Andrea Allen is the Co-Founder of Onyx Coffee Lab, the 2020 United States Barista Champion, and the 2021 World Barista Champion Runner Up. She is passionate about bringing people together through coffee, uniting every person along the supply chain, bridging gaps between generations, and creating space where great conversations can happen. Andrea also enjoys running, riding horses, and spending time with her husband and two daughters.

ANDREA ALLEN

Anna Gutierrez jumped into the coffee world as a barista in 1997 and found her true groove in 2002 as a wholesale coffee rep, never looking back. Today, she leads the Barista 22 product line, bringing syrups, sauces, powders, and smoothies to life worldwide. She’s fueled by a love for drink creation and product development, always chasing what’s next in beverage trends and turning ideas into crave-worthy drinks. With a strong background in branding, training, and collaborating with distributors and national coffee chains, Anna blends creativity with real-world know-how. She’s a familiar face on stage at Coffee Fest and World of Coffee, a competition judge, and has helped coach national winners of the USBC and CIGS competitions. She was also proudly co-featured on the cover of Barista Magazine in April 2012.

ANNA GUTIERREZ

Trevor Corlett founded Madcap Coffee in 2008 and has grown it into one of the most recognized independent specialty roasters in the industry. His path spans all levels of the craft: nine years competing in barista competitions, including back-to-back third-place finishes at the U.S. Barista Championship in 2013 and 2014 and the 2016 Eastern Conference title, followed by 13 years instructing for the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) while serving on the Barista Guild of America board, ultimately as Chair, and on the SCA board. In 2025, he joined the Coffee Futures Fund as a founding mentor, contributing expertise in coffee, leadership, company culture, and operational infrastructure.

TREVOR CORLETT

After spending four years on the sales team covering the Mountain and Midwest regions for Eversys USA, Alexandra LittleJohn is now the company’s U.S. Marketing Manager. She currently resides in Denver, Colo., and oversees all marketing and events for Eversys USA. She has worked with some of the best in the business, including Portola Coffee Lab, Verve Coffee Roasters, Equator Coffees & Teas, and OZO Coffee Roasters. Alexandra has dedicated many years to volunteer leadership with the Specialty Coffee Association, the Barista Guild of America, and, currently, with Raise the Bar and Level Up. ALJ has enjoyed mentoring career- minded baristas throughout her career. In her free time, she enjoys, traveling, hot springs, food, live music, karaoke, and 90s arcade games.

ALEXANDRA LITTLEJOHN

Jenna Gotthelf is based in Brooklyn, N.Y., and is the Head of Events, Activations, and Partnerships at Counter Culture Coffee. Formerly, Jenna oversaw CCC’s national education program, served as a CCC Regional Educator in NYC, worked as a Barista in NYC and Western Massachusetts, and competed in many United States Coffee Championships. Jenna believes that you under-extract 100% of the shots you never pull, so go ahead and give your idea a try—you never know what will happen.

JENNA GOTTHELF

ChiSum Ngai is the Co-Founder, CEO, Head Roaster, and Green Coffee Buyer at Coffee Project New York. She is an Arabica Q Grader, a Q Processing Generalist, and an Authorized SCA Trainer (AST) in Barista, Brewing, Sensory, and Roasting Skills. Beyond leading the company’s operations, Sum is an active competitor in the U.S. Roasting Championships. She also regularly speaks at trade shows and events, sharing her expertise in the industry and business operations. Most recently, she earned 3rd place in the 2026 U.S. Cup Tasters Championship.

CHISUM NGAI

Abner J. Roldán Rivera is a Puerto Rican coffee professional and co-founder of Café Comunión and Aula Escuela de Café. With more than 15 years of experience in specialty coffee, he has become a leading voice in the Puerto Rican coffee scene, known for building accessible, community-driven coffee spaces. He is a two-time Puerto Rico National Latte Art Champion (2014, 2015) and has been recognized as part of the Sprudge 20 and Imbibe 75. He’s also the barista of Bad Bunny’s DtMF World Tour with his wife and business partner, Karla. Through his work, Abner blends craft, culture, and education using coffee as a tool to connect people, elevate local talent, and showcase Puerto Rico’s coffee identity on a global stage.

ABNER J. ROLDÁN RIVERA

Trish Rothgeb is the founder and the Head of Coffee and Quality for Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters in San Francisco, California. Her industry experience spans over 40 years as a coffee roaster, quality control specialist, educator, green coffee buyer, and entrepreneur. She is credited with coining the term “third wave coffee” and identifying its relevant concepts. In 2019, the James Beard Foundation awarded Trish a fellowship in the Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Program.

TRISH ROTHGEB

Seidy Selivanow is the co-founder of Kafiex Roasters in Vancouver, Wash., named Roast Magazine’s 2026 Micro Roaster of the Year. Born and raised in Mexico, Seidy holds a bachelor’s degree in gastronomy and brings a deep appreciation for flavor, culture, and hospitality to her work in specialty coffee. As a barista competitor, educator, and mentor, she placed eighth in the 2024 U.S. Barista Championship and seventh in 2025, further cementing her reputation for excellence, storytelling, and connection in coffee. Seidy is a traveling educator with Coffee Fest and has contributed to industry events and community initiatives, including Raise the Bar/Level Up, the Women-Powered Coffee Summit, and Cup of Excellence Mexico. She has also judged women’s barista competitions in Mexico and is deeply passionate about visiting origin, building relationships, and creating meaningful connections across the coffee supply chain.

SEIDY SELIVANOW

For over 20 years, Isaiah Sheese has been in the coffee industry, wearing many different hats: barista, quality-control cupper, green-buyer, and café owner. He is a long-time barista competitor and coach. In 2023, he became the United States Barista Champion and subsequently placed fourth at the World Barista Championship. In 2014, he founded Archetype Coffee in Omaha, Nebraska. Over the past 10 years, it has grown to three bustling cafés, a roastery, and a training lab, all serving up tasty coffee and good times. When he isn’t preparing for a competition, coaching, or drinking coffee, Isaiah enjoys rock climbing, hiking, cooking while listening to vinyl, and drinking Negronis.

ISAIAH SHEESE

Josh Taves is the owner of Dialed Coffee Services in Grand Rapids, Mich. After 20 years of tackling many different aspects of the coffee industry, he's finally settled into a contented groove of barista-focused equipment sales and service for the West Michigan specialty coffee industry.

JOSH TAVES

Jared Truby is a co-founder of Cat & Cloud, co-host of the Cat & Cloud Podcast, and a longtime voice in specialty coffee. His work lives at the intersection of hospitality, leadership, culture, and craft, with a focus on building teams, businesses, and experiences that create genuine connection. With a background that includes barista competition wins and national-level competition experience, Jared brings both practical depth and a human-centered perspective to the way he leads, teaches, and speaks. He believes coffee can be a vehicle for joy, growth, and memorable experiences.

JARED TRUBY

Selina Viguera is a Café Leader for Blue Bottle Coffee in Venice, bringing 25 years of experience in coffee, including 17 years in specialty coffee and 15 years with Blue Bottle. Her expertise spans café leadership, clear and effective communication, barista coaching and training, and cultivating hospitality-driven culture. An SCA volunteer since 2011, Selina has worked at and managed bars for the Barista Guild, TED, and TEDxMed coffee services. She has supported dozens of cafés across a wide range of workflow configurations, pairing operational excellence with a people-first approach to create memorable guest experiences.

SELINA VIGUERA

Ian Williams is an entrepreneur, designer, and the founder of Deadstock Coffee, a Portland, Ore.-based, sneaker-inspired coffee brand he launched in 2015. Before starting his business, Williams spent years at Nike, rising from a janitorial role to footwear design, including creating a sneaker inspired by a wet floor sign. He transformed his love of sneakers and community into Deadstock Coffee, a “snob-free” café concept that merges streetwear culture with specialty coffee. Today, he is recognized as a leading voice in coffee culture, known for building inclusive spaces that bring people together through creativity, design, and high-quality coffee.

IAN WILLIAMS

Marcus Young is a coffee professional with over 20 years of experience. Currently, he leads the coffee program at goodboybob, an award-winning L.A.-based coffee roastery, as the Executive Vice President of Coffee, and he sources coffee and oversees quality and roasting for Voyager Craft Coffee in San Jose, Calif. Previously, he led the marketing team for Cropster, a software company providing quality, inventory, and traceability solutions for coffee producers, roasters, and retailers. Marcus is an authorized trainer for the Specialty Coffee Association and holds their Coffee Skills Diploma with a focus on sustainability, roasting, sensory analysis, and barista skills. He is a certified Coffee Quality Institute Q-Grader and holds the evolved CVA license, and has trained thousands of coffee roasters and tasters during his career. Marcus helped build a successful roasting business in Rwanda and worked on behalf of farmers and cooperatives on quality control and market-access initiatives, and he also co-founded Central City Coffee, a social enterprise coffee company providing employment and on-the-job training for employees who were previously homeless.

MARCUS YOUNG

Maria Cleaveland has been helping coffee suck less since 1993—and shaping the industry while she’s at it. A hospitality powerhouse and a fearless leader across coffee’s value chain, Maria has scaled licensing and wholesale businesses at Starbucks, Peet’s, and Equator Coffees. She managed the very first Starbucks store in New York City, helped launch the brand’s airport strategy, and went on to lead sales, operations, and training programs that set new industry standards. Today, Maria serves as Sales Director of the Americas for Urnex, the global leader in coffee equipment cleaning products. She’s also the founder of Lift & Learn, a cross-training platform helping baristas and technicians build meaningful careers. A tireless advocate for equity, Maria serves on the board of the U.S. Women in Coffee chapter of the IWCA and has spent decades mentoring and empowering the next generation of coffee professionals. She brings relentless curiosity, and a whole lot of heart to every corner of the industry—because to Maria, coffee is community, and the people are the point.

MARIA CLEAVELAND

Devorah Freudiger brings more than 20 years of experience to her current role as Director of Coffee Culture at Equator Coffees. Over the years, she’s roasted coffee, taught brewing and barista classes, dabbled in café design, and competed in coffee competitions. In her heart, she’s a barista. Devorah co-chaired the coffee category of the Good Food Awards for four years and has helped organize many regional Latte Art Throwdowns and other coffee events. Devorah is passionate about making the specialty coffee industry more socially equitable, environmentally sustainable, and welcoming to all. She loves coffee events where professionals from diverse companies share and learn together.

DEVORAH FREUDIGER

Stacey Lynden is the Cupping Lab Manager at Swiss Water® Decaf and has spent more than twenty years building a career in coffee. Over the years, she has worked as a barista, roaster, and green buyer, experiences that have shaped both her deep respect for the craft and her thoughtful approach to quality and sensory work. Stacey is also a two-time Canadian Coffee in Good Spirits Champion, and she brings that same creativity, curiosity, and passion into every part of her work. In addition to competing, she has coached competitors in Barista, Brewer’s Cup, Coffee in Good Spirits, and Roasting, and she loves supporting others as they grow their skills and confidence. She loves the way coffee brings people together and is always excited to share what she has learned, keep learning from others, and help create memorable coffee experiences.

STACEY LYNDEN

Jess Steffy is a co-owner of Square One Coffee Roasters in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She’s worked in the coffee industry for over 20 years, wearing every hat in the café and roastery at some point along the way. She spent a decade judging and training judges for Barista and Brewers Cup competitions regionally, nationally, and internationally. She’s also been a certified Q-Grader for the last 13 years. Jess enjoys spending time with her husband, two sons, and Wilma the pug, as well as traveling, thrifting, hiking, and planning her future matriarchal commune slash pug sanctuary.

JESS STEFFY

Todd Stewart and Julia Mayer are the life partners behind Dune Coffee Roasters. Dune is known for its commitment to community, coffee, and making dreams come true. Their collective 47 years in coffee give them the depth of understanding and the vision to see where we as an industry can go. Their vision for Dune (and life) is WHAT IF WE COULD MAKE SOMETHING MORE BEAUTIFUL AND MORE AMAZING.

Todd is Dune Coffee Roasters' green coffee buyer, head roaster, CFO, and co-founder. Todd is responsible for the steadfast relationship-driven integrity behind Dune's coffee program. He always does exactly what he says he is going to do. Sustainability in our coffee sourcing is Todd's passion.

Julia Is Dune Coffee Roasters' co-founder and co-visionary. She is also a community advocate, friend, and City Council Member in the City of Carpinteria. Everything that Julia knows about public service she learned working bar at the coffee shop. Julia is passionate about nurturing and safeguarding the communities that make up the coffee universe. Her leadership focuses on community connection, thoughtful growth, and creating opportunities for the future generations.

Together, they have built Dune into a respected company rooted in service, quality, and meaningful relationships with both customers and coffee producers around the world.

TODD STEWART & JULIA MAYER

Dylan Siemens is the Head of Education at Cafe Imports. He’s based in Arkansas with his wife and two little kids. He began his coffee career in 2012 as a barista and later became Head of Education at Onyx Coffee Lab, where he trained hundreds of baristas and competed nationally, winning the U.S. Brewers Cup in 2017. In 2022, Dylan joined Cafe Imports to expand its education library. He created ED+U, an open-access online academy that makes professional coffee education accessible to everyone. He attributes his career to countless people who have invested in him, and his work is always an effort to give that back to the coffee community.

SPEAKERS