College. Dick is also active in South Sound Clean Clothes Campaign.

Board Secretary- Cheryl Musch is Director of International Development for SERRV International. Her position includes regular visits to and communication with SERRV’s producer/partners. Cheryl was FTRN’s first Executive Director and has served as the Executive Director for the Fair Trade Federation. She has also been active in Fair Trade retail at stores including Crossroads Global Handcrafts and Global Exchange. Cheryl serves on the Board of World of Good Development Organization.

Board member- Denise Attwood and her husband Ric Conner, have owned Ganesh Himal Trading, a Fair Trade wholesaler specializing in products from Nepal since 1984. She is a former Board member of Global Folk Art, a Fair Trade store in Spokane, Washington and is currently on the Board of the Center for Justice.

Board member- Sam Carpenter is general manager of Global Gifts, a nonprofit Fair Trade organization that has two stores in Indianapolis, Indiana. Global Gifts also annually hosts the Helping Hands Festival, an event designed to broaden artisan and public participation in Fair Trade. Sam wrote his master’s thesis on the subject of Fair Trade in fulfillment of a M.A. degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland. Sam serves on the planning committee for Sustainable Indiana Fair and Festival.

Board member- Larry Larson CEO of Larry’s Beans, Inc. sincerely lives up to his corporate tag line, “coffee sticklers and fair trade mavericks.” In addition to providing fresh roasted java to a growing roster of markets and coffee houses from Raleigh to Maine, Larry’s Beans frequently holds informational events to introduce people to the merits of Fair Trade. His company website includes a “sustainability school” and a documentation section where customers can follow the fair paper trail for their particular pound of coffee.

Board member- Martha Newell is an activist parent/social change connector living in Missoula, MT. She was the Manager of the Global Village World Crafts Fair Trade store (Missoula) for 6 years. She and her family recently returned from a year of living in Central America. She is excited to be furthering the cause of Fair Trade as a member of FTRN, with an emphasis on connecting donors to the Fair Trade cause.

Interns

• Kate Amanna, News Coordinator
• Nate Benfield, Website Intern
• Stephanie Cheung, Publications Research Intern
• Sarah Culler, Film Research Intern
• Kate Fischer, Lead Research and Communications Intern
• Herb Ettel, Technology Advisor

Other Key Players

• Branding and strategy by The Change
• Web development by Riley McGloughlin and Blast Internet Services
• Pro-bono legal advice by Foley Hoag, LLP
• Accounting services by Jefferson, Urian, Doane & Sterner, PA