In January 2021, I was elected to serve a three-year term on the Board of Directors for the SEAMS Association, as the Education Director. SEAMS is the Association and Voice of the U.S. Sewn Products Industry for over 50 years, consisting of more than 200 of America’s foremost fashion brands, retailers, manufacturers and textile providers. My role as the Education Director at SEAMS fits in perfectly with my role at the Manufacturing Solutions Center, as I have made many connections over the years, quite a few of which are in the academic field.While part of my responsibility is helping the Executive Director of SEAMS coordinate guest speakers and programs for the conferences, my main goal in this position is to grow the education sector of SEAMS. This is accomplished by re-engaging some of the existing Educator Members and actively seeking out new Educator Members. These members are very important, as they are teaching students what to expect from the textile and manufacturing industries and we want to make sure that they are knowledgeable with all aspects of it. There is no fee to become an Educator Member of the SEAMS Association, so if you are an academic organization and interested in learning more, please reach out to me at Twade@manufacturingsolutionscenter.org.

The Manufacturing Solutions Center specializes in applied research and development, prototyping, testing, domestic sourcing, and training. MSC's biggest mission is to help US manufacturers increase sales and improve quality and efficiency in order to retain and create jobs in our local communities.My first 9 years at MSC was spent connecting entrepreneurs and existing brands to domestic textile companies to get a variety of products produced in the US. My new position at MSC will continue our mission of assisting manufacturers, but specifically in the domestic sourcing area.

The Carolina Textile District works to provide support and guidance to domestic manufacturers to help cultivate relationships among the manufacturers to revitalize the textile industry and provide quality jobs while meeting the modern demand of entrepreneurs and existing brands.For the first 9 years with the Carolina Textile District my role was the Client Intake Administrator and Project Coordinator. I acted a matchmaker to connect clients, who are entrepreneurs, brands and companies, to domestic textile companies in order to get their sewn products produced in the US. For the last 6 years I have also taught CTD's Sewn Goods workshops. The SG workshops educates startups and entrepreneurs on the domestic production process and offers hands on experiences like fabric sourcing and tours of cut and sew facilities. Moving forward, I will continue to teach the SG workshops, while also fulfilling my new position at MSC.

My employment at Robb & Stucky allowed me to learn a great deal about various office positions. I was originally hired to handle Return To Vendor (RTV) and Freight Claims (OS&D). However, by the end of my employment I had also taken on the additional responsibilities of Parts Orders, Human Resources, and Shipping Coordinator. It gave me the hands-on training needed for some beneficial learning experiences. I enjoyed my position at R&S and the decision to leave was not mine, as R&S filed bankruptcy in 2011 due to the economy crisis.

I started out as a Delivery Customer Service Representative, before I transferred to the warehouse to become a Furniture Repair Technician. I left Boyles Furniture after they filed bankruptcy due to the economy crisis created by NAFTA.