4 September 2012
Dear USFT;
After two wonderful years, my time with USFT has come to an end. As of August 31, 2012, I have stepped down from my position as a National Coordinator to focus on my studies for my final semester of undergraduate study at the University of Maryland: College Park.
In the summer of 2006, I attended Justice Action Week in Baltimore City, MD and first learned about fair trade in a presentation at Catholic Relief Services. I remember graduating high school thinking that I would never be involved with fair trade again, when in reality, it has become my life. I entered college as a Pre-Med/Biology major, hoping of one day becoming a cardiothoracic surgeon and I will be graduating from the University of Maryland this December with a degree in Government and Politics, and plans to stay in the fair trade world.
About two and a half years ago, I learned about USFT from my advisor at John Carroll University (where I was going to school at the time) and he recommended that I apply to be on the Coordinating Committee. After applying, I was soon there-after elected to be the Northeast and MidAtlantic Coordinator for the 2010-2011 school year. I was enthusiastic about being a part of a National Student Organization that served as the students’ voice for the fair trade movement. After a year of being heavily involved with USFT, I was “promoted” to a National Coordinator position. From the fair trade coffee sales I hosted in high school with my youth group to becoming a National Coordinator this past year, the connections and friendships I have established are life-long. The planning and attending of countless conferences and events may have been physically taxing, but what I learned from each experience is priceless.
USFT has grown leaps and bounds since I became involved two years ago, and I am thrilled to be “passing the torch” to two young women who are model activists and leaders, as well as students here at the University of Maryland; Joanna Agin and Emily Dooley. Joanna and Emily have been very involved with USFT over the past year, and I have great confidence that they will be able to fulfill their duties as National Coordinators. They can be reached at Joanna@usft.org and Emily@usft.org. USFT will also be taking on two new regional coordinators – Gabrielle Rovengo(Northeast) and Jessica Nicolao (MidAtlantic). If you know of anyone who is interested in serving on the Coordinating Committee, please email coordinatingcommittee@usft.org.
The 2012-2013 year will be a very exciting year for USFT. As you may know, we have recently joined the Fair World Project as a special program, and through their assistance, we will be hiring a part time Organizer to help us restructure USFT and come up with a more sustainable plan for the organization as a whole. We are in the middle of the hiring process at this time, and we ask for your continued patience during this time of transition – with new leadership coming in and a new Organizer, we will be quite busy, but we are always here for you! Through this partnership with the Fair World Project, we will be able to strengthen our organization as a whole.
My time coming to an end with USFT is bittersweet – however, I plan to stay involved with the fair trade movement. I will be around to help with the transition to the new Coordinating Committee over the next few months. If you need to reach me, feel free to email me (mlouzon@terpmail.umd.edu) or call me ((443)883-5226).
Thank you again for your continued support and for all of the memories!
Until next time,
Maria Louzon
