Meet the Khoti Team

[Para versión en Español, dar click aquí]

Hello! Welcome back to our blog. This week we want to introduce you to our team at Khoti. Check it out! 

Samuel Gracida

Born in Mexico, Samuel is now studying in a Master’s program in music therapy at SRH University in Heidelberg, Germany. He has lived in China and completed his Bachelor’s degree in music in Columbus, Ohio. Samuel plays the guitar, from classical pieces to jazz arrangements and anything in between. Besides studying music therapy, Samuel is the Operating Director of a nonprofit organization called “Sam’s Fans,” supporting music and art therapy programs for seriously ill children in Ohio. 
   
Samuel was recognized at his university with a full-tuition scholarship and was also honored to be one of eight Outstanding Leaders of his generation. With his experience in leadership and non-profit organizations, he hopes to contribute to the world of fair trade in Mexico and lead KHOTI forward. KHOTI was born in 2018 from Samuel’s wish to support the artisans from Queretaro. Even though Samuel does not live in Mexico, he is proud of his roots and hopes to bring mexican culture and handicrafts from Queretaro to the whole world. 
   
At the moment Samuel hopes to finish his Master’s degree in music therapy, continue leading KHOTI, and do what he can to bring these handcrafted indigenous products from Mexico to his temporal home in Germany and other parts of the world.

Fabiola González

Born in Mexico City, Fabiola currently lives in Querétaro and is studying the last semester of her Degree in Animation and Digital Art at the Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey Campus Querétaro. As part of her studies she studied a semester at the European School for Communication and Visual Arts COCO School in Alicante, Spain where she had the opportunity to meet other cultures and ways of life. With this learning, Fabiola's desire to help the Mexican economy increased, which is why she is part of the Khoti team.
     
Fabiola's interest in Theology led her to study a diploma and is currently pursuing a second degree in Theology of the Body. As social service she has taught at a kindergarten, primary and secondary schools in the community of Tres Lagunas in the Sierra de Querétaro. In her spare time Fabiola likes to read, draw and exercise. Fabiola has been a member of Khoti since its birth and works in the graphic and visual area with the objective of raising awareness of fair trade in Mexico and in the world.
    
After she finishes her Bachelor's degree, Fabiola intends to become a Character Designer for children's short/feature films, as well as help Khoti grow with her contributions.

Cuauhtémoc Cruz

Born in Querétaro where he currently lives, Cuauhtémoc (Cuau) is an Industrial Maintenance Engineer from the Technological University of Querétaro. During his training, he worked for a month in the government program CONAFE, which takes education to children in low-income communities. There he was motivated to seek work as a fellow in USEBEQ in charge of basic education in Querétaro under the secretary of public education. He has also worked for 10 years in communities of the Sierra Queretana, Michoacana and Huasteca. With this background, it is no wonder he is interested in supporting indigenous communities in marginalized areas.
    
Cuau created a youth group for religious purposes and social service. With them he performed services within the city of Querétaro inspired by the works of mercy. With this program they brought food to visitors to public hospitals, visits and support in nursing homes, feeding to migrants who pass through the city aboard the train "The Beast", and ending the support with cleaning and remodeling the municipal pantheon.
   
Cuau  started working at Khoti in August 2019. He currently works at Ciateq Advanced Technology Center in the administrative area where he has been for about 4 years.

Daniela Vega

Daniela Vega Gómez was born on May 16, 1996 in Mexico City. However, for 15 years she has lived in the city of Querétaro with her parents and sister.
 
Daniela is a person who enjoys time with her family, pets and friends. She is a lover of extreme sports and adventures and open to live new experiences. Her main hobbies are cooking, mountain biking and photography. From an early age she always had the desire to travel and know new cultures, in addition to having an interest in learning new languages. That is why she began to take short trips which allowed her to learn and value the culture of her country even more. Since then her goal has been to make known all the wealth that her country has with all the people she meets.
 
Daniela studied International Business and Commerce at the Autonomous University of Querétaro. Within her university training,  she completed a year of international mobility at the Technischehochschule in Rosenheim, Germany in 2017 in the field of business management. This was a great and enriching experience for her professional and personal training. In addition to this mobility, she has participated in different seminars and workshops, such as supply chain management, business ethics, annex 24 and 31 (Foreign trade), English and German courses, among others.
 
Since 2018, Daniela has participated in the Khoti project, which seeks to help fair trade with Mexican artisans. She currently works in a company dedicated to international logistics where her main activities are all related to foreign trade, export and import. However, she has also collaborated with companies in which she has gained experience in sales and customer service.