The NCA Next Generation

Meet the future leaders of the coffee industry

Join the NCA Next Gen Coffee Professional Group

The Next Generation group is an ongoing initiative from the NCA to support talented young professionals who are passionate about the coffee industry.

Whether you want to change your career or change the world, we encourage you to get involved. This is a unique opportunity to build your network, gain real-world leadership experience, and give back to the community. (And you never know where the opportunity could lead.)

For more information, please contact Matthew Cariani at mcariani@ncausa.org.

About Next Gen

NCA Next Generation Mission Statement

The Next Generation Council will identify, recruit, and engage the next generation of leaders in the US coffee industry. It will encourage the under-40 coffee community to participate in the National Coffee Association by increasing activity and input into events, providing ongoing education, and promoting leadership and development amongst its constituents. Doing so will provide the National Coffee Association with a steady stream of future leaders across the spectrum of the industry.

The group will be structured in two levels: leadership (the Next Gen Council) and membership.

General membership is open to young professionals between the ages of 21-39 who are working or interning in the coffee industry.

Registration is accepted on a rolling basis. Those interested in being a member of the General Membership should submit this form, or contact Matthew Cariani at mcariani@ncausa.org.

The Next Gen Council

You can help shape the future of the NCA - and the coffee industry.

Members of the Next Gen Council will establish themselves as industry leaders through unique, hands-on experience and networking opportunities with NCA Board members and senior executives.

Next Gen Leadership will be responsible for setting the strategic direction of the group and working with the NCA Board of Directors. The council consists of three officers (Past-Chair, Chair, Vice-Chair) and five council members. Leadership roles are determined by the NCA External Member Relations (EMR) Committee.

Non-officer council members must chair or co-chair one of the Next Gen Council committees.

NCA Next Gen Council members must be employed by NCA member organizations.

NCA Next Gen Council Application

NCA Next Gen Committees

Looking to get more involved in the NCA Next Gen? Join one of three Next Gen Committees. Play an integral role in the planning and execution of Next Gen initiatives. We are looking for dedicated, enthusiastic and motivated people to join the Communications, Events and Engagement Committees.

Committee Request Form

The Next Generation Council

Chair
Janet Colley Morse
Vice President, The Dupuy Group

Janet Colley Morse represents the 4th generation of The Dupuy Group, which was founded by John Dupuy in 1936. Since the early years as a New Orleans coffee warehouse, Dupuy has expanded to 4 additional port cities including Miami, Houston, Jacksonville, FL, and Charleston, SC. With coffee still serving as the main commodity handled by Dupuy, the company has broadened its scope to include a variety of value added services including cleaning, upgrading, and blending.

Janet serves as Vice President and is one of two remaining family members, the other of which being her father, Allan Colley, who serves as President of the organization. She serves on the Logistics Committee of the Green Coffee Association, is a past President of the Southern Coffee Association, and is currently President of theGreen Coffee Association of New Orleans.

Vice Chair
Kyle Bawot
Coffee Trader, Olam Americas

Kyle Bawot is a coffee trader at Olam Americas. He attended Skidmore College, from where he holds a BA in Economics. His interest in coffee was first sparked while serving as a Peace Corps Economic Development volunteer in Northern Peru, where he was first able to learn about the coffee supply chain. Shortly after his return to the US, Kyle landed an entry level position at Olam where he quickly worked his way into a trading role.

Kyle holds both Q Grader and ICE Exchange Grader licenses and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in International Political Economy on a full scholarship at Fordham University. His passion for the industry continues to grow but his true interest lies in addressing the ongoing sustainability challenges our industry faces.

Past Chair
Zach Olsen
Regional Account Manager, BUNN-O-Matic Corporation

With over 10 years of experience in the coffee industry, Zach has a strong passion for the business. He started his foodservice career 15 years ago as a fine dining server at a country club in East Lansing, MI.

Those early experiences in turn, helped provide an added perspective for this industry . Zach holds a Bachelors of Science in Food Industry Management from Michigan State University where he continues his involvement as a volunteer, participating in several speaking engagements throughout the year. From 2007-2015 he worked in various professional sales roles for a regional coffee roaster, spending half of those years living in Chicago. In January 2015 he started working as a Regional Account Manager for BUNN and moved back to his native state of Michigan.

Gustavo Cerna
Sr.Manager Coffee and Tea, National DCP

Gustavo has been immersed in the agricultural and coffee industry since he was born. His initial exposure to coffee came by constantly visiting his family farms in Northern Nicaragua, and working in his family’s roasting operation. There he worked in the areas of farming, quality control, exports, roasting, and packaging.

After graduating high school from Nicaragua, he attended Loyola University New Orleans where he studied Finance and International Business. Upon graduation, he worked in the Starbucks supply chain and then he followed his passion for Agriculture by obtaining his master in Agricultural Economics from Cornell University. Further on, he took a sabbatical from Coffee and worked in Cocoa production/trading and breeding. He then returned to focus on coffee, and he placed 9th in the 2018 Cup of Excellence of Nicaragua.

He then returned to the US to work in the National DCP (Supply Chain Cooperative for Dunkin’) where he currently oversees procurement of green coffee, and distribution of roasted coffee to the Dunkin’ system. He is a passionate for sustainable progress and developing cost effective solutions for all parties in the coffee supply chain.

Michelle Dunaway
Green Coffee Trader, Novus Coffee Imports/Mercon Coffee Corp.

Michelle grew up in the coffee industry, starting her coffee career working during summer at a coffee mill in her native Santa Rosa de Copan, Honduras. Coming from a family with strong ties to coffee, she learned the passion for coffee from her father.

Since very young, her ambitions to be the best in the field made her work her way up to becoming the head of the Exports Department for a coffee exporting company in 2008 after graduating with a degree in Industrial Engineering from the Universidad Católica of Honduras.

After moving to the US to further her experience in the coffee industry, she worked in key positions that included importing coffee, logistics, trading, risk management and cupping. She is a licensed Q Grader and enjoys developing win-win relationships based on mutual trust.

Nora Johnson
Commodities Manager, Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA

Nora Johnson is a Commodities Manager with Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA (MZB-USA), one of the largest private label coffee manufacturers and owner of several retail coffee brands including Chock full o’Nuts®, Kauai Coffee®, Hills Bros.®, Hills Bros.® Cappuccino, Segafredo Zanetti®, MJB®, and Chase & Sanborn®. In her role, Nora manages futures and physical positions for several MZB-USA clients and is responsible for trade execution in addition to supporting the company’s responsible sourcing strategy. A Licensed Q Arabica Grader, Nora is part of MZB-USA’s dedicated green coffee cupping team.

Nora began her coffee career in 2016 as a summer intern with the Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA Commodities Department. Upon graduating summa cum laude from Florida Gulf Coast University in 2017 with a B.S. in Finance, Nora proudly joined MZB-USA full-time as an analyst and has since been promoted to Commodities Manager.

Dan Pabst
Coffee and New Product Development Manager, Melitta USA

Dan Pabst is a passionate and respected coffee expert with 15 years of experience across a wide array of channels within the specialty coffee industry. Working across multiple business units, Dan supports current and potential Melitta customers by developing products and operational solutions that help create and grow a profitable coffee program.

Dan holds several certifications within the specialty coffee industry including Licensed Q-Grader: Arabica and Authorized SCA Trainer.

Dan began his career in coffee as a Barista with Mudhouse Coffee Roasters (Charlottesville, VA). He quickly grew into the role of Director of Operations, overseeing retail operations for 5 locations and was a driving force behind the transition from a Second Wave to Third Wave specialty coffee brand, setting them on course to win 2017 Micro-roaster of the Year (Roast Magazine). Prior to Melitta, Dan has worked for FRANKE USA, Ronnoco Coffee, and consulted for coffee companies in Europe and Asia.

Myrna Rombado
Green Coffee Buyer, Community Coffee Company

Myrna is a graduate of the University of Texas with a bachelor of science in Biology and has nearly 10 years’ experience working in various roles across the coffee manufacturing supply chain, both for private label and branded companies. Currently, Myrna works as the green coffee buyer at Community Coffee Company in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She is a licensed Q Arabica Grader who enjoys cupping coffee, traveling to origin and continuing to build on the great sourcing partnerships established by Community Coffee for the past 100 years.

Leadership Criteria

Applicants must do the following to be eligible for a leadership role:

Submit a commitment letter from a manager stating that an individual has permission to attend the annual Next Gen council meeting at the NCA Annual Convention
Provide a resume and cover letter. (Cover letter explains an applicant’s reason for applying and how they can contribute.)
Submit a recommendation letter from a manager.
Served at least one year on a council committee. (This criteria does not apply for the 1st Council being formed this year)
Must be employed at an NCA member company

To be eligible for a Leadership position, the candidate must be 39 years or younger at the start of his/her term.

Term limits for leadership roles are set at two years with no option for reelection.

Selection Process

For the first cycle of leadership positions only, the NCA will select individuals who they feel possess leadership qualities and desire for making a meaningful impact within the NCA.