Susie Spindler Joins International Women’s Coffee Alliance Board of Directors

Susie Spindler, Co-Founder of Cup of Excellence®(COE) and former long-time Executive Director of The Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE) has recently joined the board of directors of the organization dedicated to empowering women in the coffee industry. The International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) is a global network of independent, self-organized chapters in 27 countries united by a shared mission.  In addition to empowerment development programs spearheaded by the IWCA, Spindler will work to build educational activities that leverage the know-how of both the IWCA and COE. 

“It is well known that by empowering women to realize greater financial success and creating avenues for women to have impactful and professional participation in the coffee industry the results are stunning. Not only is the coffee industry as a whole more sustainable but families are healthier and entire communities can benefit. I have always admired the goals and mission of IWCA and hope that my experience can be of benefit to ensure its future growth and success,” said Spindler explaining why she volunteered. 

One of the goals of this synergy is to achieve greater access to technical training for cuppers and marketplace recognition for higher quality farms managed by women. “It has been apparent over the years that often top coffees are dependent on women that work extremely hard to focus on quality,” said Spindler, who is also an advisor for both ACE and COE, “Finding ways for both organizations to help bring about increased and sustained income for women is extremely important,” she continued. 

“The IWCA Board of Directors welcomes Susie to the group and look forward to her contributions.  IWCA is continuing to move forward in escalating IWCA’s work to meet its mission of empowering women in the international coffee community to achieve meaningful and sustainable lives, and to encourage and recognize the participation of women in all aspects of the coffee industry.by working together.  Guided by the IWCA mission, there is no doubt that we will achieve a stronger and empowered tomorrow for communities across the global coffee industry.” indicated Sharon Riechers, President of IWCA.


About International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA):
Founded in 2003, the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) leads women’s empowerment in the global coffee industry by supporting a global network of independent, self-organized chapters in 27 countries. The mission of IWCA is to empower women in the international coffee community to achieve meaningful and sustainable lives; and to encourage and recognize the participation of women in all aspects of the coffee industry. As a global network, the IWCA achieves empowerment through leadership development, strategic partnership, and amplified market visibility. For updates and related events, please visit womenincoffee.org.

About Alliance for Coffee Excellence & Cup of Excellence®

Alliance for Coffee Excellence is a non-profit global membership organization dedicated to advancing excellence in coffee. Cup of Excellence, a program which gives out the most prestigious award in coffee, has affected thousands of farmers. Its unmatched focus on quality discovery, farmer premiums and transparency has changed the specialty coffee industry.

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