FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact | Alexandra Katona-Carroll Organization| Coffee Quality Institute Phone | 562.901.3166 Email | akatona@coffeeinstitute.org Website | www.coffeeinstitute.org

Coffee Quality Institute Honors Lindsey Bolger at its 17th Annual Luncheon

PORTLAND, OR (December 16, 2014) – The Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) is pleased to announce

that Lindsey Bolger of Keurig Green Mountain, Inc. (Keurig) is our 2015 Leadership Medal of Merit

honoree. CQI is recognizing Ms. Bolger, vice president of coffee sourcing and excellence, for her

career-long commitment to quality improvements and the lives of producers. As an ardent

supporter of CQI’s Q Coffee System, she integrated CQI’s common language for quality, utilizing the

Specialty Coffee Association of America’s (SCAA) standards, throughout Keurig’s value chain. Trish

Rothgeb, CQI’s director of Q services, recalls, “Lindsey was an early adopter and leader in our Q

Program from the very beginning. Her support of CQI has helped shape our programs and affected

what we are doing today.”

Nearly three decades ago, Ms. Bolger started her career with a small artisan roaster, Batdorf and

Bronson Coffee Roasters. She was instantly engaged in the coffee industry and worked closely with

founders Dick Batdorf and Shannon Bronson. When the business was purchased by its current

owners, Larry and Cherie Challain, Ms. Bolger stayed on as the green coffee buyer and maintained

her commitment to quality. “Lindsey’s unique capacity has allowed her to keep focused on both the

quality of coffee and the lives of producers from the very beginning, and not everyone can say that

about their career,” adds Ric Rhinehart, the SCAA’s executive director.

Ms. Bolger joined Keurig (formerly Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc.) in 2001, where she now

leads its coffee procurement strategies, including sourcing, contracting, and planning. She also

supports its mission to develop direct relationships with the coffee producers and their

communities. Sustainable Harvest’s chief coffee officer and CQI trustee Jorge Cuevas adds, “Lindsey

has had an enlightened career and has furthered the quality of life for coffee growers. Her

commitment towards disseminating the ‘language of taste’ is unparalleled.”

It’s quite possible that Ms. Bolger has had one of the biggest impacts in the industry in terms of

improving coffee quality and the lives of people who produce it, since Keurig is one of the largest

buyers of Fair Trade coffee in the world. She has served on SCAA’s board of directors and is

currently the board chairperson of the World Coffee Research.

The Leadership Medal of Merit is CQI’s most prestigious honor and has been presented at SCAA’s

annual exposition for nearly a decade. It is given to an extraordinary person who embodies CQI’s

mission to improve coffee quality and the lives of people who produce it. Past recipients include

Sunalini Menon (Coffee Board of India), Timothy Schilling (World Coffee Research), and Mr. Sergio

Fajardo (Governor of Antioquia, Colombia).

Ms. Bolger will be accepting the award at CQI’s 17th Annual Luncheon, held during SCAA’s

exposition in Seattle, Washington, on April 11, 2015. Please visit us at www.coffeeinstitute.org to

purchase tickets or become a sponsor.

The Coffee Quality Institute® (CQI) is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization working internationally to improve the quality of coffee and the lives of the people who produce it. CQI provides training and technical assistance to coffee producers and other individuals in the supply chain to increase the value, volume and sustainability of high quality coffee production. CQI also works toward building institutional capacity in coffee producing countries by creating systems and infrastructure that encourage a focus on quality that leads to higher farmer incomes. | www.cofffeeinstitute.org