Cara Wasserstrom

Hi, I'm Cara Wasserstrom. Welcome to my profile!

Cara Wasserstrom's Bio:

Cara Wasserstrom's Experience:

• Kiza Zip Fellow at Kiva.org

  May 2014 - September 2014

  - Responsible for building N.Y. partnerships via speaking engagements and in-person meetings - Work directly with financially excluded entrepreneurs to create trust networks in low-income areas - Vetted 25+ N.Y. small businesses, and budding entrepreneurs, in need of micro-loans up to $5K - Held monthly networking events with 50+ people to develop Kiva Zip's presence in N.Y. Kiva is a nonprofit microfinance organization that helps entrepreneurs access capital at 0% interest. We aim to support small business owners, and budding entrepreneurs, excluded from mainstream loan institutions, by offering them an opportunity to crowd-fund on Kiva Zip's website. Traditionally, we have helped entrepreneurs in developing countries, but launched a U.S. pilot program on 2011 called Kiva Zip. Let's help local small business owners access low-cost capital!

• Associate Manager, Global Production Women's Sleep/Lounge at Gap Inc.

  March 2013 - May 2014

  - Mentored the first N.Y. Retail Management Program trainee - Contributed ideas to a 6 person committee to create a companywide tool and process for monitoring vendor performance

• Assistant Manager, Global Production Women's Underwear at Gap Inc.

  November 2010 - March 2013

  - Built strategic relationships with leading intimate overseas vendors resulting in appropriate vendor allocation for best cost, delivery and product quality - Negotiated bulk costing, and proposed cost options through engineered garments to meet seasonal cost targets

• Product Development & Production Assistant, Women's Wovens at American Eagle Outfitters

  April 2009 - November 2010

  - Implemented a seasonal vendor sourcing strategy for on-time product from Global factories located in Bangladesh, India, China and Indonesia - Provided solutions for daily production issues, including delivery delays, product shortages and quality assurance failures, leading to on-time delivery of high quality product - Onboarded 2 China vendors (10 people) regarding company requirements; organized their visit to N.Y. and Pittsburgh Headquarters, as well as the Distribution Center to complete training

• Retail Career Development Program Trainee at Tween Brands

  August 2008 - February 2009

  - Participated in a 7 month training program in Merchandising, Allocation, Merchandise Planning & Stores - Identified missed revenue opportunity within shoe accessories leading to unforeseen revenue for 2009 Back-to-School assortment

• Production Intern at ECI New York

  July 2007 - August 2007

  - Liaised between Department Store Buyers and overseas vendors regarding garment development and bulk production - Created purchase orders - Managed samples

• Visual Merchandising Intern at Jaeger

  April 2007 - June 2007

  - Designed and executed original floor and window displays to maximize company sales and increase traffic - Created the Spring 2007 visual merchandising guidebook used by all stores to execute visual displays

• Sales Associate at Victoria's Secret

  May 2006 - March 2007

  - Bra specialist for the main U.S. flagship store - Nominated as 2006 Top Talent for my region

• Global Production Gap Fit at Gap Inc.

  October 2014

  GapFit Product Development and Global Production day-to-day.

Cara Wasserstrom's Education:

• The Ohio State University

  2006 – 2008
  B.S. in Textiles and Clothing

• American InterContinental University- London

  2007 – 2007
  Apparel Merchandising
  Concentration: Study Abroad

• Indiana University Bloomington

  2004 – 2006
  Bachelor of Science (BS)
  Concentration: Apparel Merchandising

• High School: Gahanna Lincoln

  2000 – 2004