Julie Colombino-Billingham: From Death to Dollars

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Julie Colombino-Billingham

From Death to Dollars

The Background

To sustainably fight poverty in Haiti, Julie Colombino-Billingham created a social business that provides consistent and dignified jobs. Deux Mains is a Haitian owned and operated business that handcrafts high-quality, footwear, handbags and accessories. 97% of all raw materials in production are either repurposed or sourced locally on the island, and manufactured in our solar facility.

In a country where 85% of the population does not have access to the formal jobs and only 1% of the population is University educated, Colombino designed a model using the best practices of the nonprofit and for profit sectors. She incubated a nonprofit arm of the business called REBUILD globally that provides revolutionary education and paid job training programs to the most vulnerable. Every program graduate is then guaranteed a dignified, living wage job at Deux Mains.

Under Colombino’s leadership, the past 10 years has been a dramatic evolution from earthquake recovery to a sustainable and eco-friendly business that was quickly propelled into the world of ethical fashion. Just a few of the partnerships deux mains has created include: United Nations, Kenneth Cole, Eileen Fisher, USAID and the Clinton Foundation to fight poverty and strengthen families in Haiti.

Julie is the newest recipient of the Southern Living Beauty Awards for her work as a female entrepreneur. She was a finalist in the 2017 Digicel Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Haiti. She is the 2016 Martin Bell Scholar, and recently received her MBA from Rollins Crummer Graduate School of Business.

Julie's book, From Death to Dollars, will be available in 2021. It is based on her real-life encounters post-earthquake and documents the growth of the social business ecosystem she created to instill dignity, financial security, and an ethical fashion business in Haiti.