People to People Blog

Global Exchange is a membership-based international human rights organization dedicated to promoting social, economic, and environmentsl justice around the world.

Author's Spotlight: Malia Everette

Website:

http://www.globalexchange.org

Profile:

Since 1997, Malía Everette has been the Director of Global Exchange's popular and rapidly expanding Reality Tours program. During her tenure at Global Exchange's Reality Tours she has overseen the growth and development of alternative travel programs, study seminars and fact finding human rights delegations to 40 destinations around the world. From the US, to Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Europe and the Caribbean, Malía promotes in-depth experiential education and socially responsible travel as an alternative to the type of "sun and fun" tourism that often results in cultural homogenization. She has years of experience pioneering cultural and educational exchanges that truly build "people to people ties". Malía believes in the power of travel as a transformative tool for education and social change and sees how the Reality Tours alumni pool of over 20,000 have become citizen diplomats as well as proponents for sane US foreign and economic policy. Malía has facilitated many tours around the world focusing on international relations, human rights, political economy, sustainable development, women's issues and the resilience of indigenous cultures. Malía Everette has a Bachelors of Art in English Literature and a Masters of Arts in International Relations. She has written numerous articles about trends in socially responsible travel and has been a speaker on behalf of Global Exchange's programs and especially on US international relations with Cuba. Most recently Malia was contributing writer for THE BLUE PAGES 2nd Edition: A Directory of Companies Rated by Their Politics and Practices! 2009. Malía is involved with many local environmental and human rights groups in the San Francisco Bay Area. She was a cofounder of the Richmond Progressive Alliance in Richmond, California and currently serves on the boards of the Institute of Agriculture and Food Policy (Food First), the Ethical Traveler, and the Women’s Earth Alliance. Over the past two years, she has dedicated herself to building transformational advocacy delegations for Not For Sale on the issue of human trafficking. Additionally, Malía is a consultant on socially responsible business practices for the travel industry and is the proud mother of two intrepid and well traveled sons!