Fostering a Green Employer Connection

By Daniel Sturm, RefugeeWorks

Getting to know Crystal Mario is a refugee employment specialist's dream. The founder of a small manufacturing business in Charlottesville, Va., Mario is passionate about green jobs. She is committed to hiring refugees and providing them with living wages and resources for becoming self-sufficient. "I started the company with the express purpose of promising jobs for refugees."
 
Her company, Rivanna Natural Designs, manufactures wooden plaques, desk sets and clocks made from sustainably harvested wood. Their glass award plaques are made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled glass. Currently, five out of ten employees at Rivanna are former refugees. When I spoke with Mario, she had just hired another newcomer, who recently arrived from Afghanistan.
Mario is proud to point out that she picks up the costs for her new hires' ESL classes while they are receiving regular wages. "This is the advantage of managing your own business," Mario points out. "You get to do what you want."
 
As a student in Canada, Mario volunteered for a refugee service program in college. After spending 15 successful years working in the software industry, she felt it was time to do something different with her life. She remembered fondly how her late father, Tony Mario, had hired a refugee from Vietnam to work at his industrial hardware company.
 
Before having even a business plan, Mario met with the International Rescue Committee's regional resettlement director, Susan Donovan, to discuss the workplace needs of IRC's refugee clients. Based on input from the IRC and months of research, she determined that the most viable business to support a largely non-English-speaking workforce would be a small manufacturing company. She chose wood products because certification standards for sustainable forestry were already well established.
 
In 2002, Rivanna hired Admir Hasanovic, a Bosnian refugee who had just arrived in Charlottesville with his wife and daughter. "Admir is still with us today and continues to be our superhero in the woodshop," said Mario. In 2004, he and his family purchased their first home in the United States. The Hasanovics are U.S. citizens now. Mario emphasizes the inclusive atmosphere at the workplace, where friendship between co-workers exists and hierarchies are a no-no. All full-time employees earn more money than the city of Charlottesville's adopted living wage standard of $11.44 per hour.
 
When asked about refugees' opportunities in the emerging green job sector, Mario said she was very optimistic. "I have given the concept of 'green jobs for refugees' some deep thought," she said. In addition to the often noted characteristics of refugees being hard-working self starters, Mario thinks they bring another qualification to the table for green-collar jobs. "The idea that products can be made of recycled materials are new to our culture. Refugees understand the value of waste."
 
During speaking engagements at conferences or business meetings, Crystal Mario said the feedback has been positive. "I found that people who are interested in the environment are also pretty thoughtful about people."