For generations, women in northern Ghana have passed on to their daughters the technique of manually harvesting and processing shea nuts into "shea butter" for use as a cooking oil in traditional dishes and as a panacea for skin and inflammatory ailments. Hence, Ghanaian culture holds the shea nut tree in high regard, viewing it as a community resource that can neither be individually owned nor cut down. Each sturdy, oak-like tree can provide up to 45 pounds of butter per season. Mercifully, the nuts become ripe during the "hunger season" - at the end of the long dry period when food stores have been depleted, yet before the new harvest.

In addition to the nutritional and medicinal benefits they provide, the trees are an integral part of the local ecosystem, providing a natural barrier to encroaching desertification from the Sahel basin. Shea butter production also plays a unique economic role: the activity is reserved for women, allowing them to generate an income over which they exercise exclusive control.

Tragically, a rise in deforestation of shea nut trees threatens these numerous benefits. Rocketing charcoal prices and a decline in tribal authority (which previously discouraged cutting the trees) have threatened not only their delicate environments but also an ancient tradition, while destroying the only source of income available to many rural women in northern Ghana.

Not all bananas are created equal: the differences among them have major implications for the environment, economy and well being of large portions of the population in developing countries worldwide.

Conventional banana production is often undertaken at the expense of primary forests that are converted into agricultural land. In addition, it causes soil erosion through an irrigating flooding technique, strains local water sources through overuse and lack of proper treatment, and pollutes land, watercourses and aquifers with improperly disposed plastic bags. Intensive production on large plantations involves heavy use of agrochemicals, which not only harms the environment and health of farm workers: pesticide residue can remain on the bananas up until the moment of consumption by the consumer. The conventional banana industry has been associated with a range of social problems related to disregarding labor rights on plantations, including: use of child labor, excessive working hours, insufficient health and safety regulations and absence of medical insurance.

In marked contrast, organic banana producers use natural sprays for managing pests, and implement water-saving techniques such as drip irrigation. Organic banana farmers, furthermore, enjoy premium prices that improve their incomes and standards of living. With almost 30% of world banana exports originating in Ecuador, it is particularly critical that the small and medium sized producers in that country (who generate up to 85% of Ecuador's total banana production) be supported in their efforts to realize benefits through growing bananas organically.

To Bonnie Cockman, her role as Vice-President of Finance & Administration is associated with "all the behind the scenes stuff you need to do in order to achieve the mission of the organization." Setting up human resource policies, overseeing technology purchases, and keeping the organization on track financially may not be as sexy as field work, but the newly-hired Vice President knows that it is essential. "If I do my job properly," says the Arlington resident, "I will help Root Capital grow faster, more efficiently and more effectively."

Bonnie certainly knows what she's talking about: from 1998 to 2006, she served as Vice President of Finance for Conservation International (CI), where she oversaw the organization's growth from $30 million annually in expenses to $115 million. Her experience meshes perfectly with Root Capital's plans for high growth and expansion to new countries. Says Bonnie, "Root Capital has great ideas, and the energy and boldness to make them happen. I like that they're thinking big."

Bonnie, who is a CPA, also previously worked as Director of Finance for the Center for Intercultural Education and Development at Georgetown University. The center, with an annual budget of $20 million, manages USAID-funded international training programs. Through her work for Georgetown and CI, she has traveled extensively in Latin America and Asia, familiarizing her with many of the regions Root Capital serves. She relishes the staff camaraderie at Root Capital and is excited to help the organization grow. After nearly two decades in the non-profit sector, she embraces her choice to make a difference in the non-profit sector. "The accounting that can be so rote is suddenly fun if I'm doing it for a cause that is close to my heart," she says.