Volunteers/Interns Living Near Grand Rapids, Michigan

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Volunteer Location
Jennifer Christiansen,
Human Resources Consultant
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Olivia Keusch,
Merchandising Intern
Portland, MI, USA
Eana Agopian,
Photographer/Photo Editor
Kalamazoo, MI
Rachel Orloski,
Apparel Merchandising Intern
Mt Pleasant, Michigan/USA
Katie Boyer,
Fair Trade Advisor
Cadillac, Michigan
Tori McQuarter,
Merchandising Intern
Pinconning, State/USA
Kelsey Tyler,
Product Sampling Assistant/ Photo shoot Planner
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Kathleen Kosnar,
Export Logistics Analyst
Milwaukee, WI
Pam Wyrowski,
Project Leader
Milwaukee, WI
Keely Jones,
General Projects Manager
Evanston, IL
Robin Ross,
Business Consultant
Chicago, IL
Kara Scheer,
New Product Development
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Gretchen Sunko,
Business/IT Consultant
Chicago, IL/USA
Ellen Keane,
Designer
Auburn Highs, MI
Chris Johnson,
Production Consultant
Chicago, IL
Kellogg Corps,
Organizational Development
Chicago, IL
Grace Yoon,
Fair Trade Consultant
Chicago, IL
Kaitlin Schaefer,
Fair Trade Intern
Rochester Hills, MI
Kelly Pierson,
Marketing and Business Consulting Intern
Sylvania, Ohio
Kristina Anderson,
Marketing and Management Consultant
Munster, IN
Jeannie Weber,
Business Intern
Oak Forest, Illinois, USA
Carol Rivers,
Quality Control Consultant & Cook Book Author
Leland, Michigan
David Ripley,
Production Management Analyst
Winfield, IL
Sarah Schepker,
Apparel Design and Technical Manager
Naperville, IL
Brittany Campanelli,
New Product Development
Huntley, IL
Kiley O’Brien,
Graphic Designer
St. Charles, Illinois
Hillary Van Ham,
Design Intern
Batavia, IL
Morgan Schanski,
Merchandising Student
Harbor Springs, MI USA
Mary Jane Gregan,
International Music Educator
Lafayette, Indiana
Marne Petersen,
Marketing & PR Intern
Waupaca, WI
Jennifer Christiansen
Human Resources Consultant
[Grand Rapids, Michigan]


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Volunteer


Vacation
Jen visits Esther in her shop.

Description: Women in Progress recently launched a new women's Cooperative in Odumase-Krobo in Ghana's Eastern Region to work with a new group of women producing hand-made beads and assembling beaded products. Brand new to WIP, the women's stories needed to be documented in order to tell them on the Global Mamas website. As a new location, there were a lot of general tasks that needed to be accomplished in order to get the office up and running efficiently.

Achievements: With Jen's business/HR background, she jumped right in with the many challenges waiting for her in Krobo:
  • Recruited new women into Krobo Global Mamas Cooperative.
  • Conducted interviews with bead makers in their workshop/homes in order to assess their ability to be successful in the Cooperative.
  • Helped to choose the founding members of the Krobo Cooperative and gathered baseline social and economic data on each business in order to measure future business growth.
  • Devised several new beaded product ideas and developed marketing descriptions for the new beaded products being offered in the new Global Mamas catalog.
  • Assisted in setting up the new Krobo office and volunteer house.
  • Documented the bead-making process which will be used to educate customers on the Global Mamas website.
  • Assisted in taking pictures and video clips of the batiking process for the winning designs of the Design4life Competition that was shown at Paris Fashion Week (sponsored by the Ethical Fashion Forum and Tabeisa in the UK).
  • Conducted one-on-one training with WIP's Production Manager, Lizzy Dawutey, to develop her leadership and human resource management skills.
 Highlights: Jen's highlight was definitely the workshop/home interviews with the new Global Mamas in the bead Cooperative in Odumase-Krobo. She had to pinch herself and remind herself that she was in Africa since it became so "normal" after just a few visits. She also had a crazy trek to Mole Nat'l Park while meeting wonderful people the whole time, both volunteers and Ghanaians.

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