Julie’s passion sits at the crossroad of sustainability, international development and trade. That’s an ideal spot from which to lead Fairtrade Canada as Executive Director.
She has an MBA in Emerging Markets, a BA in International Development and a Diploma in African Development. She started her career in Montreal with Équiterre in responsible cotton import supply chains and sustainable trade advocacy. She then worked in Bolivia on closed loop municipal waste management for 2 years before moving to the Caribbean to run field operations for Fairtrade International. She built sustainable supply chains from the ground up working with farmer coops, brands, traders, millers, factories, unions, governments and everyone in between in 13 different countries. Her work on climate change mitigation, labour rights and social compliance in coffee, cocoa, bananas, mango, wine, cotton and sugar shaped her. When she moved to Argentina in 2012, her focus changed to South-South trade and the role of governments in enabling systemic changes in terms of trade, human rights, sustainable urban planning and poverty reduction.