Joanna Furgiuele is the Fundraising and Program Manager for the non-profit, Coffee Kids. Coffee Kids partners with communities to foster the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit needed to protect the future of coffee farming. Founded in 1988, Coffee Kids was the first nonprofit within the specialty coffee industry dedicated solely to improving coffee farmers’ quality of life. In the 27 years since Coffee Kids’ inception, they have partnered with over 200,000 coffee-farming families in over 400 communities, and a generous base of supporters from both within and outside of the coffee industry to empower farmers to improve their lives and livelihoods.

Hanna Neuschwander is Communications Director for World Coffee Research.Hanna is among the world’s foremost “explainers” of coffee and coffee science. Whether she’s explaining the impact of climate change to a room full of coffee roasters, or coffee genetics to a hedge fund trader, or coffee brewing to her mom, the intersection of coffee and science is her passion. She writes regularly and speaks globally about the future of coffee and coffee agriculture. She is the author of over 50 magazine articles on coffee, and of the book Left Coast Roast. She has a degree from McGill University. She is based in Portland, Oregon.

Celina Lazarus is the co-founder, owner and director of First Crop Coffee Australia, a raw coffee importing company and Maillard Atelier, a coffee co-roasting and educational space in Melbourne. Her community involvement is at the heart of both businesses as she invests into people through business. Through First Crop Coffee she has been able to finance the building and running of schools and health centres in coffee growing regions. Celina has a hands on approach to change on an international and local level. She is a well known figure of the specialty coffee industry and is an advocate not only for women but woman in colour within the industry.