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Board of Directors
Our board is charged with overseeing the work of our staff and volunteer committees. We attempt to make most policy decisions based on a written proposals and recommendations from the committees. The board meets five times per year via teleconference and once per year at our annual general assembly of all members.
Read more about the functions and roles of our Board of Directors.
Chris Treter, Higher Grounds
Mr. Treter is the co-founder and co-
president of Higher Grounds Trading Co, Michigan's 100% fair trade
and organic coffee roasting company. Higher Grounds Trading Co. has
their Coffee Bar and Roastery in Traverse City, Michigan and Chris
regular leads tours to coffee growing regions as part of their Fair Trade Tours. Chris - along with all the staff at
Higher Grounds is dedicated to sourcing the highest quality beans grown
by the most progressive social change agents in the world. His quest
for the perfect cup of coffee has led him across the globe. But he most
enjoys a long hike with his two dogs, Scuba and Cooper and business
partner and co-conspirator in life, Jody through the pine, cedar, maple
and birch trees of Northern Michigan.
Glenn Lathrop, Desert Sun Coffee
In his own words, Glenn
Lathrop reveals a few little-known facts about his background: "I grew
up on a dairy farm, started roasting coffee 4 years ago, climbed the
highest peak in the western hemisphere, Aconcagua at 22,800 feet, was
an instructor for Outward Bound, guided white water from Alaska to the
desert southwest, our kids are two Labrador retrievers named Sadie and
Sami, I am lucky to be married to Kim Moriyama, I love back country
skiing and mountain biking, I have a BS from Cornell University and I
LOVE COFFEE!" (well that last one is well known).
Michael King, Bean North
Mr. King and his life
and business partner Helen Voogd are two of the original founding owners
of Bean North Coffee Roasting Company Ltd. Located north of the 60th
parallel nestled in the northern Boreal forest, Bean North offers
exclusively certified organic and fair trade coffees. Prior to his
desire to sow the seeds of change from the Yukon, Michael obtained a
technologist degree in environmental engineering and headed north in
search of work and wilderness. Michael and Helen share their dreams with
their son Sasha. Michael is currently the Co Chair of Cooperative
Coffees and sits on the membership committee.
Mike Mays, Heine Brother's Coffee
Mike Mays is co-founder and president of Heine
Brothers’ Coffee, a coffee roaster and retailer in Louisville, Kentucky
with 7 neighborhood cafes. Heine Brothers’ Coffee is proud to be a
leader in the Louisville community in promoting organics, fair trade and
sustainable business practices like recycling and composting. Prior to
starting a coffee company, Mike practiced law with a firm in Louisville.
He holds a B.S. in Finance and a Law Degree from Indiana University.
Mike and his wife Elizabeth stay busy raising 4 young children . Mike
serves on the Finance Committee of Cooperative Coffees.top
Mike Moon, Just Coffee - (Secretary)
Lee Wallace, Peace Coffee (Chair)
Lee joined the Peace Coffee staff first as Interim Director. Then something clicked. A job where she was able to combine her determination to make the world more just and get folks to connect the local and the global, her love of travel and appreciation for good coffee. She was hooked!
In her hours away from Peace Coffee, she''s likely reading, gardening, engaged in a massive never-ending house project or playing ice hockey.
Tio Pistilli, Bongo Java - (Treasurer)
When Tiolina Pistilli isn't
surrounded by coffee, she's either learning a new language or toying
with paint or yarn in the company of her fiance and their two cats. She
comes from a long line of coffee lovers, though, and grew up a Nashville
cafe rat. So, after a trying her hand at a long and random list of
unfulfilling jobs, the coffee industry was a natural fit. She has worked
for the Bongo Java Roasting Co. since 2006, was elected to the Coop
Coffees board of directors in 2007 and became the Coop Treasurer in
2008. She knows a good thing when she sees it.
Tripp Pomeroy, Cafe Campesino - (Vice Chair)
Mr. Pomeroy is the managing partner of Café Campesino and serves as the company’s representative on Cooperative Coffees’ Board of Directors. He also serves as the co-op’s Secretary and Outreach Committee Chair. Mr. Pomeroy is responsible for the general management and development of Café Campesino, a founding member of Cooperative Coffees and 100% Fair Trade organic coffee company, and has participated in delegations to producer partner cooperatives in Guatemala and Nicaragua. Mr. Pomeroy has more than 15 years of working experience in business and new venture development and management, international trade, sales and marketing and communications. He has lived and worked in Mexico and Paraguay (where he met his wife) and has worked on a variety of business ventures in Argentina, Brazil and Italy. As an undergraduate, Mr. Pomeroy participated in the first study abroad program in Kingston, Jamaica and was an exchange student in Poznan, Poland. Mr. Pomeroy has a B.A. in Political Science from Tufts University and an M.A. in International Development from The American University School of International Service in Washington, D.C. He is fluent in Spanish.
