HOD Student Marjorie Florestal Joins the Board of Caribbean Women in International Trade

To commemorate Fielding’s 49th Anniversary, the President’s Sustainability Advisory Council has designated 2023 as Fielding Global Ecological and Social Justice Service Year. The purpose of this designation is to collect stories of Fielding community members engaged in service in their communities. Here is one shared by Marjorie Florestal, J.D., a graduate student in the Human and Organizational Development Program.

Marjorie Florestal

Marjorie Florestal joins the board of Caribbean Women in International Trade (CWIT), a non-profit organization that works to empower women in the Caribbean by adopting initiatives to increase their participation in international trade. CWIT provides training, education, and networking opportunities to women business leaders in the region.

Marjorie brings a unique skillset to the post. As a former international trade lawyer in the Clinton White House, she negotiated trade treaties and litigated disputes before the World Trade Organization. In recent years, she has become a highly regarded expert in the field of trauma with a particular focus on the impact of collective traumatic events, including climate change, on vulnerable communities. Marjorie brings this dual focus to her work on the CWIT board as she advocates for programs that recognize the impact of international trade on the climate crisis. In particular, Marjorie aims to highlight the psychological and emotional impact of climate change on individuals and communities in the region.

To hear about Marjorie’s work, see her presentation at our Call across the Globe on Fielding’s YouTube channel: 2023 Call Across The Globe

How to Get Involved

Whenever you volunteer in your community this year, send us a paragraph at media@fielding.edu about your experience. Please include photos. Stories will be posted on our website, social media, and other communications channels.

Examples of Service

• Activities such as cleanup days, neighborhood bird counts (such as Project Feeder Watch), invasive plant removal, and creating a natural lawn.
• Volunteering for any nonprofit organization. Examples could include homeless shelters, animal shelters, food banks, literacy volunteers, organizations that focus on specific illnesses, local environmental groups, and so on.