A veteran of more than 21 years in the industry, Al Liu has served as the vice president of coffee at Colectivo Coffee Roasters for the past six years.
Liu’s focus is on building and strengthening supply chains in Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia as well as marketing and branding green and roasted coffee.
Liu works to connect employees and customers to the small-scale farmers who produce the majority of coffees, said LaShonda Hill, vice president of human resources at Colectivo.
“Liu’s work transcends geographic and cultural barriers and unites people from all over the world,” Hill said. “As the first openly LGBTQ member in (Colectivo) senior management, Liu developed a blend with coffees specifically chosen from countries with marriage equality laws.”
“The goal of Al’s work has always been to champion underserved and minority growers,” said Dan Hurdle, chief executive officer at Colectivo. “His efforts to build up these communities — both here in Milwaukee and around the world — are at the heart of our culture.”
