Nichole Letherer

Title:  Executive Account Manager and French Translation

Contact Nichole

In December 2010, I had the great fortune of being in the right place at the right time and ran into/met Leslie and her husband, Dale for the first time. I had adored and supported the Swahili Imports retail store in Eugene for years, and was humbled and overjoyed when Leslie invited me to be part of her team. In March 2011, I started my employment with Swahili Imports.

With a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies and French, I always knew that I wanted to work in global business. A possibility of employment with Swahili Imports hadn’t been on my radar, but once approached with the possibility I realized that it would be the perfect fit.

What I love about Swahili:

My co-workers are not only caring and thoughtful, but also hard working and passionate. They care about each other, and the success of this business.

Every day I am surrounded by thousands of beautiful products from all over Africa, and I constantly discover and fall in love with a new favorite. Our artisans in Africa are true visionaries and artists that deserve to be celebrated and recognized as such.

I love that I get to work with/on both sides of the business: I have the pleasure of communicating with and getting to know our artisans in Africa through French translation, while also getting to know our larger customers and end users through managing their accounts. It is amazing to me that this business can connect those two worlds that are so different from one another.

Above all, the best thing about working at Swahili Imports is the business’ main raison d’etre: giving back. Swahili Imports has been directly helping and supporting thousands of families across Africa for over 15 years now through fair trade. It is so nice to come to work every day knowing that I am a part of a bigger purpose, and that my work is helping improve someone else’s quality of life in a big way.

My vision of what Leslie has created in Swahili Imports can be summed up in one quote: A vaillant coeur rien d'impossible ~ For a valiant heart, nothing is impossible.