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the ac team
| Amanda Judge, Founder & Designer |
 | Amanda is the proud Founder & President of the Andean Collection (AC), which she started after interviewing women living in poverty in rural Ecuador.
She is fascinated by the development of Latin America and gave up a steady salary in the financial services industry to work in some of the most desolate areas of Central and South America on poverty reduction projects. Specific projects include: working with UNICEF on determining the pattern of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Nicaragua and isolating flaws in the country’s health reporting systems. She’s also worked on a micro-enterprise project for women knitters in Peru, both as a knitwear designer and as a business consultant.
Her educational background matches this experience well. Amanda holds an M.A in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School of Tufts University and a B.A. in Finance from Santa Clara University.
In her childhood, she designed her own clothes and started a rouge jewelry store out of her friend’s garage at the age of 12. To this day, her entrepreneurial spirit lives on and she still likes to make pretty things. More than anything, she likes to come up with grand new ideas to make this world a little better for all.
Amanda currently resides in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and can be contacted at
amanda@theandeancollection.com
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| Jessica Casper, Partner, Creative Director |
 | Jessica Casper is a Partner and the Creative Director at Andean Collection. With a background in both design and sales, she oversees all things design, and is predominantly responsible for the development of the Andean Collection’s “look and feel.” Currently, Jessica is working on refining the AC’s website as well as new accessories designs, and is looking forward to the team’s next trip to Ecuador to finalize the new collection.
Prior to joining the AC, Jessica served as the strategic alliances coordinator for AIGA, the professional association for design, a nonprofit organization, where she specialized in sponsorships and partnerships. While bringing her experience in sales and marketing to the team, design is her true passion. Jessica developed her passion for art and design at the University of Pennsylvania, from which she graduated with a B.A. in Visual Studies.
Jessica believes in the power of style and design as means of visually communicating concepts and expressing individuality. With the Andean Collection she has found a platform to exercise all of her creative outlets and in doing so help grow a socially responsible and artistically inspiring brand.
She can be contacted at jessica@theandeancollection.com
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| Bria Bergman, Partner, Director of Business Development and Private Label Designs |
 | Bria Bergman is a Partner and the Director of Business Development and Private Label Designs. Previous to her position at the Andean Collection Bria worked in the non-profit sector, focusing on Latin America and Caribbean underserved communities domestically and internationally. Bria worked at the Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF) and served as Manager of Production & Marketing. Working at the HHF allowed her to gain experience managing an array of projects from social media campaigns, sponsorship development with Fortune 500 companies, media relations, and creating viable partnerships with other national non-profits along with the private sector. In tandem with her job at the Hispanic Heritage Foundation Bria has also worked for Voice of Haiti, Inc. and has traveled to Haiti numerous times to manage eco-friendly sanitation projects.
Bria’s passion for Latin America and the Caribbean is rooted in her studies at the University of Michigan, where she studied Latin America and Caribbean History and also from her experience studying at the University of Havana, in Havana, Cuba.
Bria can be contacted at bria@theandeancollection.com
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| Chiara Gerlich, Non-profit and Environmental Resource Manager |
 | Chiara Gerlich is the Andean Collection Non-Profit and Environmental Resource Manager. Based in Quito, she manages non-profit activities according to international Fair Trade Standards and secures sustainable and high quality resource supplies. Having studied Social Anthropology in England and France, and International Development Studies in The Netherlands, she was excited to find a way to work closely with people at a community level, while also promoting independent and self-sufficient paths out of poverty.
Chiara has always been particularly interested in sustainable fashion styles, such as those using recycled materials and those generally born out of conscious considerations about the world we live in, while providing the consumer with a unique product.
Chiara can be contacted at chiara@theandeancollection.com
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| Cristina Guerrero, Production Coordinator and Manager of Exports |
 | Born in Ecuador's northern city of Ibarra, and currently living in Otavalo, Cristina started working with Andean Collection in 2011. Her family had been working in exportation for years, so she followed in her father's footsteps and studied customs in college. At Andean Collection, Cristina manages all exports from Ecuador, and assists with production coordination, spending time visiting the artisan workshops. She also assists AC's Production Development Coordinator, Sally Sharrow, in maintaining a smooth flow of production in the artisan workshops, from materials, to color and construction.
Cristina can be contacted at cristina@theandeancollection.com
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| Jane May, Boutique Account Manager |
 | Jane comes to AC from a rather unusual background. She has always been and is currently a theater professional but couldn't resist testing her sales wings working for this fabulous company. As the in house Boutique Account Manager, Jane works daily with many of our thousands of retail locations and travels to numerous trade shows throughout the year showing off AC's ever expanding and exciting line.
Before her fairly recent move to NYC, Jane worked consistently on stage as an actor in Seattle, WA and all over the west coast. She graduated from Santa Clara University with a degree in Theatre and Dance and is still active in both communities. Jane truly enjoys working in the fashion industry where she constantly witnesses how creativity can flow in new and exciting ways.
Jane can be contacted at jane@theandeancollection.com
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| Maureen McMurray, Business Development & Brand Outreach Associate |
 | After years of proudly wearing Andean Collection, Maureen officially joined the AC team in July 2011. As Business Development & Brand Outreach Associate, Maureen manages Andean Collection’s social media presence, event planning and works intimately with boutique sales.
Prior to joining AC, Maureen worked primarily in radio production. Her work has been featured on WNYC, Sirius/XM Satellite Radio, Vatican Radio, PRI and American Public Media. She currently gets her radio fix as the editor of NPR’s Intelligence Squared US. Maureen’s radio production has taken her to interesting places and events around the world, including Italy, Greece, Rwanda, Uganda, Turkey; Mardi Gras, the beatification of Pope John Paul II and Superbowl XLIII. She is happy that her position at Andean Collection allows her to continue her globe trotting ways.
Maureen majored in British colonial history and film studies at Wesleyan University.
In her spare time she satisfies her wanderlust by exploring the culturally diverse neighborhoods of New York City.
Maureen can be contacted at maureen@theandeancollection.com
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| Sally Sharrow, Product Development Coordinator |
 | Sally Sharrow is the Product Development Coordinator for the Andean Collection. She works with the AC’s Ecuadorian team of staff and artisans and the New York team of designers to implement fresh new designs each season, travelling frequently between Quito and Otavalo. A recent graduate of Tufts University, Sally majored in both Latin American and Environmental Studies, which led her to study abroad in Quito and to return after finishing school. Alongside her studies, she also worked in the university’s theater costume shop, where she nourished a passion for the design and production of clothing and jewelry. She has worked with a variety of community organizations focusing on environmental and social issues, especially climate change education and bicycle advocacy.
Sally is excited for the opportunity to work alongside the talented artisans of the Andean Collection to develop accessories using natural rainforest materials, and looks forward to working to incorporate new, increasingly sustainable materials into our products.
Sally can be contacted at sally@theandeancollection.com
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| Hollis Shore, Warehouse Manager |
 | Since the company’s inception in 2008, Hollis has overseen the development of the warehousing and shipping procedures that control the movement and storage of the Andean Collection’s fine line of jewelry, hats, and scarves. Operating from a beautiful, historic building in central Massachusetts, Hollis oversees the supply chain systems, including warehouse infrastructure, inventory, and cost management strategies that ensure the efficient and seamless distribution of AC goods in the US and around the world.
Hollis has a BA from the University of Vermont, and an MFA from Vermont College. She gardens, teaches, and writes in Lancaster, Massachusetts
Hollis can be contacted at orders@theandeancollection.com
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| Dakotah Shore, Order Processing Associate |
 | Since they were little girls, stringing beads together, Dakotah has been influenced by her older cousin’s (Amanda Judge, Founder and CEO) passion for jewelry and design. With a background in retail and marketing, Dakotah has a developed a keen eye for fashion, traveling with Amanda to Ecuador on initial buying tours, and serving as the original model for the AC website. She is passionate about the company’s fair trade mission, and is an artist in her own right, working as a painter and a potter in her spare time. She lives with her boyfriend in central Massachusetts, and works out of her office adjoining the historic AC warehouse.
Dakotah can be contacted at dakotah@theandeancollection.com
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| Karin Yau, Marketing and Office Assistant |
 | Karin Yau is the Marketing and Office Assistant for the Andean Collection. Through fortuitous circumstances and hard work, she left her past as a project manager of a developmental psychology research lab at the University of Washington and joined the AC team in their mission of creating socially conscious and sustainable fashion.
Through her past experience working with disadvantaged populations in China as well as the US, Karin understands the importance of art as a form of expression, confidence building, and means of combating the devastating effects of poverty.
With a background in academic research and a passion for art and social justice, Karin uses her administrative and creative skills to assist Jessica in marketing duties and Bria in private label designs.
She is thrilled to be involved in both the design process as well as the administrative side of the company and is excited for the future of AC.
Karin can be contacted at karin@theandeancollection.com
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| Consuelo Yepez, Office Manager |
 | Consuelo is Andean Collection’s resource expert in Quito. She assists with quality control of AC's raw materials, including tagua, açaí and pambil. Her work involves everything from color verification and dye batch inspection to assisting in the transport of supplies and materials. She is also the office manager for AC's Quito office, taking care of any issues relating to facilities and supplies.
Ecuadorian by nationality, Consuelo has lived in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, for the last 18 years with her family. Prior to working with the Andean Collection, she was the secretary at a local social non-profit foundation. She enjoys working with the artisan community and especially loves supporting them in their creativity.
Consuelo can be contacted at consuelo@theandeancollection.com
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