Kimberly Easson
During more than thirty years working in the arena of sustainable trade and development, Kimberly Easson has dedicated herself to strengthening relationships throughout the supply chain and working with industry participants generate win-win trading relationships that make a difference. She is the Founder and CEO of Equal Origins (formerly The Partnership for Gender Equity) a US based women-led not-for-profit social enterprise focused on improving equity and sustainability along coffee, cocoa and other agricultural supply chains. She previously worked as Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Gender Program Advisor for the Coffee Quality Institute where she was responsible for the design and implementation of the organization's private sector and non-traditional funding partnership approach, stakeholder engagement, and strategy development to strengthen CQI's position as a thought-leader for quality coffee development programs.
As the former Director of Producer Services and Relations at Fairtrade International, she held responsibility for producer capacity building services for over one million Fairtrade producers in 63 countries. She played a leadership role in the early development of the Fairtrade market in the US during ten years.
Kimberly is a frequent speaker at trade conferences around the world, has written numerous articles published in trade press, and has been quoted by the national and regional media in articles about coffee, trade and social responsibility. She served ten years as a member of the Sustainability Council of the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), and also served four years on the board of directors. She is Co-Founder and past-President of the International Women's Coffee Alliance (IWCA), and co-founder of JavaJog for a Cause which has raised nearly $100,000 for women in coffee farming communities.
