KEYNOTE SPEAKER

(Photo courtesy of www.katherinebish.com)  

Theresa Wilson

Founder/Executive Director

The Blessing Basket Project

www.blessingbasket.org

Ms. Theresa Wilson is the Founder and Executive Director of the Blessing Basket Project.  The Blessing Basket Project is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization that believes the rural poor in developing countries are quite capable of pulling themselves out of poverty if given a chance.  The organization uses a financial model which allows artisans to earn significantly higher than fair trade wages for their products for a given period of time.  The artisan is free to steward that money however they wish.  Most often they use the capital to create multiple small businesses.  Those entrepreneurial endeavors result in several independent streams of income thereby creating sustainable financial independence from the organization.

The Blessing Basket Project generates prosperity wages for its artisans by selling their products to more than 120 retail locations worldwide - including more than 80 Whole Foods Market stores.

The Blessing Basket Project in 2004 and is a sustainable solution to poverty reduction in developing countries.  The organization serves more than 3,000 artisans in 6 countries.  After only five years in operation the organization has paid the equivalent of nearly 2 million dollars to the artisans it serves.

Theresa has received numerous honors for her poverty reduction work.  She won the bootstrap category in the 2004 Olin Cup Competition at Washington University and also has been honored by Focus St. Louis, the World Trade Center St. Louis, the State of Illinois, as well as receiving the prestigious St. Louis Award in 2008.

The organization has been featured in Woman’s Day magazine and more than 100 other print, radio and television stories throughout the country.  Prior to founding the Blessing Basket Project Theresa was a journalist winning numerous honors including 9 Emmy awards throughout her twenty plus year career.  Theresa is married to Bryan Wilson and has two children, Joshua (18) and Jennifer (16).  They reside in Edwardsville, Illinois.  For more information please visit www.blessingbasket.org.