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Frank Couch
Mtn Brook Chamber
Mountian Brook Chamber of Commerce luncheon held at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens Thursday March 7, 2016. Photo by Frank Couch
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Frank Couch
Mtn Brook Chamber
Mountian Brook Chamber of Commerce luncheon held at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens Thursday March 7, 2016. Photo by Frank Couch
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Frank Couch
Mtn Brook Chamber
Mountian Brook Chamber of Commerce luncheon held at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens Thursday March 7, 2016. Photo by Frank Couch
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Frank Couch
Mtn Brook Chamber
Mountian Brook Chamber of Commerce luncheon held at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens Thursday March 7, 2016. Photo by Frank Couch
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Frank Couch
Mtn Brook Chamber
Mountian Brook Chamber of Commerce luncheon held at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens Thursday March 7, 2016. Photo by Frank Couch
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Frank Couch
Mtn Brook Chamber
Mountian Brook Chamber of Commerce luncheon held at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens Thursday March 7, 2016. Photo by Frank Couch
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Frank Couch
Mtn Brook Chamber
Mountian Brook Chamber of Commerce luncheon held at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens Thursday March 7, 2016. Photo by Frank Couch
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Frank Couch
Mtn Brook Chamber
Mountian Brook Chamber of Commerce luncheon held at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens Thursday March 7, 2016. Photo by Frank Couch
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Frank Couch
Mtn Brook Chamber
Mountian Brook Chamber of Commerce luncheon held at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens Thursday March 7, 2016. Photo by Frank Couch
Theresa Bruno, Jordan Alexander jewelry founder, was moved by what she witnessed on a recent trip to Greece. She toured safe houses operated by the A21 Campaign, a group dedicated to fighting human trafficking, sexual exploitation and forced slave labor, and what she saw made her decide to devote a jewelry line exclusively to help victims.
Bruno shared her experience with more than 100 guests at the April Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce Luncheon held at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens Thursday, April 7.
It was during her time in Greece along with a group of other female entrepreneurs that Bruno said she saw firsthand where victims were taken and "broken" after they were kidnapped and forced into slave labor or sexual slavery. While visiting a recently-raided home in the area, Bruno said she was appalled at "what one human being could do to another human for money.”
Bruno said she connected with a woman who had been held captive for nearly four years while she recovered at a safe house operated by A21.
"I looked at her and she could have been any of our daughters," said Bruno of the woman who was only 20 years old when she was enslaved after taking a job outside of her home country.
The jewelry line, she said, will provide more than a monthly check for A21. It incorporates four words—hope, love, purpose and mercy—which Bruno said she hopes will serve as a tool to teach others about human trafficking and support efforts to end it.
Of her jewelry line, Bruno said at first, she had no idea what she was getting into.
"I walked into a huge show mostly on a dare and immediately felt like turning around because I didn't belong there,” she said.
But it was her “stubborn charm,” thanks to her Southern roots, she said, that kicked in and gave her the confidence to push forward.
"I like to think being Southern in this business plays to my advantage,” she said, when people ask her why she is based in Birmingham.
Though many designers are based in areas closer to raw materials or groups of artisans, Bruno said she prefers to stick close to her home in Birmingham.
Jordan Alexander, according to its Facebook page, is a fine jewelry collection that “blends luxurious elements like baroque pearls and diamond accents with unexpected Bohemian touches.
The collection is said to be inspired by Bruno’s Southern roots and her grandmother’s and mother’s “exquisite estate-like personal jewelry collections.”
For more information on Jordan Alexander, visit www.jordanalexanderjewelry.com.
For more information on the A21 Campaign, visit www.a21.org.
