Our Team
Sam Mazzella
National Coordinator
Sam has been a senior trader at RGC Coffee for 12 years, travelling to origin extensively and encouraging wellbeing at the farm label through vetted relationship projects. Importing and selling sustainable coffees is his passion.
He is also the president of East Coast Coffee Madness (a non-profit company that gives voice to the entire coffee supply chain), a certified Q-grader (since 2019), and an experienced competition judge. Furthermore, he is fluent in 4 languages, including Spanish and French!
Nelson Teskey (he/him)
Education Coordinator
Nelson has over 20 years of professional experience in the coffee industry. His background is in roasting, buying, and training, and education has been a central part of his career. He is an Authorized SCA Trainer (specialized in Roasting, Sensory Skills, and Green Bean Analysis), a certified Q-grader, and the Assistant Director of Coffee at Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Inc.
Teaching has fueled Nelson’s passion for coffee, and he has many ideas for how to push education forward in the industry. He looks forward to implementing them as our Education Coordinator!
Josh Hockin (he/him)
COMPETITION Coordinator
Josh has been a part of Canadian coffee competitions since 2008 — first as a competitor, then as a judge, then a head judge for both the Barista Competition and Brewers Cup. He’s worked to grow the profile of coffee competitions in Canada as a member of the Prairie Coffee Collective, which hosted many competitions in Western Canada from 2014-2017. He also served as SCA Canada’s very first National Coordinator.
Alison Ensworth (she/her)
marketing Coordinator
Alison has worked in the coffee industry for 15+ years as a barista, marketing coordinator, event planner, competition volunteer / judge, photographer, and content creator — falling in love with the community more and more each year. Highlights include serving as host and panelist for the Strong Women of Coffee Barista Bootcamp, assisting in planning and execution of the inaugural Beanstock Coffee Festival, organizing classes and events at Espressotec, and photographing coffee competitions in her role as Marketing Coordinator for SCA Canada 2021-2023. She eagerly welcomes more opportunities to engage, support, and grow within the Canadian coffee community in her second term as SCA Canada's Marketing Coordinator and Photographer!
Venice Vellaga (she/her)
COMMUNICATION Coordinator
Venice has been an active member of the Canadian coffee community for 5+ years. She has been a familiar face in the SCA-Canada events through volunteering, judging, and helping execute the competitions through the competition sub-committee.
She also recently had the opportunity to represent Canada in the World Latte Art championship in Milan, Italy, this past June. Being able to experience the behind-the-scenes to being a competitor themself, she sees the importance of curiosity, passion, and innovation in our community.
By taking on the role of the Communications Coordinator, she aspires to further connect, build, and inspire the Canadian coffee community she loves!