OUR COMMUNITY
WHO WE ARE
Diversity is our strength
The CCRE’s 16 Board of Directors is comprised of stakeholders within the global coffee community spanning 6 countries, and collectively speaking 13 languages. While we come from different backgrounds and speak in different tongues, the love for coffee and the belief that we can all do better unites us.
Phyllis Johnson
CCRE Founder and Board Chair
BD Imports, USA
Co-founder and president of BD Imports, an award-winning social enterprise focused on responsible sourcing of specialty coffees.
Brett Struwe
Sustenance Coffee, USA
Executive lead for a small coffee collective entity in the Minneapolis/St Paul area jointly owned by Berry Coffee Company and Rustica Bakery & Cafe. He also provides managerial services to the coffee industry through his consultancy Sustenance Coffee LLC. His coffee journey began in 1993 during a backpacking trip through Europe that led him to a 24-year tenure with Caribou Coffee Company, beginning as a barista and culminating in running the coffee department and operations. He holds an MBA from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management, and lives in Minneapolis with his wife, three children, and dog Oliver.
Areli Barrera Grodski
CCRE Recording Secretary
Little Waves of Coffee Roasters, USA
Co-owner of Little Waves Coffee Roasters and Cocoa Cinnamon in Durham, NC. Areli and her husband, Leon, started Cocoa Cinnamon from a bike to a three location coffee shop and now a roastery. Areli oversees the roastery where she prides herself in being part of a predominantly women and non-binary team.
Levi Booser
Executive People & Culture Leader, USA
Levi is an executive people and culture leader with 15 years of experience nurturing organizational cultures to be more empathetic, more inclusive and more accountable. As a trans masculine person Levi is committed to the equity of opportunities for career advancement for the trans and non binary communities, the Black, Brown, and Asian communities, and all communities systemically left out.
August Burns
CCRE Board Member
Artist, Author Former Non for Profit Executive Women’s Health
August Burns, PA, MPH, LM, most recently served as Executive Director of Grounds for Health. As Executive Director, she grew the organization 10-fold from a small volunteer organization to a recognized leader in the field of low-resource cancer prevention strategies.
MAtthew Daks
Volcafe Specialty, USA
General Manager for Volcafe Specialty Coffee and President of the Pacific Coast Coffee Association. Matt’s coffee journey has taken him around the world, including a tenure in East Africa as the Regional Quality Manager for TechnoServe’s East African Coffee Initiative.
David Dávila
Dávila Kafe, USA and Guinea
Founder/CEO of Dávila Kafe, a specialty coffee company based in Washington, D.C. David comes from a long line of Nicaraguan and Puerto Rican coffee agriculturalists. His coffee journey has taken him from South Asia, the Caribbean, and Central America. As a certified Q-Grader, he has worked directly with producers at origin in an effort to empower producers. At the CCRE, David is part of the Marketing & History Committees.
Jarrhod ‘Rod’ Johnson
CCRE Board Member
Co-Founder & Chief Values Officer, BLK & Bold
BLK & Bold, the specialty coffee and tea company that prioritizes domestic social impact. Founded in 2018, Blk & Bold has quickly become the first Black owned nationally distributed coffee company.
Muna Mohammed
CCRE Board Member
Founder Eight50 Coffee
Muna’s professional background consists of working in Senior Marketing and Branding roles for the last 15 years in various industries, including the public and private sector as well as with small business enterprises and entrepreneurs.
Mbula Musau
Utake Coffee, Kenya
Founder and Director of Utake Coffee Limited, the first certified SCA Premier Teaching Campus in Africa. She is the resident Q instructor and Approved SCA Trainer (AST). Mbula also currently serves as a Board director of the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) and has been a Coffee Corps Volunteer for over a decade. She spearheaded the formation of the International Women in Coffee Alliance (IWCA) chapters in Africa, where she serves as a Chapter Mentor and facilitator. Mbula serves on the Education Committee at the CCRE.
Andi Trindle Mersch
CCRE Treasurer
Philz Coffee, USA
Vice President Coffee and Sustainability with Philz Coffee. In these roles, she oversees coffee and tea sourcing and quality and leads company wide ESG efforts. She has held a number of leadership and board roles within the broader specialty coffee industry and is currently serving on the Food 4 Farmers Board of Directors. Andi serves as Chair of the CCRE Finance Committee and leads the Governance Task Force.
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