After graduating with a degree in Latin American Literature and Anthropology, Stephanie joined Volunteers for Peace in Guatemala. “I then enrolled at the Universidad in Guatemala,” says the now 34-year old. “I went for 6 weeks and ended up staying 6 months.” Growing up in Marietta, her parents had a business importing antiques from England. “They asked me to export cultural items for them from Mexico,” she says. That’s where she learned the biz—how to negotiate and ship internationally. A few years later Stephanie got into textiles. On a trip to Guadalajara she met Mayan Indian women who were struggling after many of their men had been killed in the country’s civil war. Stephanie began buying their colorful native textiles for handbags and other items. “I now sell my Coleccion Luna line in boutiques, museums and National Geographic.” Stephanie gives these women jobs and helps preserve their 2000-year old culture. “After a lot of searching, I found work that gives me a purpose.”

Go to worldinneednow.org to hear about Stephanie’s International relief group WIN NOW.