About The Founder

Simona Racek is the Founder, CEO of JDTS. Simona’s expertise focuses on exporting solutions including assessing export regulations and facilitating applications for export-related financing and government grants. Simona works with clients in the private and public sectors, including the Los Angeles Regional Small Business Development Center Network, the Ventura Economic Development Collaborative, the World Trade Center San Diego, and the World Trade Center Northern California delivering export consulting services that support hundreds of businesses in their internationalization efforts.

 

Simona serves as the President of Women in International Trade, Orange County Chapter, a non-profit organization, and an affiliate of the Organization of Women in International Trade (OWIT). OWIT Chapters are united around the globe to foster international trade and the advancement of women in business.

 

Simona is the project leader of the digitizing trade initiative sponsored by the San Diego and Imperial District Export Council to implement a global digital standard for managing trade transactions online utilizing the International Chamber of Commerce Uniform Rules for Digital Trade Transactions (URDTT) published on October 1, 2021 - www.eDTTworkspace.com. Simona has published several articles and educational videos on digitizing trade.

 

Simona graduated Magna Cum Laude from California State University, Los Angeles, with a bachelor's in International Business. She received the 2016 Educational Award for Excellence in Export Development from the District Export Council of Southern California and Port of Los Angeles. Simona practices mindfulness in the Plum Village tradition and is fluent in Romanian.

 

Why is Simona passionate about trade?

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"When I was a young girl growing up in communist Romania, I will never forget the day my father brought home banned VHS tapes of American movies translated and dubbed in Romanian. Back then, we did not have access to information or goods from outside our borders. We were not allowed to know that there was a better life outside. As I watched these banned films with my family and neighbors, I could not help but be in awe.

 

Even more amazing than the stories these films portrayed were the differences they revealed between the Romanian experience and the American experience. Through these tapes, we discovered the goods that were available and accessible outside Romanian borders, and realized there was a different way of life beyond the one we lived. These movies gave us access to new information and customs; but above all, they gave us access to hope.

 

When I think about my past, I always come back to those revelatory hours watching those films. No matter where you live, you should have access to the best that the world has to offer. And this is why I want to connect the world. I want to bring products that are available in one part of the globe to everyone else who does not have access to obtain them. The trade industry is the way to do that,  spreading goods, services and information to all."