Update on the Slate of Candidates in the 2021 SCA Board of Directors Election
BY YANNIS APOSTOLOPOULOS, CEO at the Specialty Coffee Association
Dear members of the Specialty Coffee Association around the globe,
As announced in August, the SCA Board of Directors Nominating Committee, chaired by Board President Colleen Anunu, proposed a slate of professionals to fill five seats on the SCA Board in this year’s election process. These five professionals were chosen after an extensive interview process with the dozens of SCA members who responded to our call for nominations made in June. Today, we are announcing the final ballot in the 2021 election, with Giovanni Fucili, Sales Manager at Simonelli Group, joining the slate as a petition candidate.
According to the SCA Bylaws, anyone not selected to be on the slate by the SCA Board’s Nominating Committee may petition to be added to the ballot by collecting at least one hundred signatures from eligible SCA members by September 1 of the election year. Giovanni received over one hundred signatures during the petition period, and his name will be included on the ballot alongside the slate recommended by the Nominating Committee.
When voting opens on Monday, November 1, all eligible voting SCA members will choose five of the six candidates to join the SCA Board of Directors. The elections will close on Tuesday, November 30. Find the election timeline—and answers to frequently asked questions—on our election portal at sca.coffee/board/elections.
Here is the final ballot in the 2021 SCA Board of Directors election:
Cosimo Libardo, Strategic Advisor at Nomad Coffee Consulting
Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian, Owner of JNP Coffee
David Piza, Vice President of Global Sales at Westrock Coffee & Tea
Sarina Prabasi, Co-Founder of Buunni Coffee
Andrew Tolley, Director of Tolley Coffee & Tea
Giovanni Fucili, Sales Manager at Simonelli Group
What Happens Next in the 2021 Election?
Voting in the 2021 election will open on November 1 and close on November at 9:00 am PST / 5:00 pm GMT. Eligible SCA members will receive their ballots from eBallot, the third-party company that runs our voting process, via email from elections@sca.coffee. Please remember to add elections@sca.coffee to your contacts so that the ballot is not marked as spam by your email client. Help us ensure your ballot is sent to the correct email address by logging in to your account at sca.coffee/member-login to verify your email address or by contacting us via the contact form at the bottom of our elections page.
As always, thank you for supporting the work of the Specialty Coffee Association and for taking part in this process to elect our leadership. Let’s continue to #makecoffeebetter, together.
Meet the Slate of Candidates in the 2021 SCA Board of Directors Election
Cosimo Libardo, Strategic Advisor at Nomad Coffee Consulting
Cosimo throughout his career has improved the market positioning of various coffee and equipment brands, providing clear strategic direction, while solidifying and growing their business. He has over 23 years of experience in internationalization, with a deep passion for strategy, innovation, sustainability applied to the business of great coffee. Some of the most relevant work in his 16 years at Simonelli Group, was the achievement of WBC sponsorship and re-launch of the Victoria Arduino brand with new product technologies, that allowed the company to substantially grow its business and market influence. In Australia, while managing Toby's Estate Coffee, he led the launch of several innovative coffee concepts and direct buying relationships that allowed strong brand growth in the Asia Pacific region, Middle East, and in the US. One of the most noticeable contributions to Toby's brand awareness in Australia and globally was the series of industry leader's talks aiming at educating the industry, named "Knowledge Talks" which he conceived, organized, and hosted. In his recent experience at Carimali, in a short time, he managed to generate brand growth, through business acquisitions and innovation with the launch of the induction heating technology.
A firm believer in the scalability and sustainability of specialty coffee, Cosimo has comprehensive industry knowledge, due to his continued involvement with the global coffee sector, along with volunteering in various director roles for key specialty coffee organizations such as SCAE and SCA: Cosimo since 2011 has sat on several task forces and committees, becoming SCAE President in 2014. He is currently sitting on the SCA Board of Directors. Cosimo is also a CQI certified Q Arabica grader since 2016, calibrated in 2019, and Q Processing Generalist certified in 2019.
Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian, Owner of JNP Coffee
Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian, licensed Q Grader, owner, and manager of JNP Coffee, advances the global specialty coffee industry and farmers in her native Burundi, East Africa, by producing, promoting, and trading the specialty coffee grown there. With an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School and a 20-plus-year international career, she entered the coffee industry in 2012.
A strong advocate for women coffee farmers in Burundi, Jeanine supports high-quality production through premium incentives for high-scoring coffee, lessons in financial literacy, and leadership skills. Founder of the nonprofit Burundi Friends International, Jeanine is committed to educating Burundi’s people for the economic empowerment of self-sustaining coffee communities.
Previously Northeast Regional Coordinator, she currently serves as Community Coordinator for the SCA U.S. Chapter, hosting frequent online Business Chats with a wide range of experts on the coffee industry.
David Piza, Vice President of Global Sales at Westrock Coffee & Tea
David was born and raised in Medellin, Colombia, region where he developed a passion for agriculture and international trade. During the last 15 years in the coffee industry, he has strived to leverage the power of international markets to generate prosperity for all stakeholders throughout global value chains. David is an active participant in industry organizations and currently serves on the SCA Board. As Vice President of Global Sales and National Accounts at Westrock Coffee, he cultivates relationships with customers and farmers to create shared value via innovative and inclusive business models. David holds a BSc. in Industrial Engineering from La Universidad de Los Andes and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Sarina Prabasi, Co-Founder of Buunni Coffee and Author of “The Coffeehouse Resistance”
Sarina lived the life of a global nomad, growing up, living, and working around the world. She had a career in international development, focusing on global health, education and water, and sanitation, most recently as CEO of WaterAid America. When her family moved from Addis Ababa to New York City in 2011, her husband, Elias, and she started Buunni Coffee together. Today Buunni is a thriving business and a hub for community conversation and action and is close to opening a fourth location. In April 2019, her book, The Coffeehouse Resistance: Brewing Hope in Desperate Times was published by Green Writers Press. Sarina was born in the Netherlands, raised in India, China, and Nepal, and has spent formative years in the United States and Ethiopia. You can find her on Twitter @SPrabasi and Instagram @SPrabasi1.
Andrew Tolley, Director of Tolley Coffee & Tea
Andrew has worked as a barista, trainer, cafe manager, multi-site cafe owner, green buyer, and head of coffee. He was a co-founder of 2 of London's early specialty cafe businesses - Taylor St Baristas and Harris+Hoole, with 55+ sites between them at their height. Andrew oversaw the training program for both businesses where over 1000 baristas were trained to professional standards. He was also a part of the leadership team in each business, responsible for strategy and business development in all the areas relating to coffee. In 2015 he won the UK cup tasting championship. Andrew has trained my own curriculum in the foundation and intermediate barista skills at the London School of Coffee. As a founding member of the SCA Barista Guild, Andrew was Chair during 2018 and on the SCA Board of Directors representing the Guild. Since 2020, he has worked with the team at the Simonelli Group to develop the Coffee Knowledge Hub. Andrew is also developing and teaching courses on sustainability, business, careers, and coffee and writing about these topics.
Giovanni Fucili, Sales Manager at Simonelli Group
Born and raised in Ancona from a dedicated volunteering family, Giovanni has committed himself since 1989 to the non-profit association Ce. I.S Onlus Ancona engaged in supporting minors. He has been professionally active for 22 years in business activities. These years brought him profound sales and business knowledge specializing in developing intricate sales networks of international brands and products. Working in the coffee industry since 2005 allowed him to follow the progression and evolution of this industry. As Senior Manager of Simonelli Group, he overcame many challenges in different international markets such as Europe, Middle East, and Africa. He assisted in creating new educational setups such as the Barista League and the novel Youth Academy, dedicated to coffee entrepreneurs under 30. The Youth Academy is a one-of-a-kind platform that follows the SCA's Coffee Skills Program, and today is a massive hit in many countries worldwide. As a volunteer member of the SCA, Giovanni raised awareness among his partners to drive SCA activities by supporting trade fair events and spreading knowledge about the entire coffee supply chain from bean to cup, thus, creating an extensive international partner network. He is an exceptional supporter of the Coffee System, which considers that the whole supply chain and its operators must be correctly educated and waged to offer a quality cup of coffee to the consumer.
Questions About the SCA Board Elections Process?
Visit the SCA Elections page on our website to find answers to frequently asked questions or take a look at the election process and procedure outlined in detail in the SCA’s bylaws. For any other questions, get in touch with us directly using the contact form at sca.coffee/board/elections.