Education and Training

Kristi Jo (KJ) Lewis is an alumna of the 2004 NEW Leadership Oregon class. She received a master’s degree in public administration and a masters in education policy from Portland State University in 2005.

After receiving her BA from Mills College, KJ moved to Cape Town, South Africa in 1994 where she worked for a non-governmental organization and served as an election observer in the country’s first democratic elections. Her experiences during this exciting time were transformative. "I was fortunate to work with women starting the first domestic violence shelter in the Cape townships, and saw women beginning to create their own destiny,” she says.

After leaving South Africa, KJ joined the Peace Corps, serving in Namibia 1999-2000. She hoped to find a way to assist women in developing countries, but wasn't sure where to start. A chance encounter with San artisans in the middle of the Kalahari Desert while conducting graduate research convinced KJ that providing access to the global market was the best way to reduce poverty and change lives. “When you invest in a woman, you invest in a community,” she says.

She and her sister Beth launched Global Sistergoods in 2006. Global Sistergoods is an ethical trading company that works with international women’s cooperatives to ensure that fair trade principles are followed while assisting in design and quality control. "We want to help our customers learn about the social, political and cultural issues our artisan partners face," says KJ, "and to provide the opportunity for action by connecting them with nonprofit groups that work on issues important to women."

KJ considers NEW Leadership Oregon integral to her success. “NLO gave me the tools to achieve my goals,” she says. “It’s up to me what I do with them.”

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