Staff

At Café Campesino, creating a caring global community starts at home. We strive not only to treat one another with dignity and respect, but also to promote teamwork, to celebrate each other's achievements, and, of course, to have fun.

The Café Campesino team includes:

Bill Harris

Café Campesino's Bill Harris defines Fair Trade as "business by the golden rule—treating others as you would hope to be treated." Bill began Café Campesino in 1997 after seeing firsthand the benefits that Fair Trade can offer small-scale farmers. Ever since then, Bill says he hasn't had a dull moment.

A graduate of Georgia Tech with a degree in industrial management, Bill envisions continued growth for Café Campesino. "In 10 years, maybe we'll be a household name…maybe?!" he comments with a grin. Regardless, he foresees the company continuing on a successful path—and one day being jointly owned by satisfied farmer-partners, workers and customers.

Bill keeps himself energized and motivated by regularly talking with other Fair Traders. He also enjoys a good cup of coffee every now and then (he favors the wild, musky, exotic taste of the Sumatra)! When he wants to relax, Bill bikes, canoes or reads, and he's always up for traveling when he gets the chance.

Geoffrey Hennies

Geoffrey Hennies, AKA Peaceful Traveler, discovered Café Campesino while volunteering at nearby Koinonia Partners, our first, and one of our largest wholesale customers. Over the last 11 years, he has followed a path of simple living while distributing Peace Pilgrim books all over America. Apart from organizing our outreach events, he is also organizer of Cafe Campesino's web presence along with other social justice organizations.

Geoffrey still loves to travel. He is currently serving up tech support and web design to a rebuilding city of New Orleans. He is still involved with community building at Contemplatives In Action and does tech support with Common Ground Tech.

Tripp Pomeroy

"If there is one thing I want Café Campesino customers to know, it is that roasting and delivering the best fair trade coffee in the country isn't enough," says Tripp Pomeroy, Café Campesino's President. "In order for us to truly make a difference, we need to ensure that the Café Campesino "experience" is a uniquely positive one...consistently. Our customers should feel satisfied, if not energized, by their interaction with Café Campesino. Ultimately, developing great relationships with our customers is part and parcel to building and sustaining the great relationships we have with our producers and making Fair Trade flourish."

Tripp is a long-time friend of Bill, whom he met while volunteering with Habitat in 1989-1990. He has more than 15 years of working experience in business and new venture development and management, international trade, sales and marketing and communications. He has lived and worked in Mexico and Paraguay (where he met his wife) and has worked on a variety of business ventures in Argentina, Brazil and Italy. Tripp has a B.A. in Political Science from Tufts University and an M.A. in International Development from The American University School of International Service in Washington, D.C. As an undergraduate, Tripp participated in the first study abroad program in Kingston, Jamaica and also studied in Poznan, Poland and Valencia, Spain. He is fluent in Spanish.

"Based on my experience in Latin America and the Caribbean," Tripp says, "Fair Trade is one of the most effective ways to instill ethical, compassionate and transparent business practices in a world where they are sorely lacking, at the expense of so many good people."

In his free time, Tripp enjoys landscaping, reading, throwing horseshoes and playing with his little critters, which include two children and a low-riding dog named Baby.

Maty de Barrios

Even as a small child in Chiapas, Mexico, Maty heard about and saw people working with coffee. She and her family moved to the United States in the mid-1990s when Habitat for Humanity transferred her husband, Julio, to Americus. When their daughter, Ethel, began searching for a part-time job during high school, Maty brought her down to Café Campesino. But Café Campesino was in the market for a full-time employee, so Maty applied instead! She came into the company as a production helper, weighing and packing coffee orders. She was so good at what she did that she quickly became the production supervisor. Maty loves working with coffee, from the smell of the roasting beans to the way they feel as she runs her fingers through them. “Each variety we roast is so good and so different,” she says. “I just can’t pick a favorite kind.” When Maty isn’t hard at work processing coffee, she loves spending time with her family. She and Julio have four children- Ethel, who is almost 19 now, Alejandro, who is 16, Emmy Maria, who is 15, and Mattie Julisa, who is 8.

Other Staff Members

Rebecca Young

David Campbell

Joe Johnston

Jason Foster

Kari Pinckard