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SPEAKER BIOS

Alan Kaiser
Alan Kaiser is director of external relations and communications for the National Coffee Association. Kaiser, joined the NCA at a time of impressive growth and change for the coffee industry. Kaiser is responsible for all media relations, issues management, and the Association’s publications. Alan’s experience and proven track record in respective fields positions him as a tremendous asset for the Association.

Kaiser spent the last two years at the Hamilton Group, a boutique public relations firm, where as a director, he was responsible for the firm’s business to business and financial services accounts. Before the Hamilton Group, Kaiser was a member of the public relations team for IBM’s storage systems group overseeing media relations, and worked 12 years as UST’s director of communications handling media relations, issues management and crisis communications.Kaiser is a graduate of Boston University’s School of Public Communications.

Jim Edmonds
Jim Edmonds is chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Port of Houston Authority. His appointment in June 2000 was a joint decision of the Houston City Council and the Harris County Commission. Edmonds was first appointed to the Port Commission in October 1996, representing Harris County.

Under Edmonds’ leadership, the Port of Houston Authority has been able to expand its business opportunities to better serve existing customers and to create opportunities for future customers. For example, the port authority opened the first phase of the Bayport Container Terminal in early 2007. In 2001, Jim led the efforts to seek Texas voters’ approval on a state constitutional amendment providing an ad valorem tax exemption on all green coffee and raw cocoa imports stored in Harris County. The New York Board of Trade granted the green coffee port status in early 2003.

Additionally, Edmonds, along with his commission colleagues, has directed the port staff to strengthen relationships with local, state and federal elected officials and to develop constructive affiliations with members of the Houston-area media. Edmonds’ tenure as chairman of the PHA commission also has been marked by the implementation of the Small Business Development Program, the PHA’s certification for ISO 14001 compliance, the global standard for excellence in environmental stewardship and its recognition as the world’s first port authority to initiate a Security Management System worthy of certification for ISO 28000:2007. In addition, his leadership helped the port authority become a major player in the conception and creation of the Gulf Coast Freight Rail District – the state’s first of its kind – and of the nation’s first Ship Channel Security District.

Professionally, Edmonds is president of Edmonds & Company, a business consulting firm.

Don Pisano
Don Pisano is vice president of American Coffee Corp. in Jersey City, New Jersey, a unit of the German trading company, Hamburg Coffee Company Hacofco mbH. The group is a leading coffee importer into the European and North American markets, trading more than 2.5 million bags on an annual basis.

Pisano began his career in the commodities business in 1976, handling marine insurance and cargo claims for various agricultural commodities. He has since built a career in the coffee industry focused on logistics management and contract administration. At American Coffee Corp., Pisano manages the import logistics and contract execution for the group’s North American operations. He also actively contributes quite a bit of time to coffee industry associations and related activities.

Having served the Green Coffee Association (GCA) for many years as a member of its Traffic and Warehouse Committee, its Contract and By-Laws Committee, as well as being a technical arbitrator for the Association, Pisano joined the Board of Directors in 2005 and was appointed chairman of its Traffic and Warehouse Committee. His committee of 20 logistics professionals is dedicated to tackling industry-wide problems and working to improve the transportation, storage, and handling of coffee imported into the United States.

In addition to assisting the GCA, Pisano also serves as chairman of the National Coffee Association’s Traffic Sub-committee and had served 12 years as chairman of the Warehouse and License Committee of the New York Board of Trade.

Vera Braun
Vera Braun is the coffee traffic manager of Coffee America (USA) Corp. based on Wall Street in New York City. Coffee America (USA) Corp.is a leading coffee importing company in the U.S. and Canada specializing in coffees from around the world with 70 percent of its volume originating in Latin America. Coffee America (USA) Corp. with its subdivision, General Cocoa Co. Inc., a leading U.S. cocoa importer, prides itself on its dedication to providing customers with quality in coffee, cocoa and cocoa products, and customer service satisfaction achieved through its excellent relations with origin suppliers as well as the work efforts of its qualified operational staff. Coffee America (USA) Corp.is a validated C-TPAT member and has been a participant in the C-TPAT program since 2007.

As coffee traffic manager, Braun is responsible for the varying logistical processes which include: the negotiation of freight rates, functioning as a key liaison with warehousing and logistic providers, the client base and various government agencies and trade-related committees, for the purpose of ensuring quality service and complete compliance with regulation requirements affecting the conduct of coffee business. Vera’s knowledge and extensive experience, since beginning her career in 1979,has focused on the day-to-day implementation of strategic logistics and the effective and efficient management of traffic in coffee importing.

Braun is a long-time member of the Green Coffee Traffic and Warehouse Committee, The ICE Cocoa, Coffee and Pulp Warehouse and License Committee and the National Coffee Association Traffic Committee.

A native New Yorker, Braun now resides in Cranbury, New Jersey with her husband and three children.

Matt Brauner
Matthew Brauner, president of Brauner International Corp., began his career in customs brokerage and freight forwarding in 1982 when he joined the family business started by his grandfather in 1931. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and received his MBA from Fairleigh Dickenson in 1988. He obtained his custom brokers license in 1991.

Brauner has served on the Board of Governors of the New York/ New Jersey Foreign Freight Forwarders & Brokers Association since 1992 and was asked to serve as president of the association in April 2006.

He has completed the certification for Brauner International as a C-TPAT participant with Customs and Border Protection. He has been active on the Green Coffee Association Traffic and Warehouse Committee for more than 15 years and has participated with the National Coffee Association in giving comments and advice on the Bioterrorism act and been active in the development of the NCA’s CTPAT program.

Tammy Deininger
Tammy Deininger is traffic manager of Volcafe USA LLC based in Somerset, New Jersey.

Founded in 1990 Volcafe USA is a subsidiary of Volcafe LTD and a division of EDF Man London one of the worlds , leading soft commodity trading companies who just celebrated its 225th year of business.

Volcafe is a global leader in coffee exporting, importing and Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) and has companies and offices in 21 countries across the globe. They specialize in supply chain management and offer quality control and execution from tree to roasting plant. The Volcafe group was one of the earliest global coffee import companies to become CTPAT certified and has been an active member of the program for four years now.

Deininger began her import/export career in the steamship industry in 1983. She then moved to traffic in 1991 working for Cargill Coffee, Rothfos Corporation and Volcafe. Her vast experience and management skills have brought her the respect of colleagues and earned her positions on various association committees.

Deininger is currently an active member in Green Coffee Association and National Coffee Association and serves on their Traffic and Warehouse Committees. These committees constantly work for its members to find solutions and make recommendations to solve industry related traffic problems.

Mike Sinclair
Michael Sinclair is the Customs and Border Protection Area port director for the Houston/Galveston Seaport, which includes Port Arthur, Galveston, Freeport, Houston and Corpus Christi. Sinclair directs all CBP activities in these areas, to include all agriculture, trade, cargo, vessel, passenger and crewmember arrivals and departures. He directs the daily activities of more than 260 CBP officers and agriculture specialists.

Sinclair began his career with the United States Customs Service in 1980 in Miami, Florida. He held several management positions at Miami International Airport, Miami Seaport and Port Everglades before being selected to his current position in October 2007.

He is a graduate of Florida State University.

Scott Singleton
Scott Singleton founded Kadena Strategies, Inc., in 2001 as a commercial vehicle for collaborative projects in wholesale trade and logistics.

Singleton has been involved in the Houston coffee industry since 2002. He has been involved with sourcing, processing, logistics, marketing and product development in a broad range of coffee businesses.

Kadena works closely with end users and suppliers to bring products to market. In addition to coffee products, Singleton has developed more than 125 consumer and industrial products. Product customization has included packaging materials and design, trademark and intellectual property protection, wholesale and retail promotion, internationalization and preparation of technical information in foreign languages.

Since 1990, Singleton has exported from the U.S. to 15 countries, imported from five countries into the U.S. and concluded third country transactions.