Meet the Members of the 2020-2021 SCA Board of Directors

SCA-BOD-2020-2021.png

Members of the Specialty Coffee Association have cast their ballots in the elections to fill six seats on the Board of Directors in the 2020-2021 cycle.

By YANNIS APOSTOLOPOULOS

SCA members chose between seven candidates to fill six seats in the election managed by third-party elections company UK Engage. In accordance with the SCA Bylaws, the six newly-elected coffee professionals will join the board on January 1st, 2020 at which point the terms of six existing members of the advisory body will come to an end and a new president, vice president, and 2nd vice president will be appointed.

The six coffee professionals selected by SCA members to join the Board of Directors in the 2020-2021 elections are:

  • Burak Alici, CEO, QVIDTVM Inc

  • Sarina Prabasi, Co-Founder Buunni Coffee and Author, The Coffeehouse Resistance

  • Doreen Zankowski, Partner, Duane Morris LLP and Co-Owner/Operator of Kope Kabana

  • Konstantinos Konstantinopoulos, CEO, Coffee Island

  • David Piza, Director of National Accounts, S&D Coffee

  • Cosimo Libardo, Group CEO of Carimali Holding

On behalf of our staff and volunteer leadership, we send a warm congratulations to each of our new board members. We send special thanks to Paul Macek, Vice President of Programs for the World Cocoa Foundation, for running in this election. We value the time Paul put into the nomination, interview, and election process and we look forward to our continued work with him in his existing capacity as a community leader.

As we welcome six new members to the Board of Directors, we see a few additional changes to its composition. Per the association’s bylaws, the following existing members of the board will take on new roles on January 1st, 2019:

  • Christina Meinl of Julius Meinl will become President

  • Colleen Anunu of Fair Trade USA will become Vice President

  • Juan Luis Barrios of Finca La Merced will become 2nd Vice President

Last but not least, we send a warm thank you to the six dedicated members of the board whose terms end on December 31, 2019. 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:

  • Heather Perry of Klatch Coffee, who most recently served as President

  • Andrew Hetzel of Coffee Strategies

  • Inyoung Anna Kim of LetSequoia

  • Ludovic Maillard of Maison P. Jobin & Cie

  • Sarah Leslie of Leslie Coffee Co. Stuart Ritson, Independent Coffee Consultant, will take the Barista Guild ex-officio seat.

  • Emilio Lopez Diaz of Cuatro M Single Origin Coffees. Sonja Björk Grant of Kaffibrugghúsið will take the Coffee Roasters Guild ex-officio seat.

A very special mention goes to our outgoing president, Heather Perry, as under her leadership the board and the executive team had meaningful discussions about the future of SCA and arrive at a solid 5-year plan. It has been a tremendous honor to work with Heather for the past year. Honesty, transparency, and trust are three values that led Heather's long volunteering career with SCA. She has been a catalyst for positive change and we were really lucky she was leading change in SCA as president.

Read, AnnouncementsYannis ApostolopoulosElections, SCA Board of Directors