Board of Directors
Clark Anderson
Managing Director, Global Head of Country Risk Management and COO, Credit Risk Management, Morgan Stanley
Robin Domeniconi
Co-Founder/Partner, DoAble, LLC; CEO, Threaded Tales
Molly Patrick Epstein
Founder/CEO, Owl Tree Kids
Jackie Flanagan Pangelinan
Mixed Media Artist
Veronique Pittman
Weaver, Board member, Bike New York
Joan Shifrin
Co-founder & Co-president, Global Goods Partners
Catherine Shimony
Co-founder & Co-president, Global Goods Partners
Joan Shifrin, Co-founder & Co-president
Joan Shifrin cofounded Global Goods Partners in 2005 after serving as the director of community education and outreach at the Global Fund for Children (GFC), a Washington DC-based nonprofit organization that supports community-based education groups that expand opportunities for young people around the world. Before joining GFC in 2000, she served as project manager at Matthews Media Group, a social-marketing firm that develops and implements public education campaigns on health-related issues. Joan is a former marketing manager for an international financial-services division of Citicorp, Inc. She received an MA in international relations from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a BA from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Catherine Shimony, Co-founder & Co-president
Catherine Lieber Shimony is the cofounder of Global Goods Partners and the former director of international programs at American Jewish World Service (AJWS) where she oversaw more than 140 projects within grassroots community-based organizations in 41 countries. Prior to her work with AJWS, Catherine served as a consultant to the Americas Society and Council of the Americas and was their senior director of programs for seven years. Catherine was the senior program director for the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations and an associate with the international headquarters of the YMCA. Catherine is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a commissioner for the Women's Refugee Commission and a board member for the Brotherhood-SisterSol. She received an MA in international relations from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a BA from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Catherine lives in New York City with her husband, son, and daughter.
Michelle Thomas, Director of Sales & Marketing
Michelle Thomas graduated from Northwestern University with a BA in English and later pursued an MA in English Literature from Oregon State University. After living abroad in Germany, Australia, India and New Zealand, she returned to her midwestern roots and now lives with her husband and daughter in Chicago, IL. With over a decade of experience working in the social impact space, first as a founding partner at Mata Traders, a fair trade fashion brand, and now as Director of Sales and Marketing for Global Goods Partners, Michelle is a senior sales professional, developing and implementing sales and operations strategies to help organizations ensure profitability and strategize revenue growth.
Catherine (Cat) Luckenbach, Operations and Community Manager
Cat graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Fine Art in Drama from the Tisch School of the Arts, and a minor in Business from the Stern School of Business. What began with assisting at sales events and trade shows has blossomed into her role in overseeing multiple mission-critical functions including marketing, sales, customer care, and overseeing our products' journeys from international shipping to fulfillment. Cat is incredibly passionate about GGP’s mission, as well as the by-women-for-women environment that GGP fosters. San Francisco born and New York bred, Cat enjoys walks over both the Golden Gate and Brooklyn Bridges, and can be found scoping out good eats wherever she goes.
Alice Kutsina, Product Designer
Alice is a multidisciplinary designer, seamlessly combining her education in industrial design with product concepts that bring playfulness and innovation to GGP's assortments of felt flowers, kids' decor, toys and more. Alice graduated from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn with a BID in Industrial Design, and uses her training in UX/UI Design when building upon GGP's artisan-made collection.
Liera Rivera, Operations & Warehouse Manager
Raised in a large family of strong women, Liera is passionate about GGP's mission and focus on uplifting women artisans and entrepreneurs. Born in East New York, Brooklyn, Liera now lives in Queens with her three children: one son and two cats. In her free time, Liera fuels her love of history and animals by visiting NYC's many museums and zoos. Having worked in warehouses and fulfillment centers since she graduated high school, Liera loves the fast-paced work that warehouses provide, and the ability to give GGP customers a positive lasting image of the organization (plus her personal touch to every order.)
Nikki Stewart, Director of Product Development & Production
Nikki is a multi-faceted creative with a degree in Fashion Design from Savannah College of Art and Design. Nikki’s sense of design began at the age of 9 when her mother and grandmother taught her how to sew. Since then she has strived to understand a variety of different mediums and crafts. After working in the fashion industry for a number of years, she shifted her focus to methods of sustainability including zero waste and understanding the labor ethics of the industry. This is why Nikki felt so connected to GGP’s mission of fair trade with an emphasis on providing business to female artisans. Nikki is excited to be part of working with a team that helps support women-identifying artisan groups and bring their craft to life and to the market for others to appreciate and enjoy.
