Matt Milletto has been a coffee professional for over 18 years. He primarily works with entrepreneurs and business owners to start-up and improve their coffee operations, and has trained over 1500 baristas in the past 8 years alone. He is also an owner at Water Avenue Coffee, an renowned, award winning micro-roaster and retail coffee bar in Portland, OR. Matt is a head judge at the Coffee Fest Latte Art Competition, and has judged barista competitions around the world. He is also the founder of baristaexchange.com, the specialty coffee industry’s premiere online community. His mission is to create resources to help all baristas and shop owners succeed in this industry.

Lewis began his marketing career in public relations before moving to web marketing in 1996. He founded Anvil Media, Inc. in 2000, to help Fortune 2000 clients grow revenue via search engine and social media marketing. In 2008, Lewis created Formic Media, a sister agency, specializing in digital marketing and website development for small business. In 1999, he created pdxMindShare, an online career community and networking event. Lewis is co-founder and past president of SEMpdx, professional trade association. He’s also an adjunct professor at Portland State University and on the board for SMART, a statewide early literacy program.

Gregory is the President of Gregorys Coffee, a retail chain based in New York City. Gregory is a graduate of Boston University’s School of Management and Brooklyn Law School. In 2006 Gregory opened Gregorys Coffee and since that time has opened a total of six locations in Midtown Manhattan. Gregorys is a progressive shop that continues to push the boundaries of coffee quality, customer service and of course social media. Through Gregory’s leadership the company has continued to grow during challenging times and in a very competitive market.

As President of Probat Inc, Karl Schmidt is responsible for the companies activities in the North American market; this includes coffee, cocoa processing and particle size reduction equipment. Prior to joining Probat, he held the position of Vice President at a major multi-national company in the dairy industry. Previously, he was actively involved with other major international companies within the European community involved in the food processing industry. His educational background includes a Master’s Degree from a German University.

A chemical engineer by training, Marino Petracco serves since 1986 as senior research scientist at illycaffè, a leading Italian roaster that sells globally. His field of interest is on all links of the quality chain that makes espresso coffee fine, ranging from plant botany and agriculture to all relevant industrial processes of transformation, up to beverage brewing dynamics and its effects on consumers’ body. Active in various international committees, he presently chairs the European scientific committee for studies on the effects of coffee on human physiology (ISIC). Besides authoring books like “Espresso Coffee: the Science of Quality” and over forty papers, he performs as an enlivened (even expansive) multilingual lecturer.

Dr. Stubblefield is Associate Professor of Hydrology and Watershed Management in the Department of Forestry and Wildland Resources, Humboldt State University. He received a M.S. in Forest Management at the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in Hydrologic Sciences at U.C. Davis. Dr. Stubblefield teaches courses in wildland water quality, watershed management, hydrology and climate change. His research focuses on impacts of land management on water quality in wildland settings.

Paul Hicks is the Water Resources Specialist for Catholic Relief Services covering Latin America and the Caribbean. Mr. Hicks has worked oversees for over fifteen years in water resources management and agricultural development. His professional focus combines local management and administration of water supply systems with the protection of water sources. He led the Global Water Initiative in Central America from 2009 to 2012. Mr Hicks has a Master’s of Science from the University of California, Davis in International Agricultural Development.

Since 1997, Miguel Humberto Flores has been involved in the Honduran coffee industry as a producer. During the last seven years, as part of his work at Catholic Relief Services – Honduras, he has contributed to strengthening community development through water spring protection, as part of the shade coffee cultivation development. Presently he is part of a cooperative named ANACAFEH. His goal as a coffee producer is to grow special varieties like Catuaí and Pacas at 1,450 meters (4,750 feet) over sea level, assure a stable and fair market, and benefit families involved in this process.

Meredith has worked in specialty coffee for 5 years with the majority of that time spent as a barista at Peregrine Espresso in D.C. She has an educational background in environmental policy and enjoys drawing on this background for her work on the SCAA Sustainability Council.

Richard is the senior engineer and director of education at the Food Service Technology Center (FSTC), a publicly funded research facility that studies and promotes energy and water efficiency in commercial food service. Richard focuses his efforts on outreach – translating the research into practical information. He has 20 years’ experience creating and presenting seminars, delivering over 50 sessions a year, and has authored numerous research reports as well as articles in magazines, newsletters and on the web, including the blog: Sustainability Beyond the Plate. He is an active contributor to the US Green Building Council’s LEED rating system, the National Restaurant Association’s Conserve initiative, and the SCAA’s Green Guide.

Kirstin Henninger is the Founding Director of Green Café Network (GCN), a non-profit organization whose mission is to make sustainability mainstream by greening the coffeehouse industry and harnessing cafe culture for environmental education and action. Kirstin has built on her 15 years of experience in the environmental field to help cafe owners and their staff combine business with sustainability and inspire environmental responsibility in their communities. Kirstin is a graduate of Stanford University and has an MA in International Relations from Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Hailing from the City of Angels, Brant Curtis was born into a life of coffee. Representing the 4th generation of a family owned business, Brant heads up the Marketing Department at the Southern California HQ of the finest coffee brewer manufacturer in the world, Curtis. Since his induction into Specialty Coffee, there has nary been a moment of rest, much to the chagrin of Rachel, his wife of 4 years and Zoe, his 1 year old daughter. Brant has many acronymic titles that clutter his business card, but we won’t bore you with the details.

Trevor is CEO and co-founder of Madcap Coffee Company and currently lives in the Washington, DC area heading up Madcap’s expansion project. He is also currently serving as the Vice Chair of the Barista Guild of America, is a SCAA lead instructor, a subject matter expert in espresso for the SCAA, an editorial advisor for Barista Magazine and a contributor to Fresh Cup Magazine. Trevor has also been competing in barista competitions for a number of years having finished in the top 6 in a regional consecutively for the last 5 years. In 2011 he finished 4th in the US.

Oliver Stormshak is the Owner, Green Coffee Buyer, and Roast Master at Olympia Coffee Roasting Co.. He is the 2013 recipient of Roast Magazine’s Micro Roaster of the Year. Oliver has been involved for the last 18 years in nearly every role in specialty coffee, in companies ranging from international brands to nationally distributed roasters to start ups. Oliver has served on numerous Cup of Excellence juries and has been a US Barista Competition Judge, US Cup Tasters Championship Competitor, and US Brewers Cup Championship Competitor. Oliver is infinitely fascinated with growing, sourcing, roasting, cupping, brewing, and drinking amazing coffees.

Arturo is a 4th Generation Coffee Grower in Huehuetenango, Guatemala. Together with his father they run El Injerto Estate with the mission to produce premium coffee while taking care of the environment, the people and the community.

Hanna Neuschwander is a freelancer who has written extensively about coffee for media outlets including Roast Magazine, Portland Monthly, Edible Seattle, and Sprudge. She is the author of Left Coast Roast, a guide to artisan and iconic coffee roasters on the west coast. Before establishing a career writing about coffee, Hanna worked as a barista for Extracto Coffeehouse in Portland, and has served as a judge for the NWRBC. She was also the media observer for the Good Food Awards coffee competition in 2012.

Andi’s varied background within specialty coffee began behind the espresso bar in 1989 and, since then, includes cupping, training, consulting, green coffee trading, roast quality control, sales, writing, and marketing. Andi currently runs the Atlantic Specialty Coffee quality control lab and trades green coffee. Andi is a member of the Specialty Coffee Association of America Board of Directors. She has published articles with Roast Magazine and Specialty Coffee Retailer, and contributed to Fresh Cup, Coffee & Cocoa International, and Coffee Talk. Andi served 5 years on the board of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance, including a term as President.

Marshall Fuss is a lawyer in Pasadena, California with long experience in business, real estate and trademark law, and a special interest in the coffee industry. His clients have ranged from single coffee shops to international companies and trade associations, including SCAA, the Coffee Quality Institute, International Women’s Coffee Alliance, World Coffee Events and World Coffee Research. He is a graduate of U.C. Berkeley and the Cornell Law School and is the author of “Choosing and Protecting Trademarks” (Specialty Coffee Retailer, Aug. 2010), “Leasing 101 for Roasters” (Roast magazine, Jan./Feb. 2005) and other articles.

Matt Milletto has been a coffee professional for over 18 years. He primarily works with entrepreneurs and business owners to start-up and improve their coffee operations, and has trained over 1500 baristas in the past 8 years alone. He is also an owner at Water Avenue Coffee, an renowned, award winning micro-roaster and retail coffee bar in Portland, OR. Matt is a head judge at the Coffee Fest Latte Art Competition, and has judged barista competitions around the world. He is also the founder of baristaexchange.com, the specialty coffee industry’s premiere online community. His mission is to create resources to help all baristas and shop owners succeed in this industry.

Andrew Sargent is the general manager of the Hanns R. Neumann Foundation North America (HRNS), a not-for-profit implementer of economic development projects founded by the Neumann Kaffee Gruppe (NKG). Prior to HRNS Andrew was a coffee trader with InterAmerican Coffee, a specialty coffee import company of NKG. Andrew’s experience at the nexus of the coffee trade and economic development has been formed through field implementation experience in Honduras, Guatemala, Peru, Brazil, and Tanzania, and professional experience with CARE International and Oxfam America. Andrew holds a postgraduate degree in economic development from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, and lives in New Jersey with his wife, son, and dog.

Miguel has been involved in agriculture for almost 20 years. His work focuses on strengthening supply chains and creating opportunities between U.S. buyers and coffee-growing communities around the world. Miguel directs the Coffee Innovation Project as part of Fair Trade USA’s Fair Trade for All initiative. His work aims to bring the benefits of Fair Trade to farm workers and independent smallholder farmers in coffee while growing the market for the Fair Trade cooperative sector. Miguel is a member of the SCAA Sustainability Council and he blogs about his work with smallholder coffee farmers and farm workers at coffeegente.com.

Michael has worked on coffee for Catholic Relief Services since 2004. From 2004-2007 he worked to increase the consumption of Fair Trade and sustainable coffees in the United States as director of the CRS Fair Trade Coffee Project. Since 2007, he has worked with smallholder farmers in the coffeelands throughout the Americas. Michael currently directs the Borderlands Coffee Project in Colombia and Ecuador and advises other CRS coffee projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. He is based in Quito and publishes perspectives from the intersection of coffee and international development for the CRS Coffeelands Blog at coffeelands.crs.org.

Leo is an Arabica coffee farmer from Sumatra, Indonesia. Leo and Lisa (his wife) grow organic arabica coffee on their farm in Mariah Dolok in the Simalungun region near Toba Lake, North Sumatra. They are working in all areas of the coffee industry within their region.

Ronnie has been working in the coffee industry for the past six years as a barista, roaster, trainer, and "explainer". A Texas native, he has served thousands of iced coffees in numerous manifestations. From his first barista gig pouring cooled batch-brews into styrofoam cups full of ice cubelets, to dialing in Yama cold brew drip towers at Avoca Coffee in Fort Worth, to making iced pourovers of Handsome and Coava coffees at Frank in Austin, the iced coffee discussion has been an ongoing theme in his career. He currently works at Toddy as the Customer Advocacy Director.

Josh, along with his wife Tricia and brother-in-law Tyler Zimmer, currently own and operate 12 retail locations and a coffee roaster in St.Louis, MO under the name Kaldi’s Coffee Roasting Company. They also own and operate 8 retail locations throughout the islands of Hawaii were they showcase 100% Hawaiian grown coffees as well as coffees from their own farm located in Kona under the Honolulu Coffee Brand. In 2010 Honolulu Coffee company developed strategic partnerships to expand their business into Guam, Taiwan and Japan where they currently operate 7 licensed location under the name Honolulu Coffee Company.

After spending nearly a decade as a production barista and in store trainer, Lorenzo Perkins now produces baristas as Cuvee Coffee’s Director of Education in Austin, TX. Currently serving as an Executive Council member of the Barista Guild of America, he is also a two time Regional Barista Champion and Regional Brewers Cup Champion. Lorenzo additionally serves on the SCAA Certification Panel, creating educational content in conjunction with the SCAA. He still makes coffee, too. Sometimes, people like it.

Current US AeroPress Champion and international judge, Jay is the barista/owner of Spro – a progressive coffee experience in Baltimore. Focusing on presenting coffees in a unique and thought-provoking way with a hospitality centric guest experience, Jay has been at the forefront of the American specialty coffee "Third Wave" scene for a decade. Hailed by Style Magazine as Baltimore’s "Thomas Keller of Coffee" and noted by Travel + Leisure Magazine as one of America’s Coolest Coffeehouses, Jay spends the year working with coffee professionals around the world and bringing that focus of coffee to the baristas and guests of Spro.

Marcus is the Social Enterprise Project Manager at Central City Concern (CCC), where he oversees the development, execution, and operations of Central City Coffee, a wholesale coffee roasting business providing on-the-job training for CCC’s formerly homeless clients. From sourcing green coffee, developing roast profiles, blending, brewing, training and managing an economically viable business; he calls upon his relationships, creativity, palate, and experience every day. He is devoted to sharing the science, artisanship, and trends in specialty coffee while creating opportunities for personal and economic growth throughout coffee’s supply chain. He consults with retailers to grow their business through continuing coffee education, customer engagement, and coffee-centric events.

Rosemary Trent, the Executive Director of Pueblo a Pueblo, leads a team committed to improving the lives of indigenous Guatemalan women and children. Over the last four years, she has created and grown successful grassroots programs that partner with local schools to provide access to education, health care, improved nutrition and food security in coffee-growing communities. Prior to her work with Pueblo a Pueblo, she spent 16 years living in East Africa, South America and Mexico where she worked with WorldTeach, the School for International Training, Peace Corps and Plan International. Rosemary earned her Master’s Degree at the School for International Training. She speaks Spanish and Portuguese.

Adam Pesce is the Director of Coffee at Reunion Island Coffee, a Canadian specialty roaster and wholesaler. He is a member of the SCAA’s Sustainability Council, on the board of directors at Grounds for Health, executive director of First Drop Canada (a not-for-profit that raises money for coffee-related projects and NGOs), and coffee blogger for the Huffington Post. A second-generation coffee professional, Adam’s work has seen him travel extensively throughout Central and South America, East Africa, and Southeast Asia in search of coffee and development projects. As the DOC at Reunion Island he has spearheaded sustainability initiatives, including the use of 100% renewable energy and their Sierra Verde tree-planting project

Jorge, a very well-known taster in the Salvadoran coffee industry, is known for his outstanding work and professionalism. He has worked for almost twenty years in coffee, acquiring experience tasting and managing coffee quality control. He also participated in the World Tasters Championship winning second place in SCAE 2008. In El Salvador Jorge is the president of ASCAFE (Asociación Salvadoreña de Catadores de Café) and Salvadoran Asociation of Coffe Tasters. He also holds many different international certifications such as Q grader. He is a member of the star cupper program and sits on the international jury for Cup of Excellence in Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia and El Salvador.

Angel has more than 30 years of experience working in the Salvadoran coffee industry in the genetic improvement area. One of his career highlights was his participation in the creation of the Pacamara coffee variety, which is a hybrid of the Pacas and Maragogipe variety released in El Salvador in the early eighties. He has also worked in the improvement of coffee and seed production. Angel has also be involved in the certification of coffee farms with the Rainforest Alliance and Fair Trade certificate. He has participated in developing and evaluating the Tekisic variety; introducing the Catisic, Catimor, and the red and yellow Catuai varieties from Brasil; in addition to developing the Cuscatleco variety released in 2007/2008 in El Salvador.

Tyler leads a Root Capital initiative focused on expanding access to finance and strengthening internal credit systems of agricultural cooperatives. Previously, he managed field finance for a water and sanitation NGO and also worked for a Fair Trade, organic coffee importer based in Seattle. Tyler holds an M.A. in leadership and a B.A. in international business from Bethel University.

Rosemary Trent, the Executive Director of Pueblo a Pueblo, leads a team committed to improving the lives of indigenous Guatemalan women and children. Over the last four years, she has created and grown successful grassroots programs that partner with local schools to provide access to education, health care, improved nutrition and food security in coffee-growing communities. Prior to her work with Pueblo a Pueblo, she spent 16 years living in East Africa, South America and Mexico where she worked with WorldTeach, the School for International Training, Peace Corps and Plan International. Rosemary earned her Master’s Degree at the School for International Training. She speaks Spanish and Portuguese.

Kara Greenblott is an independent consultant and founder of Nzinga International. Ms. Greenblott has nearly 20 years of experience in the field of international development and specializes in HIV, food security, nutrition, livelihoods and social protection. She lived and worked in Africa and southeast Asia for 12 years, working primarily in emergency and transitional contexts, such as Angola, East Timor, Eritrea and Sierra Leone. Ms. Greenblott currently provides technical support, conducts trainings, writes advocacy/discussion papers, and develops guidance for her clients, including UNICEF, the UN World Food Program, UNAIDS, Catholic Relief Services, and World Vision, among others. Ms. Greenblott is a member of the board of directors for Food 4 Farmers.

Marcela’s work with coffee producers centers on identifying effective, sustainable — and partner-based — solutions to overcoming some of the most common obstacles for coffee producers. She co-founded Food4Farmers in 2010, whose mission is to facilitate long-lasting food security programs in coffee growing communities, and is part of the Rural Livelihoods and Agroecology Group at the University of Vermont.

Mané Alves, is a member of the SCAA Standard and Stats Committee and a member of the CQI Instructors pool. He has been in the coffee industry for the last 25 years and he travels frequently to coffee producing countries to buy coffee and teach coffee professionals in the art of cupping. Mané owns CLI and Vermont Artisan Coffee & Tea.

Janice is co-director of Food 4 Farmers, a nonprofit she founded with Rick Peyser and Marcela Pino in 2011 to fight seasonal hunger at origin through collaborative partnerships with coffee-growing communities, the specialty coffee industry and global development organizations. Janice has also served as a member of the SCAA Sustainability Council since 2009. Before co-founding Food 4 Farmers, she was development director at Grounds for Health and the Intervale Center, both based in Vermont.

Rob Stephen is a Senior Coffee Trader for InterAmerican Coffee and manages their East coast office. Mr. Stephen has worked in senior positions for national coffee brands and has a long history in the development and training of specialty coffee standards. He is a Past President of the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) and a Past President of Coffee Kids. He is a licensed Q grader for the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) and also one of a handful of licensed Q Grader instructors.

For over twenty years, Mark Inman has been a leading voice in the specialty coffee industry for issues concerning sustainable agriculture, environmental stewardship, green entrepreneurship and social justice. In 2008, Mark served as President of the Specialty Coffee Association of America, where he has also chaired or served on numerous committees and international task forces. In 2010, Mark served as President of World Coffee Events, which manages seven international coffee competitions, including the World Barista Championship (WBC). Mark joined Olam Specialty Coffees as their Trader and Sales Manager.