Farewell Amy Arden, Nomi Wire Editor-in-Chief!

Amy served as the Nomi Wire editor for nearly a year and now she is off to a new adventure.

1) You are starting your masters degree, how exciting! Where are you moving?

Literacy and education, especially for women and girls, have always been issues close to my heart. I've started a master's in education program at Montana State University in Bozeman to prepare for a career shift to education. As far as MSU - I visited Bozeman this summer and absolutely fell in love with the town!

2) How long did you serve as editor-in-chief of the Nomi wire and what do you think was accomplished in way of sharing what Nomi is doing with the public during your term?

I served as the Nomi Wire editor for nearly a year, from January to October 2010. One of my goals as a Nomi volunteer was to find tools that would help us share our work more frequently and consistently, and the Wire helped us to do that. Regular updates to our supporters help keep our work fresh and relevant, and it is also an effective way to publicize the larger abolition movement by sharing anti-trafficking news, events, and legislation updates as well. Feedback on the Wire has been very positive.

3) What sparked your passion to volunteer for Nomi? Any specific experiences that led to your interest for fighting human trafficking?

I've always been interested in social justice issues and after hearing Diana Mao speak in Washington in the Fall of 2009 I was very impressed by Nomi's vision and sustainable model. I knew right away I wanted to get involved and use my communications background to support Nomi's work!

4) What challenges do you see that Nomi, and other non-profits like Nomi, face when sharing their message with the public? What are some next steps that Nomi can be doing to continue to build their message?

With so many organizations vying for public attention, I think differentiation is key. Nonprofits, just like for-profit organizations, need to focus on what makes them unique and what they bring to the table that other organizations don't. I think Nomi had done a great job by paying careful attention to their brand and making sure that everything from our logo to messaging is tied into that brand. Nomi had also excelled at creating a special relationship between the fashion industry and human rights advocates. For next steps, I think we need to keep finding partnerships and opportunities that will raise the organization's profile even more. Our recent Classy Award is fantastic and definitely a step in that direction!

5) What advice would you give to the next editor-in-chief of the Nomi wire?

Don't panic! More seriously, the Nomi Wire is not a one-person job. I'm grateful to Diana and Alissa for always being so willing to contribute, as well as to our team of writers. It really is a shared effort. So be creative, be collaborative, and have fun with it!

By: Don Torrance