Coffee as Social Catalyst: Changing the World One Cup at a Time
When: August 8, 2019 at 6:30 pm
Where: J. Rene Coffee Roasters, 320 Park Road, West Hartford, CT
Join the team at J. Rene Coffee Roasters as we welcome Mary Allen Lindemann from Coffee By Design for a guest lecture entitled, "Coffee as Social Catalyst: Changing the World One Cup at a Time."
Come learn more about coffee's role in social advocacy, global issues, and how consumers and coffee shops alike play a vital part in being the change.
About Mary Allen Lindemann:
Mary Allen Lindemann is the Co-owner/Community Builder of Coffee By Design (CBD); a Maine owned and operated specialty coffee roastery/retailer, which she co-founded with her partner, Alan Spear, in Portland, Maine in 1994. Committed to changing the world, one cup of coffee at a time, CBD has five coffeehouses and a micro roastery, which provides over 500 wholesale customers with sustainably sourced, craft roasted coffee. In addition to serving some of the world’s finest coffee, Coffee By Design is committed to running a sustainable business dedicated to progressive arts and social change -- here in Maine as well as around the world at origin where they buy their coffee.
Ms. Lindemann’s title of Community Builder illustrates the many hats she wears at the company. Mary Allen is dedicated to ensuring that Coffee By Design stays true to its Maine roots and maintains its commitment to giving back to the local and international communities from which Coffee By Design is intimately connected. Part of her job is to make sure the company continues to be a “good corporate citizen” while making social change happen in a unique and meaningful way. With regards to coffee, Mary Allen believes “it is an honor to represent the many farmers we buy from by serving a great cup of coffee while sharing the story behind the bean.” She hopes that the work she does on a daily basis at Coffee By Design and in the community makes a difference now and in the years to come.
Mary Allen is actively involved in the community. In addition to being co-founder of Coffee By Design, she has been a founding member of several organizations which include Portland Buy Local, Women Standing Together, the Olympia Snowe Leadership Institute. Most recently, her focus is on asylum seekers and immigration rights for those new to the United States and settled in Maine. She is Vice Chair of the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center Board and a member of the Portland Ovations Board working on increasing diversity in their audience and offerings.
For her work, she has received the Edmund H. Muskie Access to Justice Award, A Company of Girls Empow(h)erment Award, Spurwink’s Humanitarian Award, a Legislative Sentiment from the State of Maine for public service, Maine Centers for Women, Work and Community’s “Women Making a Difference Award, the Southern Region Champion, Maine Women’s Fund’s Tribute to Women in Industry Award and Portland Buy Local’s Essential Founder and Local Champion Awards. In addition, Coffee By Design has received numerous honors including SBA’s Small Business Persons of the Year for the State of Maine, Maine MEP’s Manufacturing Excellence Award, the Governor’s Award for Business Excellence and the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project’s Business Community Partner Award.
“At Coffee By Design, everything we do as a business is infused with the belief that we can “be the change” of which Mahatma Gandhi spoke. We think about how we ourselves want to be treated and look at the world around us through the lens of both local and global perspectives. As different challenges have presented themselves, we look at how we can be part of the solution, always looking at ways to collaborate and engage others while raising awareness. Staying true to our values and conducting our business as we have for years has always been core to our business plan as we’ve grown. It is important to communicate those standards, which we hold true now as much as we did when we opened our doors in 1994." - Mary Allen Lindemann