Summer Lewis was selected as a Fellow for the Specialty Coffee Association of America Re:Co Symposium in Seattle, Washington, USA. According to the official website:
So what does Re:Co have to do with Summer’s work and True Roots, and why is it important to her?
Having wor
ked in coffee and international development for more than 10 years, Summer understands what it’s like for a small-scale producer trying to make ends meet—and also recognize the needs of the coffee industry and development organizations, in terms of productivity, quality, and impact indicators. Thus, her current work as a consultant with True Roots builds bridges between these worlds: between community needs and dreams, academic research, the coffee industry, and international resources.
Summer’s consulting work with True Roots has focused on gender and the coffee value chain: supporting the Coffee Quality Institute’s “Partnership for Gender Equity” project in Mexico, and teaching two online courses, “International Development” and “Women, Globalization, and Coffee” for Kansas State University. She designed the latter course around a case study—following a cup of coffee from seed to mug, and the women and their families that make it possible. These two projec
ts have further deepened her commitment to promoting and educating others about gender equity in the coffee value chain. Summer sees a wealth of possibilities for expanding this area of research and practice in specialty coffee, and Re:Co provides the perfect forum to make these connections.
So this is why it was an honor for Summer to contribute at Re:Co as a representative of True Roots. Ultimately, Summer believes all members of the coffee value chain, from producers to consumers, must be included and involved in order to achieve industry sustainability.