Tess Bone

DIRECTOR

Tess Bone is a Director with Fontheim International, LLC and GlobalWorks Foundation. Ms. Bone advises clients of the firm regarding responsible supply chains, business and human rights, and corporate social responsibility.

Prior to joining the firm, Tess held a dual role at Tiffany & Co. and The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, where she advanced the company’s responsible sourcing initiatives and responsible mining standards development internally and externally, in addition to philanthropic strategy.

Tess was Manager of Accreditation Projects and Planning at Social Accountability Accreditation Services, a nonprofit—now part of Social Accountability International (SAI)—which oversees implementation of human rights standards in global supply chains. Tess performed field research for SAI in the Dominican Republic cacao industry, which included fact-finding at cacao farms and cooperatives, and interviewing members of the business community, government, civil society, and farmers. She recently served as a consultant to SAI on their SA8000 Standard system.

Before joining SAI, Tess was selected for a research team tasked by the United Nations Peacekeeping mission in Kosovo to study the challenges of illegal logging and local violence there. Through desk research and interviews with local and international officials, subject matter experts, civil society and affected communities, her team developed an analytical report with recommendations for various stakeholders. She co-presented their findings to members of the UN, EU and NATO in Kosovo, which was also published on Columbia University’s Center for International Conflict Resolution website.

Previously, Tess was Regional Coordinator and Field Consultant in Nicaragua for Community Empowerment Solutions, a nonprofit that develops local social enterprises to bring needed services to rural villages. She performed needs assessments across rural villages, gained the support of local officials, forged partnerships with various stakeholders and expanded the organization’s presence in new regions of the country.

Tess holds a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where she focused on international human rights and corporate social responsibility, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame. During her graduate studies, Tess conducted research for United Nations University in New York City.

Tess has traveled extensively for study or work on human rights and economic development issues, including in Chile, China, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Kosovo, Nicaragua, South Africa, and Uganda. She speaks fluent Spanish and conversational French.