NCA Luminary Award

Nominations for the 2027 award cycle will open in mid-August. Sign up to be notified when nominations open.

The NCA’s highest honor, the Luminary Award recognizes an individual whose extraordinary and groundbreaking contribution(s) has been a driving force of positive change and has had a significant, profound, and lasting impact on the coffee community. The Luminary Award (formerly the NCA Lifetime Achievement Award) is not presented annually, but rather in recognition of an individual whose contributions are deserving of this exceptional honor.

See the Terms and Conditions for full details, including nomination, judging, selection, and notification processes, and 2026 NCA Luminary Award recipient benefits.

Questions: Contact Terri Bartlett, Director of Member Relations, at trbartlett@ncausa.org.

Past NCA Luminary Award Recipients

2017 - ALAN LEVITON, M.D.

Harvard Medical School, Professor of Neurology
Boston Children’s Hospital, Director of Neuroepidemiology

2011 - HOWARD SCHULTZ

The Starbucks Coffee Company, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer