EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Monarch Coffee
Abby Munoz is a coffee industry professional, consultant, and entrepreneur with more than a decade of experience in coffee production, quality, roasting, marketing, business development, and association leadership.

Alongside her husband, Sal, Abby helped build Monarch Coffee Farm into one of Hawaii's most recognized specialty coffee brands, earning numerous awards for quality and innovation while developing systems that elevated every aspect of the business—from customer acquisition and marketing to processing and roasting. Today, through Monarch Coffee Collective, she provides consulting services to coffee producers and agricultural businesses, specializing in coffee quality, post-harvest processing, business strategy, and customer acquisition.

Abby has served the Hawaii Coffee Association in multiple leadership roles, including Treasurer, Cupping Competition Chair, World of Coffee Coordinator, Conference Planning Committee member, and Executive Director. She is passionate about creating opportunities for education, collaboration, and industry growth while helping Hawaii coffee remain competitive on the global stage.

Known for her collaborative leadership style and commitment to excellence, Abby is dedicated to supporting coffee farmers, businesses, and industry partners while strengthening the future of Hawaii coffee for generations to come.

PRESIDENT

Honolulu Coffee Company
Ryson Nakamasu represents Honolulu Coffee Company, which has held a seat on the HCA Board for several years, with Ryson currently serving as President.

Ryson has been with Honolulu Coffee Company for 14 years, beginning as a barista and working his way up through warehouse management to his current role as Operations Manager overseeing 226 acres of farmland, including 55 acres of planted coffee. Honolulu Coffee operates cafés on every major island in the State of Hawaiʻi, coffee farms in Kona, and multiple café locations internationally, including franchises in Japan.

Ryson and the Honolulu Coffee team are committed to continuing their service on the HCA Board of Directors, strongly supporting the Hawaiian coffee industry through specialty coffee standards, volunteer hours, and the deep coffee expertise their team brings to the table.

VICE PRESIDENT

Kona Coffee Farmers Association

Suzanne Shriner is the current president of the Kona Coffee Farmers Association and operates fifteen acres in South Kona under the Lions Gate Farms label. She is also the Administrator for the non-profit Synergistic Hawaii Agricultural Council. She has twenty-one years of experience in the coffee business, farmer-to-farmer education, and community organization and has previously served on the HCA board for three years.

SECRETARY

Kona Mountain Coffee
Heather represents Kona Mountain Coffee, a family-owned and operated business on Hawaiʻi Island. She began her journey in the coffee industry as a teenager working as a barista and has since worked across all aspects of the business, from customer service and operations to marketing and business development.

As HCA Secretary, Heather assists with member communications, graphic design, and whatever else the association needs to keep the community connected. She served as conference chair for the 2025 HCA Conference & Cupping Competition.

Heather is grateful to be part of the Hawai’i coffee community and looks forward to continuing to work alongside members as they share Hawai’i coffee with the world.

A Coffee Farm

Alla and her husband managed a 10-acre farm in Wood Valley for five years before partnering with James McCully in 2022 to establish A Coffee Farm, a vertically integrated, farm-to-cup coffee company based in the Ka'u region of the Island of Hawai'i.

Since 2019, Alla has been involved with the Hawaii Coffee Association as Event Coordinator, organizing the Association’s participation in Specialty Coffee Association events and its own annual conference. She has served as HCA Secretary since 2023.

Alla has also been an active member of the Ka‘u Coffee Festival planning committee since 2019, serving as Assistant Organizer and Media & Communications Lead.

Ben Greenwell brings over 20 years of hands-on experience at Greenwell Farms, one of Kona's most storied coffee operations. Over the course of his career, Ben has worked across nearly every aspect of the farm, from field work and planting to roasting, packaging, and leading farm tours that educate visitors on the journey from seed to cup.

Today, Ben serves as Processing Manager overseeing both the wet mill and dry mill operations, while continuing to roll up his sleeves wherever he is needed. His deep roots in the day-to-day realities of coffee farming give him a grounded, practical perspective that he brings to everything he does.

Greenwell Farms has been a longstanding presence on the HCA Board of Directors, and Ben is proud to continue that tradition of service and commitment to Hawai'i's coffee community.

Kauai Coffee Company

Maui Coffee Association

Chris Speere - President MCA / Founder Hale Ihe Consulting. Mr. Speere’s experience includes 48 years of culinary industry expertise, with 32 years of food product and recipe development, curriculum development and grant management at UH Maui College. Since his semi-retirement in 2020 he has been active in the development of the Maui Coffee Associations - Maui Coffee Academy. His activities include securing funding for major coffee processing equipment, the purchase of coffee based educational supplies and the creation of a series of 10 educational coffee videos for MCA members and the greater Maui coffee industries use and enrichment.

With his wife Becky, who is also an accomplished chef, they operate a diversified farm in Huelo offering a selection of unique organically grown tropical fruits and vegetables to local chefs and mixologists.

Island Sun Coffee

I am an owner of Island Sun Coffee. We are a family owned and operated Kona Coffee Farm since 1998. We process seed to cup doing all of the processing on the farm, shade grown & sundried coffee.

I have served on the Hawaii Coffee Association Board for many years and was your past Treasurer and previous Secretary. I currently, serve on the Conference Committee for the last six years.

Kona Hills

Fred Cowell is currently the CEO for Kona Hills, LLC. He was previously the General Manager of Kauai Coffee Company from 2015 to 2023. He has been an HCA board member since 2016 serving in many committees and positions including past president.

Hawai'i Coffee Growers Association

Kimo was hired by Amfac in 1979 as a diversified crops supervisor at Lihue Plantation on Kauai. He moved to Pioneer Mill Sugar Company in 1982 as an assistant Agronomist and became the head of Ag research in 1987. His team planted the first coffee test plats at Pioneer Mill which eventually grew to 550 acres of specialty coffee under the limited business name of Ka’anapali Estate Coffee, which was a subsidy of Pioneer Mill. In 1999 Pioneer Mill Co. closed its sugar operations and likewise, its coffee operations in 2001. In 2003, Kimo launched Maui Grown Coffee Inc. (MGC) through a lease of the former abandoned Ka’anapali Estate Coffee Farm with his former employers and landowners, JMB Realty, who had bought AMFAC in 1988. MGC was successful in saving 500 of the original 550 acres from the demise and continues to supply Maui origin coffee throughout Hawaii, mainland, and international destinations.

Big Island Coffee Roasters

Lora is the production roaster at Big Island Coffee Roasters, as well as part of the QC team, where she has worked since 2023. Her first introduction to the coffee industry was in 2018, when she moved to a farm in Ka’u and got to experience all the stages of coffee farming. In 2020 she joined the Ka’u Coffee Mill team, where she learned to roast on the Diedrich CR-50, which sparked her passion for roasting. She has since been continuing her education in roasting and sensory skills, received a Q-Arabica Grader certification, and participated as a judge for the 2024 Kona Cupping Competition.

Pacific Coffee Research

I bring with me a strong foundation of industry experience, including roles in both café and roastery management. I am a licensed Q Grader and professional coffee roaster, and have worked extensively across the specialty coffee supply chain. My volunteer work with the HCA reflects a deep commitment to the Hawai‘i coffee community. I have supported cupping competitions hosted by Pacific Coffee Research, co-led workshops at the HCA Conference, brewed coffee in the HCA booth at the Specialty Coffee Association’s Global Coffee Expo, and helped plan and coordinate the US Coffee Champs Barista and Brewers Cup Prelim Competitions in 2019, 2022, and 2023. Pacific Coffee Research (PCR), where I have served in a leadership role since 2021, has long been a dedicated partner of the HCA. PCR has provided vital services to the Hawai‘i coffee industry—services that were previously inaccessible locally. These include barista training, Q grading, equipment servicing and procurement, and certified educational programming. PCR is deeply embedded in the local and national coffee community, and I am eager to represent this perspective on the HCA Board. I believe my industry expertise, leadership experience, and collaborative approach will be valuable assets to the HCA as it continues to support and elevate Hawai‘i’s coffee sector.

Kona Farm Direct

Royal Aloha Coffee Company

My name is Scott Snyder, and I am the Chief Executive Officer for Royal Aloha Coffee Company d.b.a. Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii. Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii was born on the Big Island in 1989 and is dedicated to marketing, educating, and sharing premium Hawaiian coffees through 40+ U.S. franchise locations and soon through an additional 100+ shops in development including re-establishing stores throughout Hawaii. Bad Ass Coffee currently has one location in Maui following a lost location as a result of the Lahaina fire in 2023. It is also opening the first of 10 new locations in Honolulu this Summer. The company also promotes and educates online customers from around the globe to the unique coffee product that is Hawaiian Coffee.

Following two prior owners, I acquired the assets of Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii in 2019 with a vision to rebrand, refocus and relaunch the brand with an authentic commitment to honoring the Hawaiian Coffee culture and farmers with consumers worldwide. As part of that commitment, I joined the HCA in 2019 and am nearing the end of my first year of service on the HCA Board of Directors. I would like to continue that service by being re-elected to the Board of Directors for the upcoming term.

Prior to Bad Ass Coffee, I have a track record as an accomplished business owner, executive, award-winning marketing strategist, and business consultant with a consistent track record of transforming early-stage brands into category contenders, and re-inventing existing brands to realize new levels of success. I was a founder of Xylem Digital, an international digital marketing & strategic growth agency that facilitated the rapid growth and expansion of nearly 40 brands in the food & beverage space including Chipotle, Jimmy Johns, Jamba Juice, Einstein Brothers, Red Robin, Jack Links, Chili’s, Church’s Chicken, Fresh Express/Chiquita, Noodles and more.

When I’m not working, I enjoy visits to see my HCA friends in Hawaii, but I currently live in Denver, CO with my wife, Daria.