#HOTCS: Kevin McCabe, Seattle | Christina Connelly, Minneapolis

Kevin: In Seattle we offer an export seminar to Canadian companies called New Exporters to Border States, or NEBS for short. It’s for new exporters who are exploring the opportunity to sell to the United States. One of our success stories was JusTea, this socially-minded enterprise from Vancouver that helps free trade tea makers from Kenya sell their teas in North America. They asked me about a couple of regions in particular, and as part of the NEBS program is to help companies be strategic about where they might succeed, I referred the company to my counterpart in Minneapolis, Christina.

Christina: My office covers what we call the Upper Midwest: North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota. When JusTea came to me for advice, I highlighted a great entry retailer based in Minnesota. It’s high-end, high-quality, and well-known in Minnesota; big enough to make a difference for a supplier, but small enough to be manageable. So I gave JusTea a few potential contacts and about a year later, they followed up with me. They had signed on with this high-end grocery retailer I had recommended and they would be selling their teas in all of the retailer’s stores. It would be their first foray with a U.S. buyer!

Kevin: Not only am I really happy for the client’s success, but it really helped pave the way for other social enterprises to be served by the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service. I’d also like to say that it warms my heart that when Christina was contacted to speak about this success story, she said it was important to mention how it all started in Seattle. I feel really valued as a colleague and I give her so much credit for this, because she was the one who was able to integrate this company into her network. I’m always so impressed with her work. That shows the teamwork across the entire Trade Commissioner Service network.

Christina: We’re always referring people to each other if we hear of an opportunity, especially in the agriculture sector. For me, I see agriculture and food as a global issue we all need to think about. How are we going to feed our global population the most productively, with the highest quality food? I really feel strongly about anything I can do to grow opportunities for both the region that I work in, as well as Canada, and it’s really a two-way street when you sit on the border. I think there’s really no better relationship than between the U.S. and Canada. I just really enjoy and thrive on working with lots of different people and putting them in contact and helping people find success together. The aspect of getting to know companies deeply and providing them what they need is satisfying to me.