Meet the Team

Kip Walk is a cocoa industry leader with more than forty years of experience across procurement, risk management, logistics, regulatory affairs, and sustainability. He has worked with global brands to develop and implement cocoa sustainability strategies connecting farming communities, supply chains, retail markets, and evolving consumer expectations.

Kip's work has been recognized by the Rainforest Alliance with its Sustainable Trendsetter Award. He has served as Chairman of the World Cocoa Foundation, the Cocoa Merchants Association of America, the ICE Board of Cocoa Graders, and the National Confectioners Association Regulatory Committee. Today, he advises on sourcing, logistics, sustainability, and regulatory readiness for cocoa and chocolate-sector clients.

Areas of Expertise

Isabelle van Lier is a social media and content marketing specialist, and the founder of IVL Creatives. She helps businesses clarify their messaging, strengthen their digital presence, and grow their brands through practical, audience-focused communications.

Through IVL Creatives, Isabelle has worked across international trade and development, sustainable technology, coffee, cocoa, and chocolate. Her work focuses on simplifying complex messages, creating engaging content, and using social media marketing to support visibility, growth, and positive change.

Areas of Expertise

Colin Ulbert is a creative lead and digital marketing specialist with expertise in social media advertising, content strategy, and branding. He is currently Creative Lead and Social Media Ads Specialist at the Dutch agency Leapforce, where he develops digital marketing initiatives designed to increase visibility, engagement, and growth.

Through IVL Creatives, Colin applies his marketing expertise to sustainability-focused work, including as a social media consultant to the TSIRO Alliance in Madagascar, alongside USAID, Catholic Relief Services, and the FCIA. He previously served as Marketing Manager of Chocoa, where he gained direct experience in cocoa and chocolate-sector marketing, events, and stakeholder communications.

Areas of Expertise

Martin Gilmour is a cocoa and chocolate industry technical expert with more than thirty-two years of experience working with two of the world's largest chocolate companies. He has worked extensively across West Africa, South America, and Asia on cocoa production, planting material, agroforestry, agronomy, pest and disease management, soil fertility, cocoa flavor, quality, and food safety.

Martin holds a PhD in plant science from the University of Nottingham and has been an industry leader in developing and implementing collaborative, science-based innovations to improve cocoa productivity and quality in the field. His more recent work focuses on moving cocoa production toward regenerative agriculture approaches.

Areas of Expertise

Anya Carrasco is a project manager with more than ten years of experience improving operational efficiency across the agricultural, education, and technology sectors. She is currently a management advisor to Zorzal Cacao leadership, and previously led the company's day-to-day U.S. operations and oversaw logistics for the inaugural Cocoa Masterclass Dominican Republic.

Anya holds a master's degree in sustainability from Harvard, with certificates in food systems and innovation. Her work focuses on operational systems, circularity, energy efficiency, and waste reduction. She also serves as board secretary of Inin Rabi, which partners with Indigenous peoples of the Amazon on food security and the preservation of traditional ecological knowledge.

Areas of Expertise

Sarah Bharath is a plant scientist and soil-to-seed practitioner with more than two decades of experience in cacao growing systems. Her work centers on the cacao plant as part of an interconnected ecosystem, from soil health and plant diversity to post-harvest processing and on-farm applied sensory science.

Born and educated in Trinidad, Sarah trained formally as a plant scientist, specializing in diversity studies to support conservation, evaluation, and utilization. She spent thirteen years in formal cacao research in Trinidad, with work spanning plant pathology, agronomy, genetic and physical diversity, and post-harvest processes, before transitioning to direct work with farmers. She now provides technical support to cacao producers and industry clients in Trinidad and internationally, co-creating practical solutions to field-based and processing challenges.

Areas of Expertise

Brett Beach brings more than fifteen years of FMCG business leadership in the U.S. and Europe, alongside six years of development experience in Africa with the U.S. State Department and USAID. He has co-founded and led ethical chocolate brands including MIA and Madécasse / Beyond Good, giving him hands-on experience across the product journey from farm to market.

Brett has brought more than twenty African-made products from production to launch, including through trade shows, independent retailers, Amazon, and national grocery channels such as Whole Foods Market, Waitrose, and Sainsbury's. His work combines commercial strategy, product development, retail readiness, and market access for origin-based chocolate and food brands.

Areas of Expertise

Selassie Atadika is a food systems strategist, chocolatier, and founder of Midunu Chocolates in Accra, Ghana, with twenty years of experience across West African cocoa and African food systems. Her work bridges origin-based production, flavor development, brand strategy, and community-based program design.

A TIME Earth Award honoree and Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Fellow, Selassie brings a rare perspective to the specialty chocolate sector as an African producer who has built and taken an artisan chocolate brand to European retail and US direct-to-consumer markets. Her consulting work focuses on African ingredient knowledge and culinary tradition, brand and market strategy for companies engaging African cocoa origin, and program design informed by a decade of humanitarian field experience with UNICEF across 40 countries.

Areas of Expertise

Bill Guyton is a senior leader in international cocoa, agribusiness, and nonprofit management, with deep experience building public-private partnerships, resilient value chains, and community-based sustainability programs. He specializes in partnership strategy, program governance, stakeholder engagement, and implementation support for complex cocoa and agricultural development initiatives.

Bill founded and served as CEO of the World Cocoa Foundation, and later served as Executive Director of the Fine Chocolate Industry Association. His career has included assignments across Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, where he has managed development programs for public- and private-sector partners.

Areas of Expertise

Dr. Kristy Leissle is an internationally recognized expert in the cocoa and chocolate trade, with more than twenty years of experience in African cocoa sectors. Her work bridges field research, market analysis, sustainability strategy, communications, and commercial development for cocoa and chocolate companies, trade associations, development partners, and African producer organizations.

Kristy is Founder & CEO of African Cocoa Marketplace, Inc., a trade platform connecting international buyers with verified African sellers. She previously held faculty appointments in African Studies and Global Studies at the University of Washington, where she taught and researched cocoa, development, trade, and African political economy. She has also worked on marketing and business development for African cocoa, including as Co-founder of the Cocoapreneurship Institute of Ghana. Kristy is the author of Cocoa, a book about power, trade, and geopolitics in the global cocoa and chocolate industry, and is widely known for translating complex sector dynamics into clear strategy, communication, and commercial insight.

Areas of Expertise