Virtual Think + Drink, 2023

Whether she’s explaining the impact of climate change to a room full of coffee roasters, or coffee genetics to a hedge fund trader, or coffee brewing to her mom, the intersection of coffee, science, and communication is Hanna's passion. She is the author of over 50 magazine articles on coffee, and of the book Left Coast Roast. In her role as director of strategy and communications with WCR, she works closely with organizations across the coffee value stream to think about how to strategically align and communicate long-term sustainability investments. She is based in Portland, Oregon.

Tania Humphrey is the Director of Research & Development (R&D) of World Coffee Research and oversees WCR’s research portfolio. She is passionate about innovation in agriculture and combines a business approach with a strong understanding of science to achieve real-world impact. Tania holds a Ph.D. in Plant Science from the University of Queensland, Australia, and, in her early career, she held research positions at both the University of Toronto and Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada. Prior to WCR, Tania served as the Vice President of R&D at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre in Canada where she led a team of scientists, engineers, and technical staff in plant variety development, biocontrol, and automation technologies for a wide variety of crops, including tree crops like apples and peaches, and others such as greenhouse vegetables, sweet potatoes, and roses.

Vern Long is the Chief Executive Officer of World Coffee Research, the world’s first global, industry-driven collaborative agricultural R&D organization for coffee. A plant breeder by training, Long brings 25 years of experience in international agricultural research with a focus on smallholders, and deep expertise on genetic resources policy. Prior to joining WCR, Long served as the director of the Office of Agricultural Research and Policy at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Long has substantial experience convening diverse stakeholders — from industry, government and research institutions—to formulate a shared research agenda to address pressing challenges in agriculture. She received her PhD in plant breeding from Cornell University.

Kraig H. Kraft is an agroecologist who has worked on rural development issues in Latin America for over 15 years. Prior to joining WCR, Kraig worked with Catholic Relief Services as their Regional Technical advisor for coffee and cacao in Latin America. Previously, Kraig worked with COSA – the Committee on Sustainability Assessment - where he led impact assessments of sustainability projects in coffee and cacao. He has served as a consultant on monitoring and evaluation in coffee and cacao projects for the International Finance Corporation (of the World Bank) and to Lutheran World Relief. Kraig is the co-author of a book on climate change and food traditions, Chasing Chiles: Hot Spots Along the Pepper Trail. Kraig is fluent in Spanish and has a M.S. in International Agricultural Development and a Ph.D. in Agricultural Ecology from the University of California, Davis. Kraig was always a fanatic coffee drinker but was really turned on to the variety and diversity of coffee when he started home roasting when in graduate school, purchasing green coffee from Sweet Marias. He still aspires to roast coffee someday.