Merrill van der Walt 
Merrill is an adult learning specialist. She was an academic at the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa) where she managed the Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in Paleoscience. She was part of the science team awarded by the National Science Foundation in 2015 for their scientific contribution to the understanding of the origins of humankind. After leaving academia she focused on creating and delivering numerous adult education programs and widened her area of focus to include psychology. Merrill is passionate about helping to create a culture of continuous learning. She has an unwavering enthusiasm for knowledge and a steadfast belief in human curiosity and betterment.

Emma Sage is the Director of Education Services at CQI. She oversees the growth, distribution, and success of CQI Education and Products. She holds a Master’s of Science in Botany, a B.A. in Ecology, and received a post-graduate certificate from the Applied Sensory and Consumer Science Certificate Program at the University of California, Davis. Before coming to the coffee industry, she worked with a variety of laboratory and field research projects in plant physiology, biology, ecology, enology, and climate change science.

Mark Al-Shemmeri is a chemical engineer who spent four years as a doctoral researcher (EngD) figuring out how to simulate coffee roasting in-silico, creating a digital twin of a coffee roaster. The data-driven approach meant a lot of roasting, analysis (physical, chemical and sensorial) and coding up of simulations to predict how different green coffees, in different roasters with different process conditions transform during roasting - in terms of their particle motion, temperature and physicochemical properties. Mark is now a Coffee Technology Specialist in R&D at JDE Peet’s where he is implementing his learnings to develop large-scale roasting practices.

Peter Giuliano is the Executive Director of the Coffee Science Foundation, and the Chief Research Officer for the Specialty Coffee Association of America. Over the course of more than 35 years in the coffee trade, Peter has worked as a barista, coffee roaster, retail manager, coffee taster, coffee buyer, and educator. He co-owned Counter Culture Coffee, where he served as Director of Coffee, and during that time developed an innovative model which included direct communication with coffee producers and an education-based national network. Peter has served as chair of the Coffee Roasters Guild, an organization he helped found, and was president of the Specialty Coffee Association in 2011-2012. In 2013, he joined the staff of the SCA where he focused on developing new educational and scientific resources for the industry. In 2016, Peter turned his focus towards academic research, building a research agenda for the trade association, and establishing the Coffee Science Foundation which he now directs. Peter is coauthor of the Coffee Sensory and Cupping Handbook, a key resource for coffee cuppers and sensory professionals. He helped design the SCA's Coffee Value Assessment and Flavor Wheel, and has authored many articles and papers for the specialty coffee community.

Marco Wellinger researches coffee at the ZHAW Coffee Excellence Center. His focus is on the dynamics of coffee extraction and how to make understanding water more simple. He also performs sensory analysis and is certified as a Q Arabica and Q Robusta grader, SCA sensory professional and authorised SCA trainer (AST). He co-authored the SCA Water Quality and Freshness handbooks. His work with industry partners includes benchmark testing of espresso machines and household filter coffee systems. Since 2022 he is the main author and teacher of the extraction module in the online course CAS in Coffee Excellence.

Irene Chetschik is Professor of Food Chemistry & Analysis and Head of the Food Chemistry Research Group at the Institute of Food and Beverage Innovation of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences in Wädenswil, Switzerland. She studied Food Chemistry at the Technical University of Munich, Germany and obtained her PhD in the Field of Aroma Research at the Technical University Munich & German Research Centre for Food Chemistry (now Leibniz-Institute for Food Systems Biology). After her PhD, Irene Chetschik worked as Flavour Research Scientist for two international companies in Switzerland before she joined the ZHAW, were she established 2018 the Food Chemistry Research Group.

Samo Smrke is deputy head of the Coffee Excellence Center at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW). He is leading coffee research projects in collaboration with coffee industry and in fundamental research on various topics of coffee chemistry and coffee science. He is teaching in the Coffee Excellence continuing education course at ZHAW, and various other educational programs with partners of ZHAW. Samo is actively participating at coffee conferences, is one of the co-authors of the SCA Freshness Handbook and Water Handbook and has contributed to scientific papers and book chapters about coffee.