What drew you to join Fairtrade, and what are you most excited about in your new role?

I have worked around and within the Fairtrade system for the last 11 years. I was the Director of Coffee Supply Chain for Fair Trade USA, and most recently co-managed a cooperative roaster retailer where I built a coffee product line that sourced from only small producer organisations (and certified 99% of our volumes with Fairtrade America).

Holding the position of Senior Advisor for Coffee at Fairtrade International has been a dream role for me for many years. I admire the history of the movement and am deeply motivated to more clearly articulate the value of Fairtrade to the coffee industry.

One of the most exciting things about this role is working with a diverse group of stakeholders to build alignment and advance opportunities for coffee producer organisations worldwide. 

What are three things you’d like us to know about you?

1. I am an amateur carpenter, and I am close to completing a three-year homebuilding project in Ithaca, New York.
2. I am a professional coffee taster (and supertaster!) and have served as an international coffee cupping judge around the world.
3. During the height of the pandemic, I led the transition of a 20-year-old coffee company to an employee-owned cooperative that today is the largest union-cooperative coffee business in the United States.

What are the three biggest challenges facing the coffee industry right now – and what role can Fairtrade play in helping to address them?

Today the coffee industry is facing the compound effects of historic climate events, pricing events, and regulatory hurdles. Climate change, extractive capitalism, and an industry built on colonial infrastructure will continue to result in instability, volatility, and vulnerability for coffee producers and market partners. In my opinion, building resilience to these shocks will require Fairtrade to focus on mechanisms and tools that:

• Increase producers’ share of value and voice in their supply chains
• Enable income opportunities that result in dignified livelihoods and contributes to stability in the long run;
• Increase global demand for sustainable (and delicious) coffees.

Fairtrade has the best positioning of any market intervention to achieve these results at scale. 

Lastly, How do you take your coffee? and which blend do you drink at home?

My favourite drink at a café is an espresso with about 150ml (a little more than ½ cup) of textured milk. At home I drink a filter brew of whatever coffee happens to be on my kitchen counter. One of my favourite coffees comes from Kopepi Ketiara in Aceh, Sumatra.