Presenting the Slate of Candidates for 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,
Today, it is my pleasure to present the slate of candidates for the 2021 SCA Board of Directors election. The Nominating Committee, chaired by SCA Board President Colleen Anunu, has put forward the following group of professionals after an extensive interview process with the dozens of SCA members who responded to our call for nominations made in June:
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
We have some additional exciting changes to the SCA Board of Directors to share today. SCA Board President Colleen Anunu will be stepping down from their role when their two-year term ends in January and will be succeeded by Juan Luis Barrios. Also in January, Konstantinos Konstantinopoulos will be taking on the role of Vice President and Pamela Chng has been appointed by the board to become 2nd Vice President.
I want to say thank you to our 2021 Nominating Committee for the many hours of work they have contributed to this process: Colleen Anunu, Juan Luis Barrios, Konstantinos Konstantinopoulos, Burak Alici, Christina Meinl, and Heather Perry. Special thanks also go out to the dedicated volunteer leaders of the SCA Board whose terms end December 2021: Colleen Anunu, Doreen Zankowski, Jenn Apodaca, Jessie May Peters, and Hylan Joseph. They have all contributed so much to the board and we are so thankful to them for sharing their experience and skills to advance the mission of the SCA.
The SCA Board of Directors consists of 18 volunteer members who serve a 2-year term, supported by the CEO and SCA staff. There are 5 open seats in the 2021 election, and members elected to serve on the SCA Board will serve a two-year term from January 2022 to December 2023. Scroll down to learn more about each candidate on the proposed slate.
What Happens Next in the 2021 Election?
The next step in the 2021 SCA Board of Directors election is for nominations by petition to open on September 1. Applicants who were not selected for the slate through the nominations and interview process and wish to collect signatures for a petition candidacy may do so starting Wednesday, September 1. More information on the petition candidacy process can be found in the Frequently Asked Questions section at the bottom of the elections page on the SCA website. The deadline for nominations by petition is Thursday, September 30.
The final 2021 ballot will be announced on October 12. In the event that the number of candidates exceeds the number of open seats, SCA members will take part in a voting process from November 1-30. SCA members will receive their ballots from eBallot, the third-party company that runs our voting process, via email from elections@sca.coffee. Add elections@sca.coffee to your contacts so that the ballot is not marked as spam by your email client. Please 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. Prefer a paper ballot? Request it by September 30 by contacting us at sca.coffee/board/elections.
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. They are about to open our 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.
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.