Meet Karen McGee

Hey all!

I'm Karen and I'm thrilled to be working on the Global Support Mission team as the international volunteer coordinator and office manager! I do a little bit of everything, from overseeing all the behind-the-scenes action, to organizing the Red Earth Trading Co. inventory, to being inspired daily by my colleagues.

My road to Global Support Mission began in 2009 when I took my first trip to Africa. In working with a local teacher in a tiny Tanzanian coastal town, I was moved by the vast need and compassion of the people with whom I worked and returned knowing my calling was vastly different from the road I'd been walking for the first two decades of my life. There's no arguing with God when He's leading you somewhere new - I changed my major, graduated college, and moved back to Africa as quickly as I could.

I spent the first half of 2011 living and working in Namibia, a sparsly populated and intriguing country in southern Africa. While there, I wrangled 250 teenagers in my English classes, climbed the world's largest sand dunes, ate caterpillars every Friday night, hitchhiked everywhere, and learned a lot about what it means to invest my life in international development. 

So how did I get from Namibia to Global Support Mission? I met Travis a year ago after some simple internet searches led me to the organization. I had an inkling from the second I read the mission statement that I might end up being more involved than I could yet imagine. When I returned from Namibia and found myself back in the glorious city of Nashville, TN, Travis was the first person I called.

I deeply believe in the work we are doing and am humbled to have the opportunity to be a part of this movement. There are so many exciting things ahead for Red Earth Trading Co. and the rest of our organization. I love enabling this office to do their work more efficiently every day and love sending people to experience our work first-hand in East Africa.

Also, every time you order something from Red Earth Trading Co., I am the one who packages your product with extra love and speedy shipping. You're welcome.

-Karen

International Volunteer Coordinator, 

Office Manager & Team RETCo.