IntroductionIn this episode, Monica Ebert shares insights about her experience with the IWTO Young Professionals program and how it has helped her career including finding her current job role as Market Developer Manager at NZ Merino. As a young wool industry professional, Monica talks about how students can advance their careers and how companies can connect to the young and upcoming talents. If you thought you could never sell or buy a sheep through Facebook, think again, as Monica talks about how her family does sheep sales online.

About Monica EbertMonica’s passion for the wool industry stems from her lifelong involvement in the sheep industry having been born into a small purebred sheep operation in Kansas, USA. She received her Bachelor’s degrees in Apparel Design and Apparel Marketing from Kansas State University and completed her Master’s degree at Angelo State University where she focused her research efforts on sheep and wool production and apparel product development concentrating on the processing and manufacturing of wool into active wear garments. Through her research and the development of a supply chain entirely within the United States textile industry she gained unique insights of the wool supply chain from “sheep to shop”. When the opportunity arose in 2014 to attend the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Cape Town, South Africa through the young professional program, Monica took advantage of the chance to learn more about the global wool industry through farm visits as well as networking at the Congress. Now with several IWTO events under her belt she has now begun to take a larger role in the international wool industry and assisted the IWTO staff by serving as the coordinator of the young professionals at the 2016 Congress in Sydney, Australia.