Meet the NZSCA Board & Staff
Board 2024/2025
Megan Wyper | President
Acme Cupco, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington
+64 21 0837 3974
Megan has been working with coffee all her working life; she’s managed cafes, judged, coached, and competed both here and in the UK. She started roasting coffee 10 years ago, including a coffee that got through to the world barista championship finals. Her current role at Acme Cupco was the next natural progression through such an interesting and diverse industry. Megan is the Co-owner, as well as the sales and marketing manager at Acme Cupco. She is passionate about small business and equality in the New Zealand coffee culture.
Steve Jae | Treasurer
La Marzocco, Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland
Steve has over 10 years of experience in running the accounting and financial activities of organisations. His experience also includes distributing the financial resources of organisations, planning the budget, and supporting the management team by offering insights and financial advice that will allow them to make the best business decisions for the organisation.
Steve is a CPA and holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Auckland.
Tom Handiside | Vice President
La Marzocco, Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland
I really enjoy my work and the opportunity to help support the association as it evolves into the future to deliver fun, meaningful experiences for our NZSCA members, plus those new to coffee who are keen to learn more and develop their own coffee careers.
I’ve worked in our industry for twenty plus years, both around the world and now here in Aotearoa.
In my role as managing director of La Marzocco New Zealand I actively work with our wider Australasian team and our global LM family.
I’m always up for chat over a brew, share my experience, views, ideas and hear what more we can do.
As an extension of this, I make time to mentor people and their businesses in NZ and beyond.
It takes a lot of time and effort to make good things happen and do cool stuff that takes us forward as industry. That’s my motivation to be involved with the NZSCA and the reason I continue to step up and actively support our local coffee scene.
Scott Pepler | 2nd Vice-Chairperson
UCC, Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland
Scott is super excited to be part of the NZSCA Board and 2nd Vice President. He has been part of the association from the start and was part of the originals that started the NZ Barista Champs. He is a past NZ Head judge and a sensory judge at five World Barista Championships. He has extensive management experience, including Coffee Operations, Quality R&D, and logistics. Scott has managed big projects like setting up the new UCC Coffee Roastery, which is called “The Roastery at Twenty-Three”.
How long have you been in the industry: I have been in the industry since 1993 and started as a technologist for a Swiss-owned Instant coffee facility. Since then, I have had experience in all forms of coffee, from scale to specialty.
What you gain from being on the Board: I feel I will bring a genuine desire for Roaster member collaboration. We are in the most challenging times for our industry, and I think there is a lot we can share with our current challenges. I do feel we need to work closer on non-competitive industry issues.
Why do you do it? I continue to learn and evolve and it’s time for me to give back to the industry that has given a lot to me.
Three desert island non-negotiable’s: Definitely a Boat!, My engineer and the last item my engineer can decide. Hopefully, it’s a coffee!
What’s in your cup: Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. I’ve been to Ethiopia a couple of times, so it’s always a special brew.
Favourite quote: “Never underestimate the power of a good cup of coffee.”
Ken Shi | Co-Chair Events Portfolio
Aoraki Coffee Roaster, Hampton Downs, Kirikiriroa, Hamilton
Involved in the hospitality industry since 2007 and competed in 2013 in Barista, Latte Art, Ken became the Cup Tasters Champion in 2017.
He has also judged in the Latte Art and Barista Championships since 2017.
Ken is also a registered electrician since 2016 so considers himself lucky to be involved in every part of the coffee industry; roasters, technicians, sales, and baristas. Ken knows that they are all very unique but also connected to each other, to feel their pain and experience the beauty of their success.
Alice Burton | Co-Chair Events
John Burton Limited, Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland
Alice has worked in coffee for 10 years. She grew up around tea and coffee with her grandfather (Jack), father (John), and uncle (David) all working in the industry, so the dinner table chat was always interesting! In 2014, she spent 12 weeks doing a ‘coffee internship’ in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, discovered her love for working at origin, with suppliers and producers, and never looked back. Alice is incredibly proud of the contribution that her family has given to our industry and hopes to continue that legacy, while adding her own personal touch. In her role as head of operations for JBL, she’s involved all aspects of running a business, and is passionate about inclusivity, community, and education.
Sam Keall | Co-Chair Education
Havana Coffee Works, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington
Sam has been in the hospitality and coffee game for the last 10 years. His work in specialty coffee has included a variety of roles across barista, technical, and training and sales. He is currently the Sales Manager at Havana Coffee Works. Sam is looking forward to supporting our industry in his first year on the board.
Jason Moore | Co-Chair Education
Vanguard Specialty Coffee Co, Ōtepoti, Dunedin
Jason is the owner of Vanguard Specialty Coffee in Dunedin. He has been in the specialty coffee industry for over 20 years, having various roles and learning all aspects of the industry.
Jason is a highly skilled and passionate roaster, finessing his craft over the years.
Having competed in numerous barista champs as well as judging, he understands the challenges that individuals face coming into the industry.
Running workshops and training sessions at his roastery is just one of the ways that Jason is helping to make the coffee industry more accessible to everyone.
Jason is extremely passionate about breaking barriers and addressing the inequalities that exist in the coffee value chain through education and raising awareness of the challenges facing growers.
Sarah McMath |
Goodman Fielder, Tamaki Makaurau, Auckland
Wayne Burrows |
ACR Coffee Roasters, Tamaki Makaurau, Auckland
I have been extremely fortunate to have spent 18 years in this amazing coffee industry. What I enjoy the most about coffee is exploring taste through manipulating roast and extraction parameters. All coffee deserves to be treated with respect and enjoyed. I feel that I’m at my best when I’m giving coffee its voice through training, experience sessions, and competitions. Come join me on my coffee journey. Let’s all learn together
Staff
Emma McDougall | Communication and Administration Coordinator
NZSCA, Paetumōkai, Featherston
+64 21 338 118 | info@nzsca.org
Emma is the Communication and Administration Coordinator for the NZSCA.
After gaining a Degree in Hospitality Management, Emma has worked in Sydney, Dublin, Auckland, London, and most recently Wellington again. She has owned and managed cafes and tech judged in the 2015 and 2016 NZBCs. One of the greatest joys she gets from the coffee industry is watching young people progress through their coffee journey.
She is super excited to be working with the NZSCA as it unites the industry and allows her to work with previous colleagues, some of her all-time coffee heroes, and an even wider community of passionate amazing people, some of whom she is yet to meet. She is the Association’s Employee of the Year 2023.
Contractor
Emma Markland Webster | NZSCA Events Director
AMC Roastery Supply and Monster Trucks Coffee, Whakatū, Nelson
+64 21 415 810 | emma@nzsca.org
Emma is the New Zealand sales manager for AMC Roastery Supply and the Owner of Monster Trucks Coffee.
Emma has 20 years of experience in New Zealand’s Coffee industry and was Aotearoa’s first Barista champion. She represented New Zealand in the year 2002 with a World Barista Championship ranking of 5th and is also a World Barista Championship Judge 2003 through to the present day, a key organiser of the Aotearoa Coffee Championships and NZSCA events.
Join Today!
To join the NZSCA fill out the online application form and pay the annual dues (an invoice will be sent).
Memberships are renewed automatically on 1 April every year unless written notification is made to the Communications and Administration Co-ordinator of the NZSCA.
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