Our Staff

Stephanie Giddens

Founder & Executive Director

Mursal Rahmaty

Training Manager

Meredith Shanks

Marketing Manager 

Stephanie Giddens founded Vickery Trading Company in 2015 after a planned move to Africa with her family fell through, but her desire to help underserved populations was stronger than ever. Through her preparation for the move, she gained understanding about how to help marginalized people, especially from developing nations, and she decided to apply those learnings in her own community. After discovering the large refugee population living close to her home, she got to work looking for opportunities to empower women through business and Vickery Trading was born.

Early in her career, Stephanie was a health specialist for Head Start, giving her experience working with underserved, low-income populations. She co-founded and led the board of directors for Polished, a ministry that serves young professional women, and also worked in the private equity industry. The combination of these experiences helped prepare her to bring the vision of Vickery Trading Company to life.

A DFW native, Stephanie grew up in Arlington, graduated from Texas A&M University and received her Master of Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary in 2009. She lives with her husband Brad and their three young children. She is actively involved in her kids’ activities and their local church. In her spare time, Stephanie enjoys time with girlfriends, reading and spending time with her family, usually with a Sonic Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper in hand.  

Naomi is a native Texan who is passionate about fashion companies that promote fair wages, transparent supply chains, and economic empowerment. After two years of college, she worked in an administrative role at e3 Partners & I Am Second. As a side hustle, Naomi later pursued her yoga teacher certification through Holy Yoga. In June of 2015, Naomi’s heart was awakened to the refugee crisis while volunteering at a refugee apartment community in Germany with e3 Partners & I Am Second. Since her time spent in Germany, Naomi’s compassionate heart comes alive when speaking with and befriending refugees. Naomi’s love for refugees inevitably led her to meet the founder of Vickery Trading Company, Stephanie Giddens. Naomi was drawn to VTC from the very first conversation with Stephanie due to Stephanie’s servant-hearted leadership and passion for women’s empowerment within marginalized people groups.

Naomi began working at Vickery Trading Co. in 2017 as a sales ambassador at holiday gift markets. In 2018, she moved into an Office Manager role, and as of March 2023, now serves as the Merchandising Director. Through the avenue of the fashion industry, Naomi hopes to continually advocate for ethical fashion and fair wages, empowering marginalized people groups with skills they can use to help their communities thrive.

When Naomi isn’t at work you can find her binging BBC dramas, having heart-to-heart conversations over coffee, and listening to podcasts about ethical fashion and holistic nutrition. Though she loves long walks in nature with her husband and dogs, Naomi is a natural homebody. Her ideal Friday night includes Chinese take out and the latest docuseries with her husband.

Mursal moved to Dallas as a refugee in 2015 to escape war, and she hit the ground running. She didn’t know how to sew when she arrived, but quickly enrolled in classes through Disciples of the Way at a local Lutheran church. There, she learned the basics and soon after, she joined Vickery Trading Company in the first class of Associates. She rose through the ranks and is currently our Production Director and Training Manager.

Mursal has a passion for learning and teaching. She holds a bachelors in Accounting and Finance and a Masters in Computer Science. Once she realized how much she loved sewing and teaching others to sew, however, she never looked back. She teaches sewing and English classes to refugee women in the Dallas community in the evenings and on weekends.

When not making VTC fabulous, you can find Mursal jogging around the lake (something she’s not allowed to do in her home country), doing yoga, teaching exercise groups, creating new products, helping newly arrived refugees or visiting any number of her friends from different cultures and languages (including her many American friends). She’s been married to her love for over 5 years. Mursal believes that all people are worthy of love and anything worth learning is worth sharing. (See why we love her?!)

Meredith joined Vickery Trading Company in September 2021 as Marketing Manager. Meredith has always been passionate about working for companies with a social impact initiative. She graduated from Baylor University in 2012 with a degree in public relations and fashion merchandising. She has worked in a variety of industries from non-profit, finance, and higher education, but what has made her passionate about all her roles in her over ten years of experience has been how each company or institution placed value in social justice and community involvement. Meredith was drawn to VTC’s mission instantly and knew it would be a perfect fit with her fashion merchandising and marketing background.

When Meredith isn’t at work, you’ll find her enjoying time with her husband and three daughters. She is passionate about reforming the foster care system after spending four years as a foster parent, and officially adopting her three daughters. Her husband is in full-time ministry, so you can also find them at their church. She also enjoys coffee, cooking, walks in the outdoors, and traveling.

Lindsey joined the VTC team in October 2022 as a Case Manager. She assists associates on the path to self-sufficiency through case management. She has a master’s degree in Social Work from UTA and is a LMSW. She was previously a caseworker for recently arrived refugees at a local resettlement agency. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, she spent a semester in a refugee camp in Greece. There she found a passion for serving marginalized and underserved populations. It was a life-changing experience and a major influence in her move to Dallas 5 years ago. She’s been working in and around the Vickery Meadow neighborhood ever since.

Lindsey was born and raised in south Louisiana. She still enjoys canoeing with her family through the swamps and eating delicious seafood every time she visits. She lived in Alabama while studying for her undergraduate degree and met her husband there.

In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with her husband and baby girl. They love spending time together outside, whether hiking, picnicking, or just strolling around the block. They also enjoy trying new restaurants together. She likes to read anything and everything, but some of her long-time favorites include What is the What, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and Anna Karenina. She also enjoys spending time with friends and thrifting, especially when done together.

Jordan currently supports Vickery Trading Company as the Administrative Assistant. Beyond tracking finances and donor engagement, she serves as one of VTC’s photographers and creatives––a passion that began for her in college. In 2018, Jordan met women artisans in Southeast Asia who taught her the rich narrative, technique and beauty behind their sacred textiles. This life-changing three months inspired her to pursue a degree in Fibers, and she vowed to orient her career around celebrating traditional crafts and the hands that made them––especially marginalized women. Jordan applies her passion for storytelling to amplify lesser-known creative voices and advocate for slow, ethical manufacturing as a rebellion against the digital age. VTC is the summation of these values, and Jordan feels blessed to wake up every day knowing that whether she’s running to the post office or printing paystubs, she has the opportunity to encourage women refugees’ long-term success in the United States. Ultimately, she is especially thankful for her relationships with the ladies and the impact they’ve already made on her life.

In her free time, Jordan enjoys pouring into her own studio practice as an artist and designer, catching up with her friends near and far, and embarking on road trips whenever she can. She is a coffee lover, avid hiker, and reader. As a Colorado Native, Dallas has been an adjustment in every sense of the word, but she’s especially grateful for her local church and home group who’ve embraced her like family.

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