This week Everything Co-op continues to feature finalist from its Inaugural 2023 Holiday List, a thoughtfully curated list of products and services from the cooperative community. In the 4th installment, Vernon will introduce you to two of his picks for your “Body” & “Community”. Thaleon Tremain, CEO/Co-founder of Pachamama Coffee Cooperative, will discuss the partnerships Pachamama has with family farmers, and his advocacy for the cooperative business model; and Noemi Giszpenc, Executive Director of the Keystone Development Center (KDC), will share the programs and services provided by KDC.
Thaleon Tremain is the CEO and co-founder of Pachamama Coffee Cooperative of small-scale coffee producers, a federated cooperative representing more than 100,000 family farmers in Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico and Ethiopia. Tremain has led Pachamama’s rapid growth, during which he has gained a wealth of leadership experience and business acumen at a global level. He has coordinated the efforts of Pachamama’s member-cooperatives in Latin America and Africa, while launching a successful coffee brand in the U.S.
Tremain’s passion for the cooperative business model began at an agricultural cooperative in rural Bolivia, where he worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in the mid 1990s. In pursuit of a better ownership and governance structure for economic development, Tremain is a dedicated advocate for the cooperative model.
Noemi Giszpenc is the Executive Director of the Keystone Development Center (KDC), a cooperative development agency that serves PA, NJ, MD and DE. Previously she was the Executive Director of the Cooperative Development Institute for 13 years. Noemi has a background in community economic development, collaborative and participatory leadership and facilitation, and employee ownership. She holds a Masters from Southern New Hampshire University, and a Bachelors from MIT. She loves everything co-op — from fair trade chocolate to credit union banking!
