As a boy growing up in Colombia, Hugo often visited his grandparents' coffee farm in the mountains of Antioquia, Colombia. With firsthand exposure to quality coffee and the impoverished working conditions of the coffee farmers, Hugo set out to make a difference.
After graduating with a BA degree in Economics and Business from Macalester College in Minnesota, he worked for several finance and high-tech companies. In 1992, Hugo attended Regent College in Vancouver searching for ways to apply his faith to his work. He ventured out in 1997 to establish Level Ground Trading. Level Ground's first product, Café San Miguel from Colombia is a coffee from the same region where he played as a child.
In 2002, Hugo established Fruandes, a fair trade fruit drying company in Colombia. Fruandes provides employment to refugee women and fair trade prices for small-scale fruit growers in Colombia.
Hugo spends his time between his home in Victoria BC and visiting farmers in South America and East Africa. Hugo is married to Tracey and they have a daughter, Chrisaleen, and a son, Samuel.
Josh is Level Ground Trading's Roastmaster, Lead Cupper, and Quality Control Specialist and has been with LGT since 2007. To say that he enjoys coffee is a great understatement. An avid lover of food, he also possesses potentially polarizing opinions on a variety of restaurants, foods, beverages, and flavours in general. He has a special place in his heart for banana cakes made with panela and sour cherry pie.
In previous lives, Josh has worked years in organic produce and collaborated closely with local organic growers. He has swung hammers, shovels, axes, keyboards, mice, and words at various times... all for money and pleasure.
Josh is a qualified Canadian National Barista Judge, accredited 2009, and placed third in the 2010 Canadian Cup Taster's Championship. He is also a father of two tremendously brilliant children and can be found outdoors on rainy days looking for the largest puddles to run through... with or without his kids.
Stacey Toews is co-founder of Level Ground Trading and has spent most of his time travelling across North America educating and engaging audiences about Fair Trade, sustainability and ethical consumer choices.
Stacey is a dynamic and inspiring speaker who is passionate about social justice. He has quickly become one of Fair Trade’s leading advocates, encouraging critical and independent thought about our everyday purchases and how they affect others.
He and his wife, Laurie, have been married 20 years and are parents to four kids. He's currently busy building a community of animal friends on his tiny farm in Brentwood Bay.
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