Coffee Specialist

Workshop: Comprehensive Sample Roasting

Sarah Cline Parker has been in the specialty coffee industry for over 7 years with a passion for sustainable practices across the supply chain. She started her coffee journey in Colombia co-founding a social enterprise aimed at directly connecting producers with end consumers. From that time, she has immersed herself in most aspects of the industry, from café management, QC, wholesale, to green trading. She has also attained her Q grader certification and is a graduate from the University of Zurich’s Applied Coffee Sciences program.

North America Sales Manager, The Coffee Quest

Workshop: Comprehensive Sample Roasting

Sarah Oermann is the North America Sales Manager for The Coffee Quest, a green coffee importer/exporter. With over a decade of experience, she knows a thing or two about evaluating green coffee through her work in a high-volume QC lab. Throughout her career she has been a licensed Q grader and is a former Authorized SCA Trainer. She is dedicated to continuous learning and believes in developing adaptable procedures to suit diverse business contexts.

Coffee Quality Manager, Mercon Specialty

Workshop: The Green Coffee Lifespan

Neil Oney is the Coffee Quality Manager for Mercon Specialty in Seattle.

Head Roaster/Roaster Head, PT's Coffee Roasting Co.

Workshop: Profile Roasting and Roasting Theory

Mike has been with PT's Coffee Roasting Co since early 2009 and began roasting in 2011. Has had the honor to travel to origin to work with some of our Direct Trade Partners. Has taken the company to 2 regional wins at the Good Food Awards in 2021 and 2023, and in 2022 landed the #1 roasted coffee of the year via Coffee Review. Mike has been a Roasters Guild and SCAA/SCA member since 2015, attended every retreat and volunteered at SCA events as well as many the Roasters Guild Retreats since 2018.

Cofounder, Sightseer Coffee & Roaster, Rising Tide Roast Collab

Workshop: Profile Roasting and Roasting Theory

Kimberly has 6+ years of experience in the Austin coffee scene, having co-founded Sightseer Coffee and Rising Tide Roast Collab and worked at Greater Goods Coffee Roasting Co., Third Coast Coffee, and My Name Is Joe Coffee Co. She’s had a taste of just about every position in coffee, having worked as a dishwasher, barista, manager, green buyer, QC specialist, and head roaster—and she’s dabbled here and there on farms at origin, too. She currently serves on the board of the Austin Coffee Collective as Vice President. She was an SCA Re:co Fellow in 2020 and a Les Dames d'Escoffier scholarship recipient in 2022, and is a certified Q Grader. She's passionate about social sustainability, queer representation, and making jobs and education in the coffee industry accessible to underrepresented and talented people.

Owner, Coracle Coffee

Workshop: Roasting Versatility for Extraction and Solubility

Tyler has been involved in the Specialty Coffee industry since 2014. He has led classes at SCA events in Roasting, Brewing, and Espresso, as well as competing in the US Brewers Cup. He is currently crafting instant coffee in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Consultant, Working Title Coffee

Workshop: Buying Robusta Coffee

David Myers is a coffee roaster, educator and consultant with almost 2 decades in the coffee industry. He's been volunteering with the CRG and the SCA for most of that time, teaching classes in the US and the EU. David is also the lead instructor for Probat USA at their lab in Chicago.

Director of Sustainability, Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea

Lecture: Decoding Sweetness and Exploring Acidity

Brandon Bir is a coffee and sustainability professional with a passion for equality and international community development. When not traveling to coffee-growing countries to teach classes focused on quality and sensory science or working towards zero waste at the SCA Campus in Columbus, Bir can be found representing Crimson Cup speaking to students at universities and events around the world.

In his role as Director of Sustainability, Bir develops new sustainable practices for all professionals in the value chain. Brandon is a certified Assistant Q-instructor, Q-Processing Generalist, SCA Content Creator, and holds a master’s from the University of Wisconsin.

Associate Professor of Cooperative Extension in Postharvest Engineering, Bio. and Ag. Eng. UC Davis

Lecture: Toward a Roast Color Standard

Dr. Irwin R. Donis-González joined the Dept. of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, and the Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) on October 15, 2015 as a Professor in Cooperative Extension, specialized in postharvest engineering. His research focuses on postharvest engineering, handling, storage, drying, transportation, refrigeration, and processing of agricultural commodities with a goal of reducing energy consumption, losses and waste while ensuring food quality and safety. In relationship to coffee, Dr. Donis-González is currently leading projects related to storability, kinetics of roasting, and assessment of quality attributes including color. He is also the Director of Latin American Relations at the UC Davis Coffee Center.

Professor, University of California Davis

Lecture: Toward a Roast Color Standard

William Ristenpart is a Professor of Chemical Engineering and the founding director of the Coffee Center at the University of California Davis. He received his Ph.D. from Princeton University and did his postdoctoral research at Harvard University. In 2012, Prof. Ristenpart co-developed a general education class called “The Design of Coffee,” which became the most popular elective general education course on campus and is now taught at several universities around the world. His research expertise is in complex transport phenomena, with current research topics including nanoparticle electrokinetics, airborne disease transmission, and extraction dynamics of coffee.

Director of Coffee, Merit Coffee Co

Lecture: Building and Forecasting a Vibrant Coffee Program

Christian Rotsko is the Director of Coffee at Merit Coffee Co based in San Antonio Texas. Starting as a barista in 2003, he has worked as a roaster and buyer for both small and large-scale specialty coffee companies. He was cupped all ranges of coffees from micro-lots to stock-lots and has worked with direct supply chains in 16 growing countries.

Over the last 3 years at Merit, he has focused on maintaining quality through inventory management and forward planning and has been instrumental in training the roasting staff and expanding and managing Merit's blend program through tracking systems and financial KPI’s.

Managing Director & Head of Specialty, Sustainable Harvest & Sucafina

Lecture: Building and Forecasting a Vibrant Coffee Program

Kat Nolte Ferguson is the Managing Director of Sustainable Harvest and head of specialty for Sucafina. She has worked in the coffee industry since 2000. After completing her degree in accounting and music, she worked in microfinance in Burkina Faso. She became the financial controller for an importer in 2011. She worked for a non-profit in East African coffee supply chains, helping cooperatives access international markets. She is a Q-grader and served as chair for the SCA Sustainability Council. Her passion is cultivating greater sustainability in the coffee industry and contributing to the success of farmers and roasters.