Gender Equity:
Strengthening the Links of the Coffee Supply Chain

NCA Members Only Access
Webinar Presentation Slides   On-Demand Webinar Recording

Gender equity is a topic of growing interest in the coffee sector. Many industry actors express their interest in the issue, but have questions about how to get involved. How does engaging in gender equity fit with other sustainability investments? How can gender equity bolster the impact of interventions at origin or supply chain investments? How can the industry influence a cultural issue in a business context? What do we know about how gender equity can lead to stronger, more resilient supply partners? 

Recent research and engagement sessions with industry participants have highlighted concerns and opportunities for action. Samantha Veide and Chad Trewick, two long time industry sustainability professionals will lay out the current context for gender in coffee and highlight how market perspectives are evolving. Kimberly Easson, Strategic Director of the CQI Partnership for Gender Equity will highlight new tools and guidance under development to catalyze greater industry involvement.

What attendees will get out of participating:

• Gain insight into current industry perspectives on the topic of gender equity
• Understand how gender equity can positively impact their business
• Identify key concerns and opportunities to address them
• Learn how to get involved

Presenters

	Kimberly Easson, Strategic Director, CQI Partnership for Gender Equity For more than twenty years, Kimberly Easson has dedicated herself to improving the lives of small-scale farmers, particularly in coffee and for women. She is the founder of the Partnership for Gender Equity, a collaborative research and development initiative of the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) to improve coffee quality, and supply chain resilience with a focus on gender equity at origin. While at CQI she oversaw a multi-year USAID funded project in Ethiopia to strengthen coffee sector institutions and increase linkages to high value markets. She served four years as member of the Board of Directors of the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), co-founded the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) and the JavaJog for a Cause, which has raised more than $90,000 for women in coffee producing communities.
	Samantha Veide Samantha has dedicated her professional and volunteer efforts to the coffee industry. Her passions for coffee span the entire supply chain, with focuses as diverse as gender equity in coffee-producing communities, sustainable choices in consumer packaging, and creating inspiring educational curriculum to drive change. Recognized throughout her career for her leadership and organizational expertise, she has served in volunteer leadership positions for many coffee-focused organizations, most notably the International Women’s Coffee Alliance, the Specialty Coffee Association and the Coffee Quality Institute. In these organizations, she has led efforts as diverse as research and development, strategic planning and learning & development.
	Chad Trewick, Consultant, Reciprocafé, LLC Trewick formed Reciprocafé, LLC a consultancy that prioritizes shared value and measured and meaningful coffee value chain support. His priority now is to broaden industry understanding of supply end challenges after more than two decades working primarily on the roaster side in the Specialty Coffee industry as a director of coffee. Trewick also spent time gaining a deeper understanding of the financial side of the coffee market. Chad has long been a champion of responsible sourcing. He has built bridges between wide ranging stakeholders, from coffee farm to cupping room to boardroom. His focus is to maintain access to green coffee as a raw material while strengthening the entire value chain, encouraging scalable mutually beneficial relationships. Under his leadership, Caribou Coffee achieved 100% Rainforest Alliance certification in 2011 by working along side producers to elevate their farm operations and understand challenges.

For additional information or questions please contact Matthew Cariani at mcariani@ncausa.org

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