Lecture Description

Incentivizing efforts to prevent deforestation is a critical climate solution, as global deforestation is a major driver of climate change and biodiversity loss. However, the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), in practice, unintentionally places the burden of compliance on smallholder farmers, who are among the least responsible for climate change.

Actors from across the value chain must come together to support smallholder coffee farmers as we collectively work to end deforestation, while also ensuring that these farmers are not unduly strained by the requirements necessary for them to continue exporting their coffee into the European Union.

This panel will discuss how various players within the supply chain can work both together and independently to support smallholder farmers to ensure coffee is deforestation-free. Representatives from various sectors–from a lender and technical advisor, to a buyer, nature-tech company, and certification body–will offer their unique perspectives on the role and responsibility they have to ensure a just transition. Finally, we will hear directly from a representative of a producer organization who will share their position on the regulation and highlight how they can be best supported by actors throughout the value chain.

Date: Sunday April 27, 2025
Time: 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Location: Room 352DEF
Category: Sustainability

Access: This lecture is free to attend with a Specialty Coffee Expo entry badge. Register to attend Specialty Coffee Expo here.
Please note that lecture sessions are open on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival is highly recommended to secure your seat.

Speakers

Elizabeth Teague

Elizabeth Teague is Senior Director of Climate Resilience at Root Capital. Elizabeth oversees Root Capital’s social and environmental due diligence and climate strategy, and is spearheading Root Capital’s work to support agricultural businesses comply with EUDR regulations.

Juan Pablo Solís Víquez

Juan Pablo Solís Víquez is Senior Advisor for Climate and Environment at Fairtrade International. He is the lead advisor on Fairtrade International’s climate and environmental strategies. Fairtrade International is a non-profit, multi-stakeholder organization with a mission of connecting disadvantaged producers and consumers, promoting fairer trading conditions, and empowering producers to combat poverty.

Roumaldo Pérez

Roumaldo Pérez is the General Manager of La Asociación Chajulense V’al Vaq Quyol, a coffee cooperative located in Quiché, Guatemala. The organization offers its members technical assistance, agricultural inputs, and credit to contribute to improving their quality of life and that of their families. Roumaldo will be able to speak firsthand to the impact of EUDR, and will share how various actors throughout the supply chain can support smallholder farmers.

Nanne Tolsma

Nanne Tolsma is the Business Development Director of Satelligence. He leads Satelligence’s major business-to-business partnerships. Satelligence is a satellite-powered geo-data analytics company delivering real-time insights into global agricultural production and supply chain risks, including deforestation and carbon.

Lecture Description

This presentation explores the practical steps taken by Sancoffee, a Brazilian specialty coffee cooperative and the SCA Sustainability Award Winner 2024, to measure and reduce the carbon footprint of coffee production. Drawing from real-world data and extensive field experience, Ana Claudia Silva will discuss how Sancoffee has developed methodologies for carbon measurement, implemented sustainable practices, and fostered a commitment to environmental responsibility among its member farms.

The session will delve into the cooperative’s efforts to build a carbon-neutral value chain through strategies such as composting, use of cover crops, renewable energy adoption, and the recovery of degraded areas. Attendees will also gain insights into the collaborative process that integrates farmers, cooperatives, and the broader coffee supply chain, creating actionable solutions to address climate challenges while maintaining high coffee quality.

Date: Sunday April 27, 2025
Time: 11:30am - 12:30pm
Location: Room 352DEF
Category: Sustainability

Access: This lecture is free to attend with a Specialty Coffee Expo entry badge. Register to attend Specialty Coffee Expo here.
Please note that lecture sessions are open on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival is highly recommended to secure your seat.

Speakers

Ana Claudia Silva
Head of Impact, Sancoffee

Ana Claudia Silva is the Head of Impact at Sancoffee, a Brazilian specialty coffee cooperative with a strong focus on sustainability and community development. She has been deeply involved in initiatives to measure and reduce carbon footprints in coffee production, helping Sancoffee become acknowledged as a carbon-neutral coffee cooperative.

Ana leads key projects like the Bio Recovery initiative, focused on land restoration, and the Nascentes Women Coffee program, which supports female producers in improving coffee quality and achieving greater independence. Her work emphasizes practical approaches to sustainability, combining environmental leadership with tangible benefits for farmers and their communities.

With years of hands-on experience and a collaborative approach, Ana brings valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities of sustainable coffee production.

Lecture Description

This panel, presented in Spanish and English, features Pachamama Coffee CEO Thaleon Tremain, Central de Cooperativas (COCLA) General Manager Vladimir Vivanco, and Cooperativa Agraria Orígenes del Valle de Lacco (CAOVL) General Manager Luke Agness. They will discuss how farmer ownership throughout the value chain allows them to innovate in traceability and maintain clear and impactful messaging. They will present and discuss the new traceability tool developed in Calca by the CAOVL team and adopted by COCLA and Pachamama Coffee.

Based in California, Pachamama Coffee Cooperative was co-founded by the producer cooperative COCLA from Cusco, Peru in 2006 and has since expanded to include in its ownership structure 4 other cooperatives globally. Their model has illuminated a path for other farmer groups like the CAOVL of Calca, Peru, to pursue profits downstream in order to ensure a future supply of specialty coffee and sustained benefits for the communities that grow it.

The panel will field questions from a moderator and from the crowd on how farmer ownership and participation in the consumer markets of the global north can promote innovative solutions to coffee’s uncertain future, amplify farmer voices, and promote transparency throughout the specialty coffee value chain.

Date: Sunday April 27, 2025
Time: 11:30am - 12:30pm
Location: Room 350DEF
Category: Business

Access: This lecture is free to attend with a Specialty Coffee Expo entry badge. Register to attend Specialty Coffee Expo here.
Please note that lecture sessions are open on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival is highly recommended to secure your seat.

Speakers

Thaleon Tremain
CEO, Pachamama Coffee

• Co-founder and CEO of Pachamama Coffee, a leader in farmer-led vertical integration for nearly 20 years.

• Pachamama maintained its farmer-ownership model since its inception, overcoming challenges like lack of access to traditional funding methods through sale of equity.

• Thaleon can speak to how this model sets Pachamama apart in U.S. markets and to its potential for replication.

Vladimir Vivanco
General Manager, Central de Cooperativas COCLA

• Board member of Pachamama and general manager of COCLA, Pachamama’s founding cooperative.

• Based in Quillabamba, Cusco, Vladimir provides a unique on-the-ground perspective on the difference between vertical integration and selling to external clients.

• He represents over 1,000 farmers and can speak to the difficulties of innovating at scale

Luke Agness
General Manager, Cooperativa Agraria Orígenes del Valle de Lacco (CAOVL)

• Co-founder of CAOVL in 2022 with 40 farming families in Calca, Cusco.

• Worked with farmers and an NGO to develop the traceability tool which COCLA and Pachamama have adopted

• Launched a roasted coffee brand in 2024 in the mold of Pachamama

• A former data scientist and systems engineer, Luke represents 90+ families in the specialty coffee industry with an eye to how tech-enabled innovation can impact farmer livelihoods.

Lecture Description

This lecture will delve into Cooperative Coffees’ evolving approach to climate action, emphasizing the shift from straightforward emissions accountability to a profound commitment to climate justice. We will discuss key findings from the Cool Farm Tool Pilot Project, which evaluates the impact of regenerative practices while revealing the complexities of carbon accounting. By highlighting the often-overlooked role of organic farming in carbon sequestration, we will also address the socioeconomic challenges faced by small-scale producers, especially in marginalized communities.

Participants will gain insights into how Cooperative Coffees reconciles business objectives with farmer empowerment through our Impact Fund action areas: grants, training, and emergency relief. This session will underscore the essential connection between sustainable agricultural practices, social equity, and climate resilience.

Join us as we challenge traditional paradigms and advocate for a participatory framework that prioritizes the voices and needs of farming communities in the fight against climate change, demonstrating how businesses can act as catalysts for transformational and sustainable change.

Date: Sunday April 27, 2025
Time: 10:15am - 11:15am
Location: Room 352DEF
Category: Sustainability

Access: This lecture is free to attend with a Specialty Coffee Expo entry badge. Register to attend Specialty Coffee Expo here.
Please note that lecture sessions are open on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival is highly recommended to secure your seat.

Speakers

Melissa Wilson Becerril
Impact Manager, Cooperative Coffees

Melissa Wilson Becerril is the Impact Manager at Cooperative Coffees, a green coffee importing cooperative formed by 23 roaster-members in Canada and the US. Melissa mobilizes resources from roaster contributions for adaptation and resilience to farmer-led initiatives and emergency relief. Previously, she spent ten years managing public-private partnerships for impact and learning from the elite of the global organized farmer movement - the organic coffee farmers who created the concept of fair trade. Melissa is a promoter of cooperatives, supporter of responsible business, and champion for smallholder farmers. She believes economic justice is the basis of true environmental sustainability, and can be found spreading this message anywhere from industry events to university classrooms.

Melissa has become a leading voice in the fight for climate justice in the private sector, speaking at B Corp's Champions Retreat, the Environmental Defense Fund's Race to Zero, the Cool Farm Alliance's Annual Gathering, Work on Climate's Success Stories, and the Sustainable Transaction Guide's Pricing Salon. Melissa brings her 15 years of experience anchoring corporate sustainability in deep listening to farmer leadership to the heart of the specialty coffee industry at its flagship event.

Lecture Description

Coffee farming families are facing a perfect storm of challenges. Climate change is intensifying, leading to more frequent and severe weather events that disrupt coffee production and drive up costs. This uncertainty, coupled with persistent food insecurity and a growing generational gap—where young people are increasingly leaving farms—threatens the future of coffee production.

This panel will explore the lived experiences of coffee farmers in Guatemala and the broader impacts of migration on farming communities. Felix Camposeco, Co-op Manager at ACODIHUE, and Carlos Reynoso, Co-op Manager at Manos Campesinas, will share firsthand accounts of the challenges their co-ops face and innovative strategies to build resilience. Melissa Wilson Becerril, Impact Manager at Coop Coffees, an impact-driven coffee importer, will provide insights into how collaborative partnerships across the supply chain can support producers. Marcela Pino, Director and Co-Founder of Food 4 Farmers, will add her expertise on food security initiatives and community-driven solutions that reduce vulnerability.

Moderated by Rick Peyser, Co-Founder of Food 4 Farmers, this panel will illuminate the intersection of climate change, migration, and coffee, offering actionable strategies for attendees committed to fostering a sustainable and equitable coffee industry.

Date: Saturday April 26, 2025
Time: 9:00am - 10:00am
Location: Room 352DEF
Category: Sustainability

Access: This lecture is free to attend with a Specialty Coffee Expo entry badge. Register to attend Specialty Coffee Expo here.
Please note that lecture sessions are open on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival is highly recommended to secure your seat.

Speakers

This panel unites experts with diverse perspectives, offering a comprehensive view of the challenges facing coffee-growing communities and the solutions needed to foster resilience.

Marcela Pino
Marcela Pino brings expertise in food security and community-driven solutions, focusing on holistic strategies to address issues beyond coffee production.

Felix Camposeco
Felix Camposeco, representing ACODIHUE, provides an on-the-ground perspective, highlighting how co-ops empower women producers and strengthen economic independence.

Carlos Reynoso
Carlos Reynoso offers insights into generational transitions in coffee farming, sharing strategies to keep young people engaged in agriculture while addressing migration pressures.

Melissa Becerril
Melissa Becerril bridges producers and markets as Impact Manager for Cooperative Coffees, emphasizing how supply chain collaboration drives economic and environmental sustainability.

Rick Peyser
Rick Peyser, a leader in sustainable coffee initiatives, ensures dynamic facilitation and connects these perspectives to provide actionable insights for attendees.

Lecture Description

Coffee-growing communities face extraordinary challenges, from climate change and food insecurity to economic instability and lack of public services. Addressing these complexities requires innovative and holistic solutions—and that’s where collaboration between nonprofits and the coffee industry shines.

This panel brings together leaders from Food 4 Farmers, Grounds for Health, and Equal Origins to explore what makes community support initiatives successful. Through real-world examples, we’ll discuss how projects that focus on the broader context of coffee farmers’ lives—not just coffee production—can drive lasting change. Panelists will share key steps to cultivating meaningful impact, highlight the critical role the coffee industry can play as an ally, and demonstrate how our collective work supports coffee-growing communities facing urgent threats.

Attendees will leave with actionable insights into how the coffee community can support and scale impactful programs, ensuring a sustainable future for coffee and the farmers who grow it. Whether you’re a roasting company, coffee producer, or nonprofit professional, this panel offers a chance to learn, collaborate, and deepen your commitment to building resilience in coffee-growing regions. Together, we can harness the power of the coffee industry as a force for good.

Date: April 25, 2025
Time: 11:30am - 12:30pm
Location: Room 352DEF
Category: Sustainability

Access: This lecture is free to attend with a Specialty Coffee Expo entry badge. Register to attend Specialty Coffee Expo here.
Please note that lecture sessions are open on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival is highly recommended to secure your seat.

Panelists

This panel brings together leaders with decades of experience addressing food security, gender equity, health, and sustainability in coffee-growing communities. Their combined expertise offers attendees actionable insights into building resilient, inclusive, and thriving communities.

Marcela Pino
Co-Founder, Food 4 Farmers

Marcela has over 20 years of experience designing programs that empower coffee farmers through food security and economic diversification. Her expertise in agroecology and participatory development provides a holistic approach to supporting farming families.

Kyle Engleman
Executive Director, Grounds for Health

Kyle brings a global perspective on health equity in coffee communities. Her background in designing and evaluating rural healthcare programs demonstrates the importance of integrating health solutions into community development.

Kimberly Easson
Founder and CEO, Equal Origins

Kimberly’s 30+ years in sustainable trade and gender equity make her a leading voice in building inclusive supply chains. Her work emphasizes partnerships that address the social and economic challenges facing coffee farmers, ensuring long-term sustainability.

Together, these panelists represent a diverse range of perspectives and practical expertise, offering strategies for coffee professionals to support impactful, community-driven initiatives.