Fondest of Fair-wells
To know Courtney Lang is to know enthusiasm for Fair Trade
From her days as one of the core champions for Fair Trade in Burlington, VT, to a participant in our first-ever Fair Trade Towns origin trip to Costa Rica, to her almost five years on our national team, Courtney has brought an unyielding commitment to dramatically increase the levels of awareness and understanding of Fair Trade across the country. And she has done that by working tirelessly to provide the support and resources that all of us need to build a successful movement wherever our advocacy takes shape.
There are so many ways that we have grown in the years since Courtney joined our team, and her creativity and strategic thinking is imprinted on all of them. Courtney was an active thought partner as we worked across the movement to turn the individual efforts of students, faculty and staff at campuses like University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Siena College and UC San Diego into a national Fair Trade Colleges & Universities movement.
She was a critical contributor to the strategic plan that aligned all of our work under the umbrella of Fair Trade Campaigns, aligning our resources, communications and other platforms into one, unified national effort. She took our rudimentary social media and digital presence and turned them into engagement tools that have reached millions of people through your efforts. In addition to countless phone calls, webinars and conferences that she has held to provide direct coaching and advice, she developed our National Steering Committee into a well-oiled machine that has capitalized on the immense talent and generosity of our national-level volunteers to grow our movement farther than we could ever have done without their support.
But nowhere did Courtney’s passion for Fair Trade come through more than when she created programs and events that supported your work. Go Bananas, Fair Trade Your Holidays, Bake Fair, Valentine’s for Farmers, Fair Trade Photofest. These are just a few of the innovative promotional programs that Courtney conceived of, designed and put in the hands of our committed advocates with astounding results. She ran 6 producer tours over a four year period, traveling to many of your communities and campuses with farmers and artisans
to allow members of our communities to hear directly about the importance of Fair Trade from those we seek to serve. And there is much more – she has coordinated national conferences, fellowships and regional networks, and on and on.
Perhaps the most appropriate place to close though, is Fair Trade Schools. As Courtney’s background is in Early Childhood Education, when the development of a Fair Trade Schools program was one outcome of our strategic planning process, she was as excited as any of us to get started. From conception to consultation to implementation and networking, there is no one that Fair Trade Schools and its quick success should be credited to more.
So join me in the comments in thanking Courtney for her years of dedication, hard work and passion in empowering all of us and our campaigns to grow the Fair Trade movement!
Courtney, we wish you nothing but the best and offer our fondest Fair-Thee-Well!
Billy Linstead Goldsmith is the National Coordinator for Fair Trade Campaigns.
19 Comments
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Courtney, thank you SO much for all of the incredible work that you’ve done for Fair Trade Campaigns! Even though we only worked together for a few months I really enjoyed getting to know you. Thanks for showing me the (MANY) ropes! I’m excited for you and the next chapter of your career and I know that more great things are ahead for you 🙂
Courtney,
Even though we only worked together for a few months, I appreciated all the work you did to help me acclimate to my role with Fair Trade Campaigns. One could tell just how much work you’ve accomplished and the effort you’ve put into that work over the years. I wish the best with your future endeavors and know that wherever you go you will do great things.
Jackie
Hey Courtney!
Thank you for all your help getting me situated in my fellowship role. I appreciate all the time and effort you spent making things easy to understand. Good luck with everything! Best, Rosalie
Wow, look at all that you have accomplished! Your Fair Trade legacy will forever live on. I will always remember how you powered through six hours of marathon presentations during the Mid Atlantic retreat and all the support you gave to the leadership team. Thanks for bringing FT Campaigns this far with all your hardwork and dedication. Best of luck on the new chapter of your life!
Hi Courtney,
You have been with us through the long hall. We appreciated you more than you will ever know. Getting La Mesa declared, producer tours, meetings, working with the website and so much more. You will be missed. You made a difference. I wish you all the best.
Anne Pacheco
From our shared affinity for Burlington VT, to being roommates in the Dominican Republic at Donia Tatica’s home, you welcomed me to the National FT Team with your warmth and enthusiasm. Your passion for fair trade and the producers, artisans and farmers whose lives are changed is your legacy. I will miss you, as will each of us on the National SC. Very very best wishes to you, Courtney! Peace, Margo
Courtney,
What a HUGE loss not only for Fair Trade Campaigns but for Fair Trade USA as a whole. I am thrilled you are moving on with your journey & I am proud to have met you, traveled with you, interacted with you and be part of the same “treat people fairly and pay them fairly and more” movement!! You have a great heart and passion for farmers, artisans and producers. I wish you the very best as you enter a new adventure. love and peace 🙂
Courtney,
I will miss working with you! I know you will always be a fair trader and I hope that our paths continue to cross in the future. You have contributed so much to Fair Trade Campaigns, the work of fair trade advocates, and this movement. You have an exciting future ahead and we are wishing you the best! 🙂
Courtney,
It has been so great getting to know you and work with you over the last few years. Congratulations on this next step in your journey!
OH MY GOODNESS! You Courtney Lang are so amazing and talented and I have learned a lot from you and know I will continue to learn from you! Thank you for all your insight and support and I know you are shining your light bright in your new endeavors!
Courtney,
Thank you so much for your tireless efforts with Fair Trade Campaigns! It was so great to have you as as supervisor and get to know the incredible person that you are. I am inspired by your passion for justice and look forward to hearing about all your grand adventures while you change the world. Good luck, and thank you for all you have given me and the Fair Trade movement! – Ali Carroll
Courtney,
What an inspiration you have been to all of us at Fair Trade LA. Your energy, great ideas, appropriate challenges made us all better people and certainly improved our campaign work. As part of the National SC I can tell you that your commitment to Fair Trade moved our work significantly forward. All the best in your life ahead. You most certainly will be missed.
Courtney, you have been such a hard worker for Fair Trade and for all of us, including helping to create this amazing website. (Now if we’d all only use it!) What I appreciate most about you is your willingness and eagerness to give your full attention to each of us. I have never felt second to a cell phone or anything else; you are THERE, which is so rare in this fast paced world.
I wish you all good things as you take on your next adventure! I am grateful that you are on this planet; the world needs you. Rock on!
Yikes, Where does one begin to thank all that you have done for the Fair Trade movement? Your knowledge and expertise has catapulted Fair Trade Campaigns throughout the United States into a growing force for good. Your energy and excellence have given us a standard that each of us can strive for. Your understanding and patience for others (especially those of us that are not so tech savvy) is cause for all of us that have worked for and with you to remember as we go forward with our work. Thank You Courtney, you have made it so much easier for Fair Trade to Change the World! PEACE
Best wishes Courtney in your next venture. We remember fondly your visit to Fond du Lac with the Banana Farmer Tour. What a lot of responsibilities and campaigns you have successfully juggled.
Sincerely,
Carol Smith
I just cannot say enough about how nice it has been to work with you, Courtney. You are an inspiration–a consummate professional–an effective organizer–and best of all a smart and interesting person who has been a joy to work with. I wish you all the best with all the new goals and adventures ahead.
I will miss you all dearly!! It was an honor to serve with you. I’m sure our paths will cross again. Abrazos!!
Thank you for everything, Courtney! It was a pleasure working with you and getting to know you, however brief our time together was. All the best to you and I know you will continue to make a positive impact on the world with your work!
Thank you Courtney for all the memories – Fair Trade Campaigns will be hard pressed to find someone as dedicated, energetic, and knowledgeable as you.
You’ve always been an inspiration and a joy to work with and while I’ll miss you I know to expect more wonderful and exciting news from you in the future.