ITEP Founder Carol Rowen with 2009 Stanley T. Olafson Bronze Plaque. MAYO Photo.
Los Angeles, CA -“Whoa, I can’t believe it,” said Founder & CEO Carol Rowen, International Trade Education Programs (ITEP) when her named was called out as the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce’s 2009 Winner of the 76th Stanley T. Olafson Bronze Plague Award today (Tuesday, May 19, 2009) at The 83rd Foreign Trade Association Annual World Trade Week Luncheon & Trade Fair.
The Stanley T. Olafson Bronze Plaque is give each year to an outstanding member of the world trade community in SoCal who has contributed above and beyond his or her job requirements throughout a long career in international trade. The criteria for the award are:
• International experience
• Contributions to the community
• Involvement on boards/organizations
• Interaction with today's youth through teaching, mentorships and workforce education
The First STOBP award was first given by the LA Area Chamber of Commerce in 1933, Olafson was President of the Foreign Trade Assn. of SoCal in 1928.
“I would not be here today if it were not for the Port of Los Angeles and the international trade industry and others who have support our growing organization over the years,” said a teary-eyed Rowen. “There are a lot of people who have faith in what we are trying to do for economically challenged high school students.”
Keynote Speaker Derek Shearer, chevalier professor of Diplomacy & World Affairs, Occidental College, Los Angeles, congratulated Rowen during his address to about 300 plus attendees. “The Foreign Trade Association should put more pressure on California, the City of LA, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the LAUSD board to include international trade as part of the regular curriculum, and not in just two or three high schools, but all of them. ITEP is doing a good job,” Shearer said, noting that many graduating students lack education on International Trade and the world around them.
Carol Rowen, a longtime activist and businesswoman, founded the International Trade Education Program in 1999. The non-profit organization introduces high school students to careers in maritime trade, transportation and logistics.
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