Meet the 2015-16 Fellows!

Kylie Nealis November 25, 2015

Fair Trade Campaigns has grown a lot over the past few years. Today, we’re a powerful grassroots movement mobilizing thousands of conscious consumers and Fair Trade advocates on campuses and communities across the U.S. There’s currently over 260 active Fair Trade campaigns in towns, schools, colleges/universities and congregations across the country (wow!). If you follow us, you also probably know that we’re a lean, mean team of just three national staff members

That’s why we’re ecstatic to introduce our 2015-16 Fair Trade Campaigns Fellows and, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, would like to take some time to express our gratitude for their contributions to our work so far and over the next year!

SoCal Leadership Team 1Last year, Fair Trade Campaigns piloted the Fellowship Program in the Mid-Atlantic with two fellows, one for Fair Trade Communities and one for Fair Trade Universities. This year, we’ve expanded to three regions (Mid-Atlantic, New England & Southern CA) and hired a total of six talented individuals to help move our work forward. Each region has two fellows, one working with Fair Trade Communities (towns, schools & congregations) and the other working with colleges & universities.

In this position, fellows gain valuable hands-on community organizing experience, build leadership skills and, last but not least, become experts about Fair Trade and the movement in the U.S.!

 

What exactly does a Fellowship with Fair Trade Campaigns entail? We’re glad you asked! 

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The fellowship starts with a one-day regional leadership retreat where fellows meet with their Leadership Teams for a training around Fair Trade Campaign’s work, community organizing skills and leadership principles. Fellows contribute to four main areas of our work during their Fellowship which spans 14 months (September 2015 – November 2016):

  • One-on-one Campaign Support. Fellows engage with local organizers through regularly occuring calls and emails to monitor campaign progress and work through challenges.
  • Build A Regional Network. Fellows develop regional leadership teams to build a community of support in their region by coordinating trainings, regional bulletins and gatherings.
  • Digital Communications.  Occasional targeted outreach efforts will highlight national level objectives; examples include the launch of grassroots organizing programs, distributing new resources, writing guest blog posts and monitoring the Community Grounds Forum.
  • Personal Project. Each fellow takes on a leadership role in the development and implementation of a specific project.  Examples include organizing a series of webinars, managing a national event, or working with a strategic ally on a project.

 

Now that you know what our fellows are up to, meet this year’s team:

SoCal Leadership Team 3

 

2015-16 Colleges/Universities Fellows 

2015-16 Communities Fellows

You can read more about all of our fellows here. 

 

Please join us in welcoming our 2015-16 Fellows. We’re excited to have them on the team and can’t wait to see what they accomplish over the next year! 

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Kylie Nealis, National Organizer for Fair Trade Colleges & Universities

Kylie brings over 5 years of community organizing and non-profit experience to Fair Trade USA, previously working with Global Exchange and Sierra Club. At Global Exchange she took on a variety of roles including Community Rights Program Associate, Fair Trade Campaign Coordinator, Fair Trade Store Sales Associate and Interim Director of Operations. For the past two years she worked in the Executive Office at Sierra Club providing support to C-level staff and the Board of Directors. Kylie is knowledgeable and passionate about Fair Trade, climate and energy issues, human rights and social and economic justice. Kylie graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a BA in Community Studies and Politics. She also lived in Thailand for 5 years and is conversational in Thai and learning Spanish. In her free time, Kylie enjoys being outdoors, hiking and traveling.