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Guy Burdett, President
Burdett is President and CEO of InterAmerican Coffee, Inc. He is based at the company’s North American headquarters in Houston, Texas. Burdett joined InterAmerican in 1988 after earning a degree in finance from Texas Tech University. From 1994-1996, he served on the of the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) Board of Directors and headed the Technical Standards Committee and served on the Membership Committee. Under Burdett’s leadership, InterAmerican Coffee, Inc., was among the first companies to contribute to Coffee Kids and Grounds for Health, and became a Founding Partner of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA). InterAmerican supports numerous social service organizations in the USA and Canada. In addition to spending time with his two children, Burdett enjoys running and playing golf.
Elizabeth Whitlow, Vice President
Whitlow is a certification specialist administering organic certification for over 200 clients in Northern California for California Certified Organic Farmers in Sebastopol, Calif. Whitlow also serves as a consultant to coffee roaster, Taylor Maid Farms, focusing on agroecology to track various aspects of coffee production, processing and consumption. In 2008, she served on the Conference Committee for the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s annual conference.
Rob Stephen, Secretary
Stephen is the CEO of Coffee Solutions, a Boston-based training, consulting and quality assurance company that services the global coffee market. Prior to founding Coffee Solutions, he was the leader of the green coffee department for Dunkin’ Donuts, where he oversaw one of the largest coffee supply chains in the world, and helped move the company toward Fair Trade and other sustainable coffee sources. He served as the president of the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s Board of Directors in 2006-2007. Mr. Stephen represents the United States at the Coffee subcommittee for the International Standards Organization and is a past chairman of the board for the World Barista Championship, Ltd.
Mona Blaber, Treasurer
Mona Blaber is a freelance editor and writer who has also worked as an organizer and press director on elections at the local, state and federal level. In 1999, while Blaber was working at The Santa Fe New Mexican, the World Trade Organization protests in Seattle inspired her to volunteer for Coffee Kids as a way to take action locally to help improve the quality of life for workers in other parts of the world. In the process of designing the organization’s quarterly newsletters over the next several years, Blaber got a close-up look at the resourcefulness and inventiveness of Coffee Kids and its partners, as well as the dedication, ingenuity and friendliness of its staff
David Abedon, Co-Founder
Abedon is a professor and cooperative extension appointee in the Department of Natural Resource Science at the University of Rhode Island. He also directs the University’s Minor in International Development (MIND) program. In conjunction with the MIND Program, Abedon has brought over 200 students to Costa Rica to visit coffee-producing regions. His research has also led him to study in the rainforests of Brazil; work with wild goats and develop conservation plans in Crete, Greece; and research mammal biodiversity in the coffee lands of Costa Rica. Abedon serves on various environmental boards and commissions.
William Allen
Allen is an adjunct lecturer at Brown University, Boston Graduate School of Social Work and Providence College. Throughout his 35-year career, Allen has been an innovative and strategic leader in the philanthropic and non-profit sectors. Prior to his current role in education, he served as executive vice president of community services at the United Way of Rhode Island. Under his leadership, the United Way played a key role in various workforce development programs and affordable housing initiatives, and he helped lead a coalition for welfare reform in Rhode Island.
Ellen Bradbury Reid
Bradbury Reid is director/founder of Recursos de Santa Fe, a nonprofit designed to stimulate understanding between diverse cultures and environments through art, research and contact. She has established series for the Smithsonian Institution Seminars, Santa Fe Literary Center, Arts of the Americas and Natural History Study Tours. She has worked extensively throughout Mexico and Central America.
William Mares
Mares recently retired from teaching history at Champlain Valley Union High School in Vermont. Mares holds an A.B. from Harvard College and an M.A. from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. As a writer and photographer, Mares has done freelance work for the Christian Science Monitor and The Economist and worked at newspapers in Illinois, Michigan, New Hampshire and Vermont. He has authored a number of books, including most recently, The Vermont Owner’s Manual and Bees Besieged. Mares served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1985-1991. He is currently the president of the Vermont Beekeepers Association.
Rick Peyser
Peyser is director of social advocacy and coffee community outreach for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Waterbury, Vt., where he has worked for over 19 years. He is a past president of the Specialty Coffee Association of America, the largest coffee trade association in the world. Peyser is also a member of the board of directors of Fair Trade Labeling Organizations International (FLO) headquartered in Germany, which sets the international standards for Fair Trade that benefit over 1,000,000 small-scale farmers around the world.