Coffee Quality Institute has a staff that supports a large network of coffee communities around the world.
As the Database and Account Administrator, Carrie is the main administrative contact for the Q Programs and also oversees the online database.
She has experience with a focus in administrative and customer service support in various settings, including the financial field and her most recent positions in Accounting and Education with Specialty Coffee Association.
In her free-time she enjoys hiking the sunny trails of Southern California, camping, and cats.
Carrie is available at cblaida@coffeeinstitute.org
Kim's work as the Manager - Education Services at CQI centers around both Q Grader and Q Processing program. Working closely with Emma Sage, Kim adds value to the programs through her exceptional customer service skills and fresh perspectives.
She holds a B.A. in Political Science and English from the University of California, Irvine. Her interests include: cats, music, museums, Hello Kitty, coffee, food, and reading, and she has a passion for community.
Before joining the CQI team, she worked for the Specialty Coffee Association and was mainly responsible for the growth and management of the Campus Program, training of new instructors, Campus inspectors and inspections, and teaching basic courses on coffee brewing.
Kim is available at kta@coffeeinstitute.org
Jay joined CQI as the Education Administrator in 2023. He will be working within CQI’s database to support instructors and students as they seek to teach and learn using current QE and PHP curriculums. This will include approving courses, entering data, and fielding questions from educators and students.
Previously working with United Way, Jay solidified his passion for continuing education and working with diverse populations as he sought to alleviate challenges faced by students at school and at home. He also holds degrees in Political Science and Spanish from the University of North Carolina at Asheville.
In his free time, Jay enjoys spending time with friends and family, longboarding, and riding his motorcycle.
You can contact Jay at jjennings@coffeeinstitute.org
Yimara joined CQI in 2022. As manager of the Post-Harvest Processing program, she is a valued member of the education team, responsible for vision and implementation of the program. She grew up in Colombia, the daughter of smallholder coffee farmers, and developed an appreciation for coffee education at a young age. Yimara is a skilled quality analyst as well as an experienced post-harvest processing professional, and her experience as an educator has taken her around the world, informing her understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by coffee producers.
Yimara is available at yagudelo@coffeeinstitute.org
Michael graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in accounting in 1991. He spent the next five years as controller of a small service-industry corporation in Hermosa Beach. In 1996, after passing the Certified Public Accountants (CPA) exam, he began work at a public accounting firm in Newport Beach. There he spent the next four years gaining experience in many different industries, including not-for-profit entities and organizations reporting to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Department of Defense. He was licensed as a CPA in 1999. In 2000, Michael started his own accounting firm, Michael J. Pomerleau, C.P.A., Inc. and began consulting work with CQI and the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) in 2002. Michael became Director of Finance for CQI in 2004.
Michael is available at mpomerleau@coffeeinstitute.org
Trish is responsible for leadership in Quality Evaluation and leads the continuing progress of the Q, contributing to the growth and delivery of CQI educational offerings as well as supporting the network of Q cupping professionals. Trish is available at trothgeb@coffeeinstitute.org.
As manager of education operations, Laura supports and manages CQI Educators, course/class processes, and day-to-day tasks such as data entry, customer service, and course/class organization, while also coordinating larger Education team projects that improve and update CQI's processes.
Laura has managed a coffee roasting company and café which included a location in the Bay Islands of Honduras and the roasting company funded the education of Miskito children in Nicaragua. Laura has also visited coffee farms in Siguatepeque, Honduras. She holds a B.S. Degree in Interior Design and has experience in database management and building online shopping platforms for companies.
In her free time, Laura enjoys hiking, creating watercolors, and baking, and she has two spoiled Siberian Huskies.
Laura is available at lruleman@coffeeinstitute.org
https://www.linkedin.com/in/t-j-ryan-66430a5/
TJ Ryan is a respected member of the international development community with a long history of working in coffee communities. He recently served as Chief of Party for PhilCAFE, a successful project to build the competitiveness and quality of the Philippine coffee sector with numerous public and private sector partners.
With over 20 years of experience in agribusiness programs, TJ has been developing and managing sustainable and profitable agribusiness projects in different regions of the world. In his role with CQI he works to facilitate growth that will empower businesses and smallholder farmers, improve their livelihoods, and enhance their access to markets and quality standards. TJ holds a MBA in International Business from The Johns Hopkins University, and isfluent in English, Spanish, and French.TJ is in the US Eastern time zone, and you can connect with him at tryan@coffeeinstitute.org.
Emma joined CQI in 2018 and has worked to support many areas within the organization, including managing public projects, the Post-Harvest Processing program, research projects, and developing education content. As Director, Education Resources, she oversees the growth, distribution, and success of the CQI Education and Products divisions. She holds a Master’s of Science degree in Botany, a B.A. in Ecology, and received a post-graduate certificate from the Applied Sensory and Consumer Science Certificate Program. Before coming to the coffee industry, she worked with a variety of laboratory and field research projects in plant physiology, biology, ecology, enology, and climate change science.
Emma is available at esage@coffeeinstitute.org
Josh joined CQI as Education Production Coordinator in 2022, working to support CQI’s educational programming by designing multi-media content and formatting materials to be clear, consistent, visually interesting, and engaging.
Josh graduated from Wheaton College with a B.A. in History and an M.A. in TESOL and Intercultural Communication. Before coming to CQI, Josh taught ESL to adult English learners at several colleges in the Chicago area. After that, he worked in the study abroad office of his alma mater, designing posters, creating videos and helping to manage application systems.
In his free time, Josh enjoys going on bike rides, playing and recording music, and learning about cities and urban design.
Josh is available at jsavidge@coffeeinstitute.org
Lauren Schmitz has worked in administration, social media and website design for non-profits for several years. She also managed her own freelance art business, her specialty being digital illustrations.
Lauren is available at lschmitz@coffeeinstitute.org
An experienced member of the nonprofit community, Kristin joined CQI in 2019 to help raise awareness and identify new opportunities in coffee's global marketplace. Kristin oversees all marketing and communications activities.
Kristin works across the organization to help staff and the CQI community maximize the impact of their work through education and recognition. She ensures that CQI is properly and effectively represented in print, public events and electronic media.
Prior to joining CQI Kristin worked in diverse nonprofit organizations, from Girl Scouts to wetland conservation, always believing in the power of a well-executed mission to positively impact people and their environments. She holds a B.S. in Anthropology from Eastern Michigan University.
Kristin is available at kschrader@coffeeinstitute.org
Michael Sheridan has been leveraging market forces to make coffee work for smallholder farmers and farm workers since 2004. Most recently he directed progressive green coffee sourcing activities and direct-trade partnerships at Intelligentsia Coffee. Prior to that he worked to deliver initiatives in the coffee sector in Central and South America on behalf of Catholic Relief Services. Michael is also an award-winning author and a respected voice raising awareness in the trade through articles and presentations. Contact Michael at msheridan@coffeeinstitute.org.
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You can contact Gaby at gtyggum@coffeeinstitute.org
Dr. Merrill van der Walt is an adult learning specialist and lecturer/facilitator. She was an academic at Wits University where she managed the Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in Paleoscience. She was part of the science team awarded by the National Science Foundation in 2015 for their scientific contribution to the understanding of the origins of humankind. She holds her PhD from University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. After leaving academia she focused on creating and delivering numerous adult education programs and widened her area of focus to include psychology. Merrill is passionate about helping to create a culture of continuous learning. She has an unwavering enthusiasm for knowledge and a steadfast belief in human curiosity and betterment. She is happiest exploring new places and meeting new people, but just as happy laughing with her children at home.
Coffee Quality Institute benefits from the guidance of a globally representative Board of Trustees.
Carlos Brando is the chair of the Global Coffee Platform, and director of P&A Marketing which has led him to consult with the Sustainable Trade Initiative, the International Coffee Organization, the World Bank and other companies and institutions in Brazil and abroad on topics including sustainability, technology, strategy, marketing and quality. Brando has coordinated coffee projects in over 50 countries on five continents, including all main coffee growing areas of Brazil.
Brando has contributed chapters to several coffee books including Nespresso's The Craft. He is a former member of the Technical Committee of the Brazilian Coffee Research Consortium run by Embrapa, SCAA's Environmental Committee and the boards of UTZ Certified and Ipanema Coffees, and a current member of the Coffee Chamber of [B]³ (formerly BM&F Bovespa), that oversees the world’s third-largest-traded coffee contract. Carlos is currently the vice-chairman of the board of the Santos Coffee Museum, that he helped to found, and the São Paulo Museum of Immigration.
Matt Daks has worked in coffee since 2000 and has led Volcafe Specialty's U.S. business since 2019. His foundational experiences in coffee—as a trainer for Peet's in California and as a regional quality manager for the TechnoServe Coffee Initiative in East Africa—ground his perspectives in the educational and developmental work that are at the core of what CQI does. He also has substantial experience in volunteer non-profit leadership: he is the outgoing president of the Pacific Coast Coffee Association and serves on the board of the Coffee Coalition for Racial Equity.
Laura Elphick began her career in coffee in 2001 with Starbucks in the Asia-Pacific region, where she grew up. Elphick is passionate about coffee and coffee quality, and she shares this passion with colleagues and customers through education. In her current role, she is responsible for coffee education at a regional level for the company's employees, whom Starbucks refers to as partners. Elphick also serves on the board of the ASEAN Coffee Federation.
Cyrille Jannet is Managing Director of Keurig Trading since 2015 where he oversees all green coffee procurement & sourcing activities for Keurig Green Mountain and Keurig Canada.
He began his career in coffee nearly 20 years ago in the highlands of Chiapas as a trader with Amsa, a leading Mexican coffee exporting company, part of Ecom Group. Cyrille's first 10 years were dedicated to learning everything about growing, processing and exporting green coffee from the different regions of Chiapas, Veracruz & Oaxaca. Engaging with coffee farmers through long term partnerships and intense negotiations was truly inspiring for him.
Following this Mr. Jannet joined United Coffee in Geneva Switzerland as a Senior Buyer. After United Coffee was acquired by UCC Holdings in 2012 he served as Group Buying Director. UCC is the leading European private label roasting company with direct presence in 5 countries. (France, CH, UK, Spain, Netherlands).
Mr. Jannet is a licensed Q Arabica & Robusta Grader, and a certified Green Coffee Professional (Coffee Diploma System from SCA Europe). He finds every morning at the Keurig Trading SCAA Campus lab to be a privilege and a learning experience, cupping lovely coffees from all around the world.
Recently Mr. Jannet joined Coffee Quality Institute, as a board member and is a founding member of the new association, SCA Switzerland, promoting specialty coffee in Romandie (the French spoken part of Switzerland). He is also a board member, and serving as Vice President of SCTA (Swiss Coffee Trade Association based in Geneva, Switzerland).
Mr. Jannet has two children and enjoys outdoor activities such as skiing, tennis and triathlons.
Felipe Isaza has been involved with coffee since his childhood in his native country of Colombia.
After graduating from University of Texas, with degrees in International Business and Finance, he returned to Colombia to work with a large Japanese trading house where he was responsible for sourcing green coffee for roasters in Japan. In 1988 he joined Exportadora de Café Condor, a recently established specialty coffee exporter of Colombian coffee, where he worked as trader and general manager until 1996.
In 1998 he founded Coffee Resources Inc., a U.S. based company fully dedicated to importing and exporting top quality coffees from diverse origins. With over 30 years of coffee experience, Felipe has managed to secure long term direct relationships between specialty coffee roasters and producers of high quality coffee in various origins. He travels extensively in Colombia and other producing countries sourcing top grade coffee for his customers in USA, Europe and Asia.
Felipe has served on the Board of Directors of the Pacific Coast Coffee Association, and was President in 2012. He is an active member of the CQI Board of Trustees since 2010.
Felipe has participated as International Juror in cupping competitions in Colombia, El Salvador and Dominican Republic, and since 2010 is a certified and active licensed Arabica Q Grader.
Matthew Mills has been Commercial Director of Masteroast Coffee Co ltd since 2019, a private label coffee roasting business which has been a pioneer of specialty coffees in the UK for more than 40 years, he is responsible for sourcing and sales for the business. In addition he is founder and owner of MasterCol Trading SAS a boutique specialty coffee exporter in Colombia, focused on sustainable and ethically sourced specialty coffees.
Prior to moving back to the UK in 2019, Matthew spent 15 years overseas, working and running operations for the multinational trade houses in East Africa, Central America, South and North America. Matthew has built a wealth of experience that has covered almost all areas of the coffee supply chain, from building sustainable producer group supply chains, running milling operations and exporting businesses, through to building coffee importing businesses and running roasting facilities.
"I wanted to contribute to the development of quality standards within the specialty coffee industry. CQI meets the needs of professional cuppers and graders around the world. From a roaster perspective, I feel I am well placed to use my commercial experience and expertise to contribute to the work of CQI which is assisting producers to improve their skills and, through a common language, their ability to understand the requirements of their buyers."
In 1998 Gloria Pedroza started her coffee career in Guatemala, her home country, as a professional cupper and quality manager for Neumann Kaffee Gruppe. In 2003 she moved to Veracruz, Mexico and began her work with NKG’s sister company, Exportadora de Café California, as the quality manager. Today Ms. Pedroza resides in Zug, Switzerland where she cups coffee from around the world as the Quality Manager for NKG Quality Service since 2004.
Ms. Pedroza's 18 years of experience in the quality assurance of green coffee. As head of the NKG Quality Service department, she is in charge of training cuppers and quality managers within the NKG coffee companies. The department also offers consultancy services related to quality assurance procedures, product development and green coffee and sensory training for customers and third parties.
In 2006 she won the SCAE World Cuptasting Championship and shortly after that she joined the Swiss SCAE judges team. As a professional cupper and WCE certified sensory judge, she travels around the world visiting coffee farms and judging international barista competitions and their different disciplines.
Today she is a certified SCAE (Specialty Coffee Association of Europe) trainer for green coffee and sensory skills courses and is certified Q-Grader and Q-Instructor.
As the Vice President of Coffee Operations at Farmer Brothers, Matt is a key leader responsible for overseeing various aspects of coffee production and sustainability initiatives. In his role, he manages coffee procurement, research and development, coffee quality assurance, roasting processes, manufacturing operations, and spearheads sustainability initiatives.
Before joining Farmer Brothers, Matt Swenson served as Nestle’s Coffee Partner (NCP)’s Director of Coffee, where he played a pivotal role in the technical and product aspects of the business. His contributions extended to strategic planning for innovative developments in the coffee pipeline for Nestle’s diverse coffee portfolio, which includes renowned brands like Starbucks, Seattle’s Best, Nescafé, and Blue Bottle. From soil to bean to bottle, Matt is passionate about coffee education and bringing the coffee’s sustainability story to life for customers, consumers, and employees alike.
Prior to his tenure at Nestlé Coffee Partners, Swenson held the position of Chief Product Officer at Chameleon Coffee, where he led the Sustainability Program. During his time there, he initiated impactful projects in coffee-growing regions such as Peru, Myanmar, Guatemala, and Colombia, directly investing in the well-being of Chameleon’s partner communities. Matt also played a crucial role in establishing a groundbreaking partnership with a female-led co-op in Myanmar, showcasing his commitment to fostering positive change in the coffee industry.
Before Chameleon Coffee, Swenson co-founded Nobletree Coffee based in Brooklyn, New York. His active involvement in the coffee industry includes being a licensed Q grader and Q Arabica Instructor with the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI).
"I’ve had great interest in CQI over the years, since first becoming a Q grader in 2010. I joined the Coffee Corp Volunteers and then became a Q Arabica Instructor, and was able to serve the organization on a few volunteer trips over the years, deepening my commitment to the mission of the organization. When the opportunity came to serve on the board, it was incredibly exciting for the prospect to help further shape and ensure the future of this great organization that has added so much value to the industry, as well as to me personally.
Isabel van Bemmelen was trained as an international development professional and has spent most of her career in agricultural research in Latin America. Her involvement with coffee began in 2012 at Rabobank Foundation, where she led risk assessment and supplier training in financial risk management. After five years at the Progreso Foundation, which focuses on serving coffee and cacao farmers, she returned to Rabobank's Acorn innovation center to help lead its work on voluntary carbon removal credits in the agricultural supply chains in which the bank invests.
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