For more than 30 years, Ms. LaRhea has been at the forefront of  driving meaningful change towards preferred, organic and regenerative fibers. She has been engaged in catalyzing action  and is a life-long advocate for more sustainable practices that deliver real beneficial impacts in the apparel and textile industry.  

Ms. LaRhea grew upon on a rainfed cotton farm in west Texas which has given her a unique perspective and core understanding of the importance of ensuring that farmer voices and needs are fairly

represented in the transformative journey to a responsible and sustainable textile industry.  

Ms. LaRhea is a co-founder of Textile Exchange and has served the organization over the past 21+ years initially serving as the first Chairman of the Board in 2002, shifting into Managing Director in 2005 and the Chief Executive Officer in 2020 and serving as Sr. Advisor beginning 2024. Her unique perspective helped her lead Textile Exchange along with its pioneering Members to create preferred fiber and material strategies, strengthen integrity in the marketplace through the adoption of standards and promoting deeper engagement within the supply network.

Prior to Textile Exchange, Ms. LaRhea and her late husband, Terry, were founding members of the Texas

Organic Cotton Marketing Cooperative (TOCMC) in 1993. Today, TOCMC is the largest organic cotton

cooperative in the United States. Together, they built and demonstrated a sustainable business model for farmers creating strategic partnerships with various manufacturers and “value-added” programs including Cotton Plus (organic fabric) and Organic Essentials (organic personal care products).

In 1995, Ms. LaRhea served on the Administrative Council for Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) and two years later was elected to the Organic Trade Association’s Fiber Council Steering Committee. She joined the Organic Trade Association’s Board of Directors in 1998 where she supported the creation of organic fiber processing standards and chain of custody for the industry. Continuing to serve and support advocacy for family farms in the US, she more recently served as chair for RAFI – the Rural  Advancement Foundation International from 2015-2018.  LaRhea has been serving on the CottonConnect board of directors since 2016 and the Regenerative Organic Alliance since 2018.

Ms. LaRhea holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from Abilene Christian University and a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership from Lubbock Christian University