Wilmington, Delaware, United States
Fabiana Otero is a steward of the Earth, first and foremost. She is the Director of Sustainability at Goodwill of Delaware & Delaware County, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Her work is rooted in the stewardship of donated goods and the redesign of systems that determine how materials are valued, reused, and reintegrated into local economies. Sustainability at Goodwill focuses on advancing textile circularity, scaling materials recovery initiatives, and building cross-sector collaborations that turn “waste” streams into resources. Fabiana has earned her Sustainable Innovation MBA from the University of Vermont, a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Florida, and TRUE Zero Waste Advisor certification. She is currently pursuing further leadership development through Goodwill Industries International's Senior Leadership Program. Her aspirations include being part of systems change in textile circularity, finding the recipe to the Waffle House waffle, and playing Monopoly more than once a year.
• Leading a comprehensive textile audit for the region (VA, MD, DE, PA), providing data-driven insights on retail value, secondhand markets, and textile recycling. • Developing and implementing corporate sustainability strategies, including creating sustainability education for all employees across three territories; conducting audits on over 5 tons of post-consumer goods; and managing data for sustainability tracking • Conducting in-depth research and due diligence on partnerships and staying current with evolving regulations for textiles, plastics, and glass. • Collaborating with Goodwill territories nationwide to implement best practices in sustainable resource management.
• Determined strategies to reduce scope 3 GHG emissions from the glass packaging portfolio; presented findings and business case to management -- Part 1: Formulated a scorecard from upstream global data by performing data processing and analysis -- Part 2: Calculated the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of all glass bottles utilizing COMPASS (LCA tool) -- Part 3: Collected insights from internal and external stakeholders in policy, manufacturing, recycling, logistics, sourcing, etc. • Collaborated with the packaging sustainability manager, supplier sustainability manager, and packaging sustainability engineer
MBA program that integrates sustainable business practices across disciplines by upholding the principle of people, planet, and profit. Topics of research included: • Green supply chains and operations • Systems thinking • ESG frameworks and sustainability guidelines
Process Improvement • Developed a company-wide agile workflow to implement cross-functional collaboration, provide scalable client solutions, and prioritize analytic integration to support performance insights and user feedback • Facilitated cross-functional team trainings to navigate and communicate the new product roadmap with clients; managed 8 product development projects and tracked deliverables for 15 total Brand Coordinator • Performed project management duties for over 25 accounts from startup level, to enterprises with over $250 million in profit • Crafted 10 proposals and reports in collaboration with the chief strategy officer and leadership team • Aided in 8 stakeholder and executive discovery sessions in order to translate strategic vision to actionable priorities • Engaged in 10 hosted student and professional workshops to discuss marketing industry advancements
• Established partnerships with local schools for a multi-day event that fostered STEM exposure to over 750 high school students • Managed event communications and proceedings for the Florida Genetics Symposium: handled the promotional deliverables of 17 sponsors; developed and deployed email campaigns for over 2,000 recipients; and garnered 550 attendants and 108 app downloads • Led weekly status meeting with the institute's directors, operated website updates, and launched social media content
• Compiled and organized 845 faculty publications for the institute’s annual report • Designed digital and print materials for events and weekly seminars for faculty and students representing 8 colleges and 64 academic departments