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Noelia Villalobos, Asociación de Cafés Finos de Costa Rica - Vice Chair

Noelia Villalobos is the Executive Director of the Specialty Coffee Association of Costa Rica and of Sintercafé (International Coffee Week, initials in Spanish) since 2009. Both associations work hard to promote production and consumption of specialty Costa Rican coffee, in and out of Costa Rica. Sintercafé is an annual event recognized worldwide which incorporates both sides of the coffee value chain. SCACR has coordinated COE since its beginnings in Costa Rica, being also the in-country partner for CQI and the WCE counterparty. Noelia holds a Master's degree in Promotional Marketing from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

Tim Taylor, Pedestrian Coffee, USA - Treasurer

In 2009, Tim Taylor founded Chicago's Ipsento Coffee — a farm-to-table coffee roasting and retail operation. He has since sold the company and now remains in the coffee sector as an independent contractor. Tim has been working in specialty coffee since 2007 when he began importing coffee directly from producers. Tim's vision has always involved sourcing exceptional coffees from quality-minded producers who receive sustainable pay premiums for their efforts.

In 2011, Tim served on his first Cup of Excellence jury and has been committed to serving on juries and bidding on auction lots ever since.

Paul Stewart, TechnoServe, USA - Secretary

Paul Stewart is Global Coffee Director at TechnoServe, a nonprofit organization that harnesses the power of the private sector to help people lift themselves out of poverty. Paul joined TechnoServe in 2002 where he led a team in Tanzania that developed a coffee wet-processing business model that has been rolled out to over 200 farmer cooperatives across East Africa and created new fully-washed coffees in Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Tanzania.

Paul resides in Ethiopia, where he oversees programs spanning 13 countries that provide training to 50,000 smallholder coffee farmers on climate-smart farming techniques each month and coach hundreds of coffee enterprises on sustainable business practices.

Cory Bush, Belgium - CEO of Beyers Koffie

Cory Bush is the CEO of Beyers Koffie. His coffee career began in East Africa, where he was a regional manager for the TechnoServe coffee initiative, a program which sought to increase smallholder coffee incomes. He then worked as a Senior Trader with Falcon Coffees in the United Kingdom, where he built collaborative, quality-focused supply chains across Africa and Central America.

His latest position takes him to Europe where is the Managing Director of the specialty green coffee division of the Swiss trade house Sucafina, with clients across nearly every country in Europe, Russia, the Middle East, and North Africa. He was one of the inaugural Q-grader classes that graduated in Rwanda back in 2010. Cory previously served on the SCA Sustainability Council, and has been a speaker at the ICO, AFCA, and various other coffee-focused events.

Aleco Chigounis, Red Fox, USA - Board Member

Aleco is Co-Founder and President of Red Fox Coffee Merchants in Berkeley, CA USA & Red Fox Sourcing Company in Lima, Peru. He began cupping in his late teens at his family's roasting business, Lacas Coffee Company. Immediately upon graduating university Aleco headed south to Costa Rica to work for The Coffee Source before joining The Neumann Kaffe Gruppe's San Jose operation, CECA, managing the link between roasters and producers across Central America.

Aleco moved on to Portland to inherit the Director of Coffee role from Duane Sorenson. Aleco has extensive experience developing coffee quality & supply chains which he continues to do today at the helm of Red Fox. He has served on close to a dozen COE juries since his first jury in Bolivia 2008.

Thomas Pulpan, Kaffebrenneriet, Norway - Board Member

Thomas established Kaffebrenneriet in 1994 and it became Norway's first coffee bar. His focus has always been to bring the highest quality specialty coffee to the end consumer. Kaffebrenneriet has developed into Norway's market leader in specialty coffee, taking specialty coffee from a country and regional specific product and building it into a product line of direct relationship coffees, allowing farmers and their unique coffees to shine. Kaffebrenneriet has been a dedicated supporter of CoE for nearly 20 years and Thomas has participated as a judge in over 20 competitions.

Since founding Kaffebrenneriet his aim has continued to expand the business. Today the company comprises of a roasting plant, a bakery production facility, and an import product representation. His mission continues to be bringing the highest quality coffee to market through building lasting sustainable relationships with suppliers, enabling them to share their coffees and cup experience with the end consumer.

Carl Cervone, Enveritas, USA - Board Member

Carl Cervone began working in coffee in 2006. He led field operations for TechnoServe's Ethiopia Coffee Initiative and helped improve quality and market recognition for coffees from Western Ethiopia. Carl then joined TechnoServe's strategic initiatives team, advising coffee companies and civil society groups on sustainability and impact measurement.

In 2016, Carl co-founded Enveritas, where he currently serves as COO. Enveritas operates in over 20 origins and helps coffee buyers to verify sustainability conditions in their supply chains. Carl lives in New York and has degrees in business and environmental science.

John Moore, CEO of Vassilaros & Sons Coffee, USA - Board Member

John began his career in coffee in 1993, roasting a few thousand pounds per week and working as a barista in a small, independent café roaster just outside of Manhattan. Since then he's been a coffee bar manager, regional retail manager, director of training, director of coffee, a CEO of two coffee companies and partner in another, a green coffee trader, and has managed a vertically integrated international coffee company with two coffee farms in Brazil, two mills in Brazil, plus roasting and retail operations New York City.

John is a Certified Q Grader and Head Judge of the Cup of Excellence program. Today, John is extremely excited to be CEO of Vassilaros & Sons Coffee where he spends his days connecting New Yorkers with delicious coffees from around the globe.