World Coffee Research has hired experienced coffee journalist Hanna Neuschwander (in the picture) as the organization’s first communications director. “It’s rare to find organizations that look 100 years into the future.
If my great-grandchildren are able to drink beautiful coffees, and if the next generation of coffee producers are able to make a dignified living from their work, it will be in large part because of the work World Coffee Research is doing now.”
Neuschwander will help WCR build on already strong connections with the coffee industry and communicate research findings to the public with the ultimate goal of securing sustainable funding to continue research in the coming decades.
She is also the primary contact for media inquiries.
“Hanna bring the perfect skill set to WCR,” says Tim Schilling, WCR’s executive director. “Her personal passion for coffee, knowledge of the value chain, understanding of academic institutions and incredible communication skills make her uniquely qualified to bridge the gap between coffee genetics and the perfect espresso macchiato.”
Prior to joining WCR, Neuschwander wrote about the culture, history, and business of coffee for both mainstream and industry publications including Portland Monthly, The Art of Eating, Modern Farmer, the Oregonian, Roast Magazine and Barista Magazine.
She was the author, in 2012, of a guidebook to west coast coffee roasters called Left Coast Roast and has toured the country speaking about coffee at public and industry events.
She received a degree in English literature from McGill University in Montreal, Canada in 2003. She was formerly the strategic communications director for graduate programs at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon.
