Leadership Team
Andrea Reyes
Executive Director
Andrea Reyes is a fair trade advocate, educator, and small business owner. She is the Chair of the NYC Fair Trade Coalition, a network of small ethical business owners and advocates. She is also the founder of A. Bernadette, which provides mentorship to students, entrepreneurs, small businesses, and those who wish to incorporate more sustainable practices into their businesses and lives. Lastly, she teaches fashion marketing, international trade, and business development classes at Baruch College, LIM College, and the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Carla Farina
Vice President
Carla Farina is the owner of eddys brand, a children’s wear company focused on sustainability through reuse and take back. eddys makes tiny sweaters with a big impact! After creating her own promo video on iMovie, she started editing the videos from all of the NYC Fair Trade Coalition virtual events.
Before starting eddys, Carla studied Fashion Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in her home town of New York City. She worked in design, product development, and manufacturing for ten years for small contemporary companies followed by larger private label companies where she designed for large retailers.
Grace Alignay
Treasurer
Grace Alignay is a U.S. Army veteran with 15 years of accounting experience in non-profit, fashion, and tech organizations. She is a Fair Trade Advocate with a passion for all things ethical and small business and loves supporting her Meetup community of Fashion Rebels. She is also an ambassador and participant of the Custom Collaborative program, a business member of the New York Fair Trade Coalition.
Edvina Ikeljic
Secretery
Edvina Ikeljic, an FIT International Trade and Marketing graduate currently working with USAID’s program for youth in Bosnia. She has worked with the NYC FTC since 2020 first as an intern herself, later as the internship coordinator, and now as secretary. Her role includes speaking with students and recent graduates gauging their interest and expectations when showing interest in working with the NYC FTC.
Advisory Board
Naika Colas
Ovation In-store
Naika is a Sustainable Designer and founder of the Eco-Friendly Fashion brand; Jacques Louis, which focuses on creating innovative clothing for consumers using natural fibers, dead-stock fabrics, rPET materials, and recycled textiles. She has more than 12 years of experience in fashion design, sustainability, and strategy.
She is a full-time Sustainable Design Director and Marketing Lead at Ovation In-Store, a retail merchandising brand. Naika earned her master’s degree in design management from Pratt Institute and a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences with a minor in Chemistry and Marine Biology from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Andi Licari
St. John's Univserity
Dr. Licari has been teaching both Management and Marketing at St. John’s University. She has chaired the creation of the Hospitality, Real Estate and Fashion course development at the university. Dr. Licari previously came from an international career in marketing, working for global corporations such as Trans World Airlines (now American Airlines), Union Carbide and Prudential Securities. Dr. Licari is a Fulbright scholar and a United States Study Center (USSC) scholar. Her specialized research has been in the training field of game and simulation theory, linking theory to application. She started her interest in Game Theory when she was a consultant for the Army ROTC program. Her research is in the field of using business games as a teaching method, and in which she has written two books. Dr Licari was Chairperson for Innovative Curriculum Development for Management Education Development and is a member of the International Management Education Committee of the Academy of Management.
Jordana Guimarães
Fashinnovation
Jane Leyva
Fair Trade USA
Jane is a member of the Fair Trade USA Factory program where she works on the business development and partnerships team and supports transforming responsible business and building more resilient supply chains. Prior to joining the team, Jane worked as a product merchandising professional with brands and retailers including Saks Fifth Avenue and Patagonia and holds a Master’s in Apparel Design from Cornell University.
Alissa Westervelt
Donate NYC
Alissa Westervelt has over a decade of experience in sustainability and an M.S. in Environmental Policy. Her career has led her from modern dance, to hospitality, to food policy, and even a brief stint as a traveling fishmonger. In her most recent role at DSNY she leads the Donations and Reuse Unit, launched the donateNYC Food Portal, and spearheads ReFashion Week NYC, a yearly event series celebrating low-waste and sustainable fashion. Alissa specializes in materials reuse, textile waste, food systems, and circularity, most recently launching the NYC Circularity Network, with the goal of building community in the circular economy.
John-Paul Parmigiani
Impact Hub
John-Paul Parmigiani serves as co-founder and CEO of Impact Hub New York Metropolitan Area. He is also a co-founder and Board Chair of Impact Hub Accra, and serves on the boards of The African Innovation Centre and Crowdfrica.
Impact hub New York is located at 417 5th ave (between 37th and 38th streets) on the 8th floor, and is focused on supporting the impact community in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and taking action on climate action.
