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 30 countries 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 started traveling the world as a young girl and has journeyed to over 40 countries. Her most recent tours with Global Exchange include India, Vietnam, Cuba, and Mexico. In January of 2005, Malia accompanied a Global Exchange/Code Pink delegation of US military families whose loved ones had been killed in Iraq. This delegation traveled to the Iraqi/Jordanian border to bring a shipment of humanitarian aid for distribution to the Iraqi people in Falluja. In 2005 Malía has been overseeing the creation of new Reality Tours programs to Bolivia, China, Lebanon, Libya, and Syria.
Malía Everette has a Bachelors of Art in English Literature and a Masters of Arts in International Relations. She has written numerous articles about socially responsible travel and been a speaker on behalf of Global Exchange's programs and especially on US international relations with Cuba since 1997.
Malía is involved with many local environmental and human rights groups in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is a cofounder and director of the Richmond Progressive Alliance in Richmond, California (
http://www.richmondprogressivealliance.net ); a founding member of the San Francisco Green Tourism Coalition; and serves as a commissioner to the Human Relations Commission of Contra Costa County. Malía is the proud mother of two inspirational and intrepid sons.
Topics covered
Socially Responsible Travel
Humanitarian Aid Delegation for Iraq
U.S./Cuba Relations
Bio-Imperialism and Food Security
Alternative Models of Development
If you would like to plan a speaking event with Malia please contact her at malia@globalexchange [dot] org or (415) 255-7296.
