Meet the New Members of the SCA USA Chapter Committee

SCA USA Chapter Welcomes the 2021 - 2023 Chapter Committee Members via Lottery Selection

The USA Chapter of the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA USA Chapter) completed its inaugural lottery election process to elect incoming members of the Chapter Committee. 

In an effort to remove any barriers to entry while also encouraging a more diverse and wide range of nominated candidates, the SCA USA Chapter conducted a partially-random lottery to fill the open positions on the SCA USA Chapter committee. The SCA USA Chapter received an overwhelming response of participation in this year’s elections, with 90 total nominations compared to 44 in the 2019 election.

On the decision to move forward with a lottery election, acting East Representative, Maya Crowley states, “For the 2021 election season, we moved away from a popular vote to a partially random lottery selection. This was for a multitude of reasons, but the biggest goal was to get a body of volunteer leadership that was representative of the community we aim to serve. Lottery selections remove barriers to participation and allow new voices to be heard.” 

Former South Central Representative and acting Committee Advisor, Beth Beall, adds, “When we began to organize the election this year, the committee listened to our community as well as our own committee discussions and came up with a list of what we would change, how we would improve the process. Diversity and inclusivity were at the top of the list.”

The lottery election process resulted in half of the accepted positions being filled by those who self-identify as part of a marginalized community, with the 2021 Committee spanning various demographics of Race & Ethnicity, Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, Disability, and Age.

In accordance with the SCA Elections Process, the 12 newly-elected coffee professionals will join the Chapter Committee on May 14, 2021 at which point the terms of eight existing members of the group will move into a different role within the committee, three will be appointed to Guild Representative Positions, and 14 will complete their term.

The 12 coffee professionals randomly selected by the SCA USA Chapter lottery election to join the Chapter Committee in the 2021-2023 term are: 

·       Cydni Patterson, Social Engagement Coordinator

·       Baylee Engberg, Social Accountability Coordinator

·       Arthur Duarte de Barros, West Regional Coordinator

·       Jeni Kisa, West Regional Coordinator

·       Erica Jackson, East Regional Coordinator 

·       Brandon Bir, East Regional Coordinator 

·       Grayson Caldwell, Environmental Sustainability Coordinator 

·       Wes Wakefield, Central Regional Coordinator 

·       Jasmin McGinnis, Central Regional Coordinator

·       Evelyn Hernandez, Puerto Rico Regional Coordinator

·       Jess Ross, Social Accountability Coordinator

·       Kathy Altamirano, Community Coordinator

On behalf of our staff and volunteer leadership, we send a warm congratulations to each of our new Chapter Committee members. We send special thanks to our Chapter Structure Committee, for running this election. We value the time you have put into the research, coordination, and implementation of the lottery election process and we look forward to your continued work as Chapter Committee leadership. 

As we welcome 12 new members to the Chapter Committee, there will be additional changes to its composition. Per the SCA USA Chapter’s 2-year term conditions, the following existing members of the National Committee will take on 1-year extensions in the following new roles on May 14, 2021: 

·       Marcus Boni will remain National Coordinator

·       Beth Beall will be an advisor to the committee

·       Jill Killen will become West Regional Coordinator

·       Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian will become Community Coordinator

·       Nathanael May will remain Competitions Coordinator

·       Maya Crowley will become East Regional Coordinator

·       Madeleine Longoria Garcia will become Hawai’i Regional Coordinator

·       Adam JacksonBey will become Social Accountability Coordinator

The SCA USA Chapter also welcomes three new Guild Representative roles appointed to 2-year terms by the Barista, Coffee Roasters and Coffee Technicians Guilds, in an effort to support guild events and interests within the SCA USA Chapter. The 2021 Guild Representatives are:

·       Ever Meister, Barista Guild Liaison

·       David Myers, Coffee Roasters Guild Liaison

·       Christopher Brown, Coffee Technicians Guild Liaison

Lastly, we would like to thank the 14 dedicated members of the Chapter Committee whose terms end on May 14, 2021. These coffee professionals have provided invaluable commitment to the association and have dedicated many volunteer hours to make the work of the SCA USA Chapter a success: 

·       Ashley Blanchard former North West Regional Coordinator 

·       Diana Mnatsakanyan-Sapp former South East Regional Coordinator 

·       Savannah Phillips former South West Regional Coordinator 

·       Alex Medina former Community Coordinator 

·       Andrew McCaslin former Community Coordinator

·       Dana Andrews former Community Coordinator

·       Emily Smith former Community Coordinator

·       Hana Kaneshige former Community Coordinator

·       Kelly Hill former Community Coordinator

·       Khanh Trang former Community Coordinator

·       Laura Clark former Community Coordinator

·       Rowan Kapanui former Community Coordinator

·       Tyler Duncan former Community Coordinator

·       Emily Barber former Community Coordinator

On the challenges and excitement of what is to come for the new Chapter Committee, acting Social Accountability Coordinator Adam JacksonBey says, “Our biggest challenge this year, like most folks I would think, is continually figuring out how to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath, and helping our community in whatever way possible, and I think that with the implementation of the lottery selection, we have a great group of folks that will help us be successful in completing that mission, and I'm really excited to be a part of this journey.”

A Note from National Coordinator, Marcus Boni:

Breaking down the barriers of who, how and why someone participates in leadership and volunteerism in our community was a key pillar to better participation. From there, it now turns to creating better systems, communication and support for these groups to continue meaningful work. The evolution process of the US Chapter isn't over, but starting with having the right and best folx in the room is the best recipe for continued success.