Webinar: Meet the Members of the 2025 SCA Board of Directors
By YANNIS APOSTOLOPOULOS
Dear members of the Specialty Coffee Association around the globe,
As presented to SCA members on August 30, the SCA Board of Directors, led by President Pamela Chng, nominated a group of seven professionals from a pool of dozens who responded to our annual call for nominations made in June. As the number of candidates this year is equal to the number of open seats, there is no need to proceed with a voting process, and the SCA Board has confirmed the seven professionals listed below as members of the SCA Board of Directors, in accordance with Section 7.4(f) of the SCA Bylaws.
Jon Allen, Founder of Onyx Coffee Lab and 2nd Street Creative Studio
Federico Gallia, CEO of RYOMA MC SPA
Hide Izaki, CEO of Izaki Coffee Holdings Inc.
Sunalini N. Menon, President of Coffeelab Limited
Luiz Roberto Saldanha, Director of Fazenda California, Capricornio Coffees, and Synapses Coffee Education
Jessica Worden, Head of Coffee of GAIL’s Bakery
Yi-Ling Wu, Manager of Beverage Research Institute at King Car Food Industrial Company and Vice Chairman of Taiwan Coffee Association
We hosted a special webinar on Wednesday, October 23 with this year’s group of new directors. You can watch the webinar here to learn more about the new directors and the work of the board:
Meet the Incoming Members of the 2025 SCA Board of Directors
Wednesday, October 23
6:30 am PDT / 2:30 pm BST
Were there any petition candidates on the ballot this year?
As outlined in the SCA Bylaws, anyone not selected for the slate had the opportunity to seek 100 member signatures during the month of September and petition to be added to the ballot.
What happens next in the 2024 election?
The next step in the board election is usually for SCA members to take part in a voting process, which would usually open on November 1. However, given that the number of candidates this year is equal to the number of open seats, the SCA Board will move forward in confirming the eight professionals listed above as members of the SCA Board of Directors, in accordance with Section 7.4(f) of the SCA Bylaws:
“If after the close of the nominating period on September 30 the number of people nominated for the Board is not more than the number of directors to be elected, the Corporation may without further action declare that those nominated and qualified to be elected have been elected, in which case there shall be no election.”
Who are the board members whose terms are ending this year?
We send a warm thank you to the six dedicated members of the board whose terms end on December 31, 2024. These coffee professionals have provided invaluable leadership to the association and have dedicated countless volunteer hours to make the work of the SCA a success:
· Pamela Chng, Co-founder of Bettr Group
· Joanna Alm, Managing Director of Drop Coffee
· David Browning, CEO of Enveritas
· Wendy Christensen, Global Coffee Lead at Néstle
· Julia Leach, President of Toddy, LLC
· Tsega Melesse, General Manager of Keffa Coffee LLC
New roles on the SCA Board of Directors in 2025
As we close the 2024 election cycle, we also see a few additional changes to its composition. Per the association’s bylaws, the following members of the board will take on new roles on January 1st, 2025:
· Garfield Kerr, CEO of Mokha 1450 will become President
· Andrew Tolley, Director of Tolley Coffee & Tea will become Vice President
· Nadine Rasch, Founder and Director of Primavera Coffee will become Second Vice President
Thank You
Finally, I want to say thank you to all SCA members who engage in this important process every year. Thank you for supporting the mission of the SCA. I encourage you to visit our SCA Elections page to learn more about the elections process, to find all announcements published in this election cycle, and for answers to frequently asked questions. If you have any questions or comments, please contact us via email at elections@sca.coffee.
Thank you,
Yannis Apostolopoulos
Chief Executive Officer
Specialty Coffee Association
Visit our SCA Elections page to learn more about the elections process and answers to other frequently asked questions.
Can't find what you're looking for? Contact us via email at elections@sca.coffee.