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The Crew
SAM TIMMRECKI am Sam. Sam I am. Please though, don't ask me if I like green eggs and ham. I don't know because I have never had them! If I had to speculate, I'd probably guess that sure, I'd like green eggs and ham. But it's no longer cute to ask a Sam if he likes that sort of thing. But ask me anything else regarding my likes and dislikes and I'd be happy to divulge. For example, if somebody said to me, "hey Sam, what are your favorite things about life?" I would answer with a quip, "that's a hard question!" Then I'd come back the next day with a list of things. It'd look like this: MY FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT LIFE: dancing, sad songs, when somebody understands you, happy songs, playing music, booty-shakin' songs, bike rides, taking walks, gardens, that guy Michael Pollan, plants, nice people, compassionate people, the radio, the miracle of spring, funny people, good books, dirt, when you understand somebody, food, when you laugh really hard, and finally, having a job that I really honestly enjoy at a company whose work really does good. Say hi to me on the road! 
TRAVIS HALVERSONBorn in Minneapolis. Grew up in Minnesota (Brooklyn Park, Coon Rapids and South Minneapolis). After K-12 (hated 3-12) worked as a Courier, Fashion Model and Submariner. I like: Nikki, drinking coffee (perhaps a sip, or two, of vodka, as well), reading (Heinlein, Vonnegut and Prometheus Award winners), watching movies, riding my bicycle and motorcycle (both junk), Meagan's idea of making lists... ...What the?... ...Aaaahh!!! Adam! You're gonna make me spill my bean juice! 
ANGELICA COX VAZQUEZSome people often wonder, "How did a woman from Las Vegas (a.k.a "Sin City"), where fair trade products are hard to find, hear about Peace Coffee?" Well... in the winter of 2006, while I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Costa Rica working with organic fair trade coffee farmers, I received an email from a friend saying that he had attended a screening in the Twin Cities for the documentary Black Gold. He also mentioned that he had met some passionate "fair traders" from a coffee company called Peace Coffee. Since I was an overzealous "fair trader" myself and was going to be taking a break from the tropical climate of Costa Rica and visiting the freezing Twin Cities that month, I decided to contact Peace Coffee to set up a meeting. I met with the infamous Mel, who gave me a tour and talked more in depth about the company. I was very impressed with Peace Coffee's mission-based company model, and it was refreshing to see a sustainable company that was consistently doing positive work and helping the small farmers that most corporations exploit. I remember leaving the PC office that 2006 winter saying to myself "I would love to work for a company like this". Little did I know I would make it here one day! 
ATHEIYNA FOREMANI am a foot short for my age, left handed and tend to trip over invisible objects... I am an angry little big monster. I am that girl who wants to start a revolution and bring back Casey Kasem's top 40... and Peace Coffee has flexible hours, I love the coffee, which can also be used as currency... I enjoy making silly faces, Making art, riding my bike, sci-fi, gluten free pretzels, good pick-up lines, and bad jokes. 
BRIAN STEEHLERAfter having been born under an auspicious sign (one that read "Maternity Ward") in Arvada, Colorado, I moved around like an Army brat due to my father's employment in the volatile grocery industry. Suburban Denver was for a scant three years, then Santa Rosa, California for a year, then Green Bay, Wisconsin for four years, then Columbus, Ohio for five years, then to Eden Prairie, Minnesota for the remainder of my life (12 years). And because everyone always asks, my favorite place climatewise was Ohio. They would cancel school for an inch of snow! Yeah! A freakin' inch! But Minnesota and the Twin Cities are close to my heart. I'm now and hopefully forever a "good old St Paul" boy instead of a "big time Minneapolis" guy. I like that side of the river and my efficiency apartment on the bus line. I love cars and food, so naturally, driving a van that uses food crops and some other random food-related products as fuel is the ideal combination, right? I love her, my van, or "La Tortuga Locosita" as I call her. Check her out on our Biodiesel page! I've delivered soup, party rental items, and water heaters, but coffee is by far the most fun and best smelling delivery item I've ever done. For fun I love seeing architectural wonders, especially churches, especially my church, the Cathedral of St Paul (4th largest church in North America...St Paul rocks!) But also the many fabulous buildings around town...just ask me and I'll talk your ear off about architecture, local architecture, history, all that stuff. And the horrible truth is that I'm actually more of an herbal tea drinker than a coffee drinker, but hopefully reeducation camp will cure that. 
LEE WALLACEI joined the Peace Coffee staff first as Interim Director. Then something clicked. A job where I get to combine my determination to make the world more just and get folks to connect the local and the global, my love of travel and my appreciation for good coffee. You’ve got to be kidding me. I’m hooked. In my hours away from Peace Coffee, I am likely reading, gardening, engaged in a massive never-ending house project or playing ice hockey. 
STACY ADRIANSONI was born and raised in a tiny rural town in Michigan. I spent my summers at gymnastics camp dreaming of competing in the Olympics. Later in my teens I worked in the corn fields detasseling and dreaming of the big city. After graduating from Michigan State in '01 my job relocated me to Cincinnati where I lived for five years. Looking for change, I decided to move to Minnesota where I was told the people are nice and the weather is cold. I am loving everything about the Twin Cities especially the lakes and the bike trails. Many of my friendships have been forged through a shared love of coffee and the ritual of making a good cup. Brewing a pot brings back many soul warming memories for me and this is what drew me to my job at Peace Coffee. 
KYLE FELDMANI grew up in the same part of Minneapolis as roaster Ryan, and other than some living in London and jaunting through the rest of Europe, I've spent all of my life in this wonderful corner of the world. I've had a very fruitful relationship with coffee for most of my adulthood, and thankfully I've not only been enlightened to the universe of fair trade, but I now get to be a part of one of its shining stars. At night, I work in a wonderful restaurant (that serves Peace Coffee!), and most of my free time is spent sitting on the porch of the beautiful apartment I share with my Anna, my beautiful girlfriend of many years. I also read whatever I can get my hands on, enjoy biking, have a fledgling but hopeful yoga and meditation practice, and surround myself with creative, passionate, and loving people. I am grateful for the blessings that have been bestowed on me, and I am committed to spend my life giving them back and paying them forward. "I slept and dreamt that life was only joy. I awoke and I saw that life was but service. I acted and behold, service was joy!" – Rabindranath Tagore 
ANDY LAMBERTOn me: I'm two parts day dreamer and one part elbow grease monkey. My dog Lobo is the most Zen dog you've ever met and teaches me a lot about relaxation, having fun, and the proper technique for the "downward dog" yoga position. My cat Twig's breath smells like cat food. Last but not least, Princess Loushka is my better half and sunshine of my life. On life: I search for happiness, real, true, everlasting happiness. On work: If we do what we've always done, we'll get what we've always got. Bring enough free-thinking, open minded people with open hearts together and what do you get? Revolucion mi amigo, r-e-v-o-l-u-c-i-o-n. I absolutely love Peace Coffee, especially the fact that by simply drinking this stuff, one can literally change the lives of the people who grow the beans. It is that simple and that easy. 
ANNA CANNINGI'm from Oregon, where I learned to love rain and curling up with a good book; spent five years in New Mexico where I learned to love the desert and green chile. I came to Minneapolis in 2003 where I further refined my fondness for wool to include a preference for wool knee socks and knitting warmers for all my extremities. While I miss mountains and intense greenness, even the Minnesota nice is starting to grow on me. My job as Production Manager at Peace Coffee allows me to combine my bizarrely acute sense of smell with my mad Excel skills in the interest of getting good coffee out the door. I enjoy the day-to-day Sisyphean cycle of production and the challenge of balancing those logistics with the on-going mission of rethinking trade relationships and the supply chain. 
MELANEE MEEGANI drank a sweet shot of Peace Coffee Espresso and readied myself for a river run with one final bite of my all-time favorite fruit, the banana. The source of peel-and-munch power, nutritional goodness and multinational-controlled atrocities by the bunch. My fascination with the mighty banana led me to discover the similarly exploited coffee crop. Bananas and coffee are adored worldwide. Yet banana and coffee growers are screwed globally. Fair trade, ethical business and an authentic partnership with growers is the only way to bring responsibility and justice back into the trade equation. Peace Coffee is 100% committed to doing this. That's why I'm here as Advertising and Marketing Coordinator, spreading the fair trade word! The job allows me to work for a real life impact, one pound at a time, the fates of so many good people. 
KEITH TOMLINSON- Born in Texas. 
JOE MOSKOWITZMy job at peace coffee is... to count all of the beans. 
DEREK DE LA PAZI was born in Los Angeles, California but my mother moved us to the Twin Cities when I was five. I was raised in the suburbs of Minneapolis and St. Paul where her family lived. Eventually we moved to Hudson, Wisconsin where I went to high school. After high school I had an opportunity to work with a Master Chef from France, it was a life changing experience. Food was always a big part of my family, so wanting to be a chef was a natural choice. Northern California was my next destination, to go to culinary school. It worked out great. I was a Chef in Napa Valley for seven years. In 2004 I opted for a better life, and took a job with a coffee giant. It wasn't for me. So I planned to return to my home, the Twin Cities. I've had a good year (2006). I landed a job as a roaster for Peace Coffee and relocated to lovely Minneapolis. It's a great new chapter in my life. Friends, family, a great job and the city I love. |
Peace Coffee is a subsidiary of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.
