Staff
Cynthia Chang Ludviksen
Managing Director
cindy@worldcoffeeevents.org
Cynthia Chang Ludviksen was born in Keelung, Taiwan and raised in the Mid-West of the United States. Her start in the coffee industry began with a position as a barista 1993, soon after, her fascination with the coffee industry grew into a passionate hobby and dedicated career. In 1998, she joined Counter Culture Coffee, where she further developed her interests and focus in sustainable coffee, business management, education, and specialty coffee promotion. Cynthia has dedicated a number of volunteer hours on projects with the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), serving at times as an instructor and committee member. She became the Regional Coordinator of the Americas for the World Barista Championship (WBC) in 2005 and joined the organization’s board of directors in 2007. Cynthia was appointed as the Executive Director of the WBC in 2009, and later, Managing Director or World Coffee Events (WCE) in 2011.
Laura Lee
Director of Business Development
laura@worldcoffeeevents.org
Laura Lee was born and raised in Southern California. She graduated with a B.A. in English Literature from UC Berkeley in 2006. She has since then been working in event planning and business development. Most recently, Laura worked as Director of Business Development for the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA). She is the primary contact for all sponsorship, advertising and event promotional materials.
Laura has never met a stranger and can talk about any number of subjects at great length. She enjoys a nice long marathon to pass the time and thrives on relationship building.
Julie Housh
Programs Coordinator
julie@worldcoffeeevents.org
Julie Housh is the Information and Programs Coordinator for World Coffee Events, providing support to the Competition Operations Committee, Judge Certification Workshops, and National Bodies. After realizing she enjoyed her morning coffee more than working in politics, Julie left her job with the U.S Congress to pursue a career in specialty coffee. She loves nothing more than turning a jumble of text into an orderly document and will never tire of meeting coffee people.
Julie also serves as an Executive Council Director for the Barista Guild of America. She currently resides in Irvine, California and when not thinking about coffee, she’s thinking about cupcakes.
Jamie Jessup
Sales & Marketing Associate
Jamie@worldcoffeeevents.org
Jamie grew up in the South West of England before going on to graduate from Oxford Brookes University with a BA honours in Accounting and Finance. She relocated to London where she started her career in Business Development and Communications. Jamie has spent time working abroad in New York and Vancouver, both inspiring her interests for international business, design and coffee. In Vancouver, Jamie trained as a Barista where she got her first real taste of the coffee community, cementing her passion for the industry. Her commitment to sustainability and communication of quality products and services is where she hopes to make her mark. Jamie was made Sales and Marketing associate for WCE at the start of February 2012.
Roukiat Delrue
National Bodies Coordinator
roukiat@worldcoffeeevents.org
Roukiat Delrue has a longstanding history in the coffee industry, lasting 8 years. She is originally from Belgium, and currently resides in Guatemala. She is a certified Q Grader, R Grader, WCE Certified Judge, and Q Instructor. She has been on staff and a regular consultant for the Coffee Quality Institute. Among her other consulting jobs in the coffee industry, Roukiat also serves as the WCE National Bodies Coordinator. She is WCE’s liaison to our diverse and growing community of national bodies, spanning over 70 countries!
Irene Dennehy
Finance Executive
Irene’s introduction to World Coffee Events Limited comes via working with Marco Beverage Systems Limited with whom Irene has worked since 2009. Irene lives and works in Dublin. While relatively new to the world of coffee, Irene qualified as a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland in 1985. Having trained with Ernst & Young, Irene then worked with E&Y Toronto for 3 years. Since returning to Dublin, in addition to working in Practice, Irene has worked with a number of private Irish companies. As well as a B.A. in Economics and a Higher Diploma in Psychology from University College Dublin, Irene holds an M.Sc. in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy from Trinity College Dublin.”
