Buena Vida Specialty Coffee

At 56, Gally Mayer embodies the Re-Imagineer spirit, proving that purpose and passion can transform not only lives but industries. Co-founder of Buena Vida Specialty Coffee, Gally is reshaping the coffee trade with regenerative agriculture, farmer prosperity, and sustainability. Her journey—from nurturing the soil to empowering vulnerable communities in Costa Rica—shows that reinvention can create lasting impact. Gally’s story reminds us that the second half of life is an opportunity to align heart, mind, and action with purpose. What could your next chapter look like? Be your own Re-Imagineer, visit: https://roarforward.com #ROARforward #ReImagineYourLife #PurposeDrivenLiving

We are excited to announce the 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞: 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝! Focusing on the intersection of impact, innovation, and sustainable growth, this event will convene influential leaders to explore how businesses can create positive social, economic, and environmental outcomes while achieving financial success. The event is co-sponsored by 𝐌𝐒𝐁 𝐍𝐞𝐭 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭. Speakers include: Brian Finch (C’98), Vice President, Sustainability and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, Mastercard Laura Lane (MSFS’90), former Senior Vice President, Global Affairs, UPS Nzinga Broussard, Senior Director of Impact Measurement, Sorenson Impact Gally Mayer, (B’93), Co-Founder, Buena Vida Specialty Coffee 📅 Date: December 3rd, 2025 🕒 Time: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST 📍 Location: Fisher Colloquium, Rafik B. Hariri Building, Georgetown McDonough 🔗 Sign up now: https://lnkd.in/eBUWcsMr #commongood #globalbusiness #sustainability #innovation #socialimpact #economics #equality #businessforgood #globalbusinessforgood Ricardo Ernst Anil Khurana Joe Feuer Daniela M. Joe Jasper Harika Janjanam Georgetown University McDonough School of Business Georgetown University

📢 Announcing the launch of the Baratta Center’s Global Perspectives Blog Series! 🌍 We’re excited to introduce a new blog series that brings together leading ideas, research, and analysis on today’s most urgent global challenges and opportunities. Each post offers insights from Baratta Center members, faculty, students, business leaders, and policymakers, providing actionable perspectives for those committed to creating a more sustainable, interconnected world. 📝 Our first post: "Hunger Amidst Abundance: Rethinking Global Food Security" Authored by Daniela M. and Delaney Brower, this post examines the paradox of global food abundance amidst widespread hunger. Despite advancements in agriculture and technology, millions still face food insecurity due to factors like climate change, geopolitical disruptions, and insufficient investment in sustainable practices. 🔗 Read the full post and join the conversation: https://lnkd.in/ekQDrh3J Stay tuned for more global insights from the Baratta Center! #blog #globalbusiness #globalindustries #foodsecurity #globalhunger #economics #trade #tariffs Ricardo Ernst Anil Khurana Joe Feuer Stephen Weymouth Gally Mayer Barron Segar Matt McKenna Sean Callahan Rajiv Singh

Farm Direct Coffee. It’s beyond Fair Trade. Beyond USDA Organic. Beyond what almost every other coffee provider is willing to do. It’s coffee that puts people over profits. Almost 200 hours of manual labor go into the growing and harvesting of every coffee bean. Farm Direct Coffee goes further to make sure its sustainable, responsible, small-farm coffee producers aren’t exploited for it. We can’t ask you to choose our Farm Direct coffee every time you need a lift. We only ask that you consider the difference your choices can make and choose Farm Direct, or nothing.

This is the "I'm fed up" attitude that happens after 40 years as an entrepreneur, businessperson and pioneer in sustainable tourism... When will the small but growing community of responsible, sustainable, and regenerative business leaders stop tolerating the empty rhetoric of data, metrics, and feedback that dominate traditional tourism companies? It's time to move beyond superficial discussions and hold these businesses accountable. The industry must shift from 'leader vs. boss' or "a tree left standing..." debates to real action — pushing for meaningful change rather than simply plodding along. The time for complacency is over; it's time to call out the status quo and demand transparent and actual responsibility to our planet (and to me).

The past week in San Francisco was nothing short of transformative in our journey as regenerative coffee advocates. Our adventure began last Wednesday, as we geared up to showcase our exquisite specialty Regenified™ coffee RAISE Global Partnering with the talented Eileen Hassi Rinaldi of Ritual Coffee Roasters. Working together was a beautiful experience which we look forward to replicating! Thank you Geoff Watts, forever grateful! We set up a stunning coffee bar for the summit on Thursday morning and served the enthusiastic RAISE Global community. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive and genuine. RAISE Global exceeded all expectations, with industry veterans and investors, both GPs and LPs, expressing their enthusiasm for the conference. We felt honored to serve high-quality specialty coffee that not only mitigates climate change but also uplifts farmers and heals the soil. Our mission continues to shine through: profitability should never come at the expense of farmers or soil. While creating an equitable supply chain where farmers lead the way and regenerative practices are prioritized is undeniably challenging, it is the only path forward. We envision a coffee industry where the soil thrives, farmers flourish, and consumers enjoy coffee free from harmful agrochemicals. Join us in transforming the world, one cup of regenerative specialty coffee at a time. Forever grateful to Benjamin Black Scott Dubin Adam Marchick Angela Stanley and the entire team that has supported us so much. The last two days were spent at the SOCAP Global conference, an experience that left me speechless. I connected with some of the most brilliant, compassionate, and innovative ecosystem builders I've ever encountered. The knowledge gained and the connections forged were invaluable, embodying true regeneration. A heartfelt thank you to Katie Macc Robert Munson nalini nadkarni and everyone who worked tirelessly to create such an incredible platform for us to amplify our impact. I have never felt more confident that we are on the brink of birthing a new coffee industry—one where farmers are at the pinnacle, receiving fair pricing while the soil is healed and restored. Let’s continue our mission to regenerate and revitalize the ecosystems essential for our planet's future.

A year before I took this picture in 1966 this Extension Officer – Bob Vaughan-Evens (an old friend) stood on bare soil under these trees lecturing ranchers using a flip chart showing them the peer-reviewed range scientist’s research from Texas, South Africa and Rhodesia “proving” that the trees were stealing the moisture. That is why the ground under them was bare with a cryptogamic crust. Bob on behalf of the Soil Conservation Service urged the ranchers to ring-bark and kill the trees, and to decrease cattle so grass could once more grow.  I was observing & a rancher asked my opinion. Not wanting to hurt my friend, I asked everyone to observe and make their own deduction. Eventually one of them saw black from a fire on the underside of branches over 3 meters high. I then asked how can the trees have killed the grass if there had been enough grass to give large prolonged flames so high? Clearly science (observation, deduction, interpretation, testing) as opposed to peer-review indicated the trees were not the reason for no grass. This led to deeper discussion in which I advised the rancher concerned, who was not making a living with so few cattle, to double his number of cattle and use the Holistic Planned Grazing process that I would teach him and Bob to in a day. Doing that increased cattle could ensure higher trampling to break the crusted soil and no plants would be overgrazed as grass began growing again. This picture we took exactly a year later with Bob in the now vigorously growing grass. I would be wealthy if I could have a dollar for every thousand dollars ranchers and governments wasted in America and Africa on such damaging academic peer-reviewed research fitting data to beliefs as we humans do - and tragically continue to do.

On Sept. 26th, I had the pleasure of attending the second Kiss The Ground awareness and fundraising event Blue Hill At Stone Barns.  The event was inspiring, centered on regenerative agriculture and the importance of creating awareness and access for farmers to turn to nature based solution to grow our food. The evening featured insanely delicious farm-to-table meal prepared by world-renowned chef Dan Barber and highlighted the organization’s mission to empower farmers through regenerative agriculture to promote healthy food production and ecosystem restoration. The evening brought together passionate advocates for regenerative practices, focused on healing our soil and enhancing both ecosystem and human health. I was particularly encouraged by the clear and much needed plans laid out by Kiss The Ground for increasing funding for regenerative agriculture, training farmers, and scholarships for agronomists and farmers dedicated to regenerative methods.  It’s time we all stand up together and say no more agrochemicals, no more desertification and damaged soil that endangers our ecosystem and our health.  We have to work together to say yes to restoring soil health, yes to mitigating climate change, yes to farmer prosperity, yes to a healthy value chain and yes to promoting healthy food that leads to healthy people that leads to healthy planet. As Gabe Brown says; “we have to meet the farmers where they are at”. Lets help them regenerate!  Consumers have to help farmers through their choices! The dedication of the Kiss The Ground team and board was evident, especially through the heartfelt and brilliant leadership of Evan Harrison. The team helped showcase the deep commitment Kiss The Ground has to regeneration. It was a privilege to share the evening with two of the founders and visionaries Ryland Engelhart and Finian Makepeace.  Kiss The Ground launched a subscription to a Regenified™️ Coffee designed to raise awareness and support the conversion of more coffee acres to regenerative practices. World-renowned Dan Barber expertly brewed the delicious specialty coffee, emphasizing our vision for a new coffee industry that prioritizes soil health and farmer prosperity as well as a healthy value chain. I am profoundly grateful for this collaboration as part of our efforts to revolutionize coffee production and contribute to healthier communities while combating climate change. Given the alarming prediction that coffee production will be halved by 2050 due to climate change and farmer struggles, I urge coffee enthusiasts to choose coffee that supports regenerative agriculture with deep verification. We want transparency and we want a true change. Together, we can make a significant impact, one cup at a time. The solution is rooted in the soil beneath us—let's dig deep and be part of the change! Kristin Coates John Roulac Morgan Hartman Allen Williams Allan Savory and many other regenerative warriors that are dedicated to change

It's taken years of ground truth, but here's our full position paper explaining how Collective Regeneration will unlock a rapid and necessary transition in agriculture. https://lnkd.in/gjr_gJ92 I'm going in reverse order because any day now my TED talk on this subject will go live. And in some ways, that speech is like a trailer for this document (and our ongoing work). But if you've ever wondered why a movement like "organic" are still at just 1% of US farmland acres after 50 years, despite clear price signals? And more importantly, how society will overcome the barriers, then here are some answers. Spoiler: We've been focused on changing eating instead of changing farming. In the coming years there will be many frameworks for Collective Regeneration: 1 penny per lb will merge with $1 per trash bill, 1% from a purchase, philanthropic funds, government grants, carbon markets and more. Retailers, brands, distributors and processors will team up with farmers to transition the next acre (not just buy up the tiny supply of "the good stuff"). Customers will vote with their dollar through both mass balance and through identity preservation, and we'll reach a tipping point, just like how renewables are now cheaper. Farming with nature will become the new normal because society can't afford business as usual. #ImprovingtheFoodGrid #TabletoFarm #SoilisMedicine #StrategicCapitalFacilitation Special thanks to my (wife and) editor extraordinaire Kara Leibowitz and my board and team at Zero Foodprint (especially JB Douglas) for bringing this paper to life.