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World Trade Center Delaware Names Carla Sydney Stone as Executive Director The Board of the World Trade Center Delaware is pleased to announce that Carla Sydney Stone will join its staff as Executive Director. Stone, a recipient of the "Exporter of the Year Award" from the U.S. SmallBusiness Administration, is the founder and principal of International Development & Technical Assistance, LLC, a firm that provides global consulting services to companies, nongovernmental organizations and government agencies. Prior to founding IDTA, she managed Delaware Tech's international programs and partnerships to provide aid to other countries, and worked in banking and energy. Stone is a graduate of Columbia University's Henry Krumb School of Mines with a bachelor's degree in Mining Engineering, Geophysics Option and master's degree in Mining Engineering and Mineral Economics. She has additional certifications in water and wastewater, OSHA and international project management. She has worked to promote U.S. exports throughout the world in countries as diverse as China, Bulgaria and Jordan. Stone's most recent projects have included working with a NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme in Macedonia; developing Romania's plan to bring telemedicine to rural areas; helping U.S. companies respond to the Ebola outbreaks; providing technical assistance to U.S. manufacturers wishing to improve product quality in their supply chain; and, providing training to Middle Eastern water utilities. She is a consultant to governments on critical areas of trade, environment, human capability and resource management. Stone is currently president of the board of the Delaware chapter of People to People International, board member of the Delaware Society for the Preservation of Antiquities and sits on the International Council of Delaware. She is a former board member of World Trade Center Delaware. "There's an expression that you do business with your friends." Stone said. "But how do you become friends with strangers around the world? You have to understand their culture, what is important to them, and how they do business. You don't learn this only by responding to a request to provide products or services. Business relationships based on mutual understanding and trust may take longer to build, but are all the stronger for it." Stone has seen long-term success come from cooperation, coordination and partnerships among small, medium and large business, as well with nonprofit organizations and academia - all of which deal regularly in international trade. She plans to expand relationships among companies and the academic and nonprofit sectors that will enable them to successfully compete for both grants and overseas consulting and product contracts that can be a huge source of revenue and business in Delaware. She also hopes to directly engage with the state's colleges and universities that currently host students from more than 95 countries in their programs, to provide real-world opportunities for their students to participate in international trade. Former CEO Rebecca Faber remains as President of the World Trade Center Delaware Board of Directors. Nesrin Cakiroglu remains in her post as Director of Operations. "Carla Stone is an outstanding individual who epitomizes the spirit and mission of the World Trade Center Delaware," Faber said. "She brings energy, inspiration, intelligence and business acumen to the executive director position, along with over 35 years of diverse business and political experience on the international stage. I am confident that she is the right leader to add value to WTC Delaware and elevate us to the next level."