Jenn Chen
She/her/hers CoC Panel |
San Francisco-based coffee marketer Jenn Chen uses compelling words and photography to make specialty coffee companies look stunning online. She advises specialty coffee businesses and organizations on digital marketing strategy from voice to social media to how to complement a physical presence with a digital one. She believes in the power of creating inclusive digital and in-person communities. Her work has appeared with industry leaders like Acaia, Swiss Water, and Sprudge.
When she is not working, you can find her with chips in one hand and holding her dog Zoey in another. You can connect with her at jennchen.com or on social media @thejennchen. |
Valorie Clark
She/her/hers Secretary CoC Panel Alternate |
Valorie Clark is a writer who has been working in and writing about specialty coffee for over 8 years. Her writing has been published in Barista Magazine, Sprudge, and Smart Mouth, among others. While behind bar, she worked as an Espresso Trainer and Manager in shops in D.C., Dallas, and Paris, France. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her sweet-but-demanding cat, Maria. When she's not writing about coffee, she's either working on her next novel or at the boxing gym.
Valorie is honored to be on the Go Fund Bean board, where she can use her love for specialty coffee to uplift and protect the hourly coffee worker. She runs all the GFB social media, so if you've talked to anyone, it was probably her! Connect with her on Twitter/Instagram as @TheValorieClark. |
Tommy Gallagher
He/him/his CoC Panel |
Tommy Gallagher has been a lot of different things, but his work has always been centered around accessibility and interactivity. He's the product of a racially mixed, multi-lingual, hearing- Deaf family. His existence at many different intersections has hugely informed this inclusive approach.
Tommy's 14-year career in Specialty Coffee has spanned award-winning cafes, coffee roasters and equipment companies. He currently lives in Brooklyn and spends his days working for Slayer, managing sales and development in the Americas. Community, creativity, food, and moving that body are super important to Tommy. Outside of work you may find him eating everything in sight, swimming, making things, or just doing a little dance. He's got a major crush on New York City that just won't quit, and he's super excited to go fund some beans. You can find him in your phone @yenismymom |
Mike Greene
He/him/his |
Mike Greene (he/him/his) is a coffee professional currently living in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His career in specialty coffee began in January 2011, and has thus far included working as a barista, roaster, manager, educator, and content writer in the industry, along with being a former competitor in the US Barista and Brewers Cup competitions. Initially drawn to the industry by the café culture of the 2000s and delicious milk drinks, his experiences helped him to develop a lifelong passion for the many people who make coffee happen each day.
Outside of coffee, Mike is a musician, writer, pet owner, and homebody, who can frequently be found playing games or rooting on a number of sports teams in his leisure time. He's honored to be a part of the Go Fund Bean board, and to have an opportunity to support, protect, and empower hourly coffee workers as we work toward making a better coffee industry. |
Adam JacksonBey
He/him/his Chair CoC Panel |
Adam JacksonBey is an Ohioan, a former competitive barista, a former Barista Guild of America Executive Council Member, and a proud Virgo who’s worked in specialty coffee for 11 years. When he was a DC-based barista, he served on the DMV Coffee board for 5 years, helping to plan, implement, and execute events throughout the DC, Southern Maryland, and Northern Virginia area, and now is currently dual-wielding the positions of Founding Executive Director at Go Fund Bean, and National Coordinator for the US Chapter of the SCA.
He also served on the planning committee for both the Access and Bloom events put on by the newly unified Barista Guild. A notorious sandwich aficionado, he can often be found on #coffeetwitter at odd hours hoping the algorithm will hide his tweets to no avail. He’s also really smart and kind. |
Bronwen Serna
She/her/hers |
CURRENT:
Customer Support / Product Development / Brand Ambassador at Ground Control; Co-host/Co-founder Totally Dissolved Podcast BACKGROUND: Bronwen Serna loves coffee and people. She has been a practicing Coffee Professional since 2000 and heavily involved within the Specialty Coffee Industry since 2001. Her love of coffee precedes her experience, where she manages to frequent many coffeehouses all over the world and became a Barista after having drunk many cups of coffee and inspired by a trip to Italy. Over the past 20 years she has facilitated in developing training programs and trained many Baristas, coffee professionals, and coffee enthusiasts internationally about Specialty Coffee, and focused on Customer Service and Operations. Her coffee experience started in Seattle at Zoka Coffee Roaster & Tea Company. She continued to further her Barista craft and began roasting at Hines Public Market Coffee/Origins Organic Coffee. She developed her roasting skills and knowledge at Vashon Coffee Company, has been a Professional Barista, Barista Trainer, and Consultant at various Coffee institutions. Now living in Los Angeles she continues to connect with the community, and build knowledge for clients and coffee professionals in the Specialty Coffee scene. She loves to travel and explore and is working toward combining her love of coffee with yoga. |
Kendra Sledzinski
She/her/hers 2nd Vice Chair |
Kendra Sledzinski (she/her/hers) is a community organizer and coffee person based in Philadelphia. She’s been in the coffee industry since 2007, where she started working at a cafe because she needed a summer job. Curiosity, community, and a connection to the world is what inspired her to stay, spending most of her career in training and education, most recently as an Educator Trainer and Coach.
Kendra is a head judge and committee member for the US Brewers Cup, is a certified sensory judge for World Coffee Events, and has been a lead instructor for the SCA and Barista Guild. She’s a Sprudge Twenty 2020 honoree and has organized fundraising events in Philadelphia that centered folks from marginalized identities. Kendra is honored to be on the Go Fund Bean board and to work to support and empower other coffee workers. Aside from imbibing in delicious brewed coffees, she also enjoys tending to her many house plants, cycling, searching for the best swim spots, and dreaming of a side hustle where she could grow and sell lavender. |
Bud Taliaferro
They/them/theirs |
Bud Taliaferro (they/them/theirs) wants to help you figure out your dreams and make them come true. They were drinking coffee before they could read, stopped growing at 5’ 6”, and began their coffee career at 19. A true jack of all trades, they’re an expert barista, hospitality-geared educator, espresso tech, and your biggest fan.
Bud is a staunch advocate for the working class barista and is dedicated to helping them deepen their ties to the greater coffee community. In their work toward empowering both cafes and coffee professionals to create sustainable, supportive, and safe spaces, Bud has created bias-informed hiring and hospitality trainings and shop workflows that prioritize staff engagement. Once an independent USBC competitor, Bud knows what a difference industry connections and mentorships can make. Bud’s focus is and always will be to encourage and foster the love baristas have for good coffee and even better hospitality. Flying by the seat of their pants, Bud lives by the motto “do a good job and have fun” and looks forward to helping you do the same. |
Michelle Johnson
She/her/hers |
Michelle Johnson is an industry thought leader most notably known for founding The Chocolate Barista, a platform dedicated to racial diversity and uplifting the Black community within the coffee industry. She's graced the stages of Re:Co Symposium, Nordic Roasters Forum, and the World Coffee Leaders Forum, as well as the competition stage, becoming the first Black woman to compete in the 2020 US Barista Championship. You can read or listen to more of her work on The Chocolate Barista, Sprudge, the Specialty Coffee Association website, or on Twitter @meeshal. Her dog, Todd, approves of this message.
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Morgan Russell
They/them/theirs Treasurer |
Morgan Russell (they/them/theirs) got their start behind the bar in New York City eight years ago, and is now a wholesale manager, roaster, and espresso educator in Philadelphia. They have pushed for greater representation of marginalized identities in theater as writer, performer, and director, and they bring that same passion for accessibility and empathy into their coffee service and management style. Morgan loves good systems and smooth workflow, and tends to value soft skills over hard. All they really want in coffee is for hourly workers to have the tools and stability they need to thrive in their jobs, and working on the board of Go Fund Bean helps fulfil that goal.
When they’re not working in a coffee shop, they’re either biking to another coffee shop, or at home snuggling their cat Suki. Their feet hurt all the time. |
D. Stubblefield
She/her/hers 1st Vice Chair CoC Panel Alternate |
D. Stubblefield (she/her/hers) is a service professional, arts and literature advocate and educator living in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Throughout her extensive career she’s advocated for the working class, especially those navigating the service industry in its many forms.
She’s created and structured community and corporate educational programming and is currently utilizing her 12 year career to create sustainably change in the wine industry. A staunch advocate for learning through the written word, D makes a point to use her voice as a call to action for corporations, communities, and individuals that benefit from working class professional labor. On her off hours you’ll find her reading books in pursuit of her quest of continued learning, and spending time with her cat Spaghetti. |