From IT and coffee to tree farming and carbon sequestration, Andrew has spent the past 20 years building opportunities for Timorese people through social enterprises that deliver social and economic empowerment. In that time he’s won the prestigious Stockholm Challenge Award; been recognised in the Bulletin Smart 100 Award for his work as a social justice campaigner; become a Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia; been appointed Honorary Consul for Timor-Leste in Victoria; and won the Sir John Monash Award for Sustainability… You get the picture.

He’s always up for a yarn at the roastery, so he can fill you in on the rest!

Coffee order: Aeropress

Fave preserve: Beetroot Chutney

After completing her apprenticeship, Alice was alarmed by the amount of food waste witnessed in commercial kitchens and decided to do something about it. Her passion for cooking and minimising food waste, coupled with a desire to ensure no person goes hungry, led her to create The Corner Store Network. Being selected as one of Australia’s leading young social entrepreneurs in 2017 through Foundation for Young Australians was just the beginning. She has since been named an Obama Leader: Asia Pacific and has used the medium of food to strive for social justice and equality while providing opportunities for women across Australia and Asia.

Oh and President Obama himself mentioned Alice in a tweet once, no biggie. 

Coffee order: Iced Latte

Fave preserve: Apricot Jam

A self-taught coffee roaster, with a background in IT, Jake’s attention to detail and desire to create amazing coffee has seen him take out both bronze and silver medals in the Australia and New Zealand Golden Bean Coffee Roasting Competition. Jake splits his time between managing the team in Melbourne and helping subsistence coffee farmers in Timor-Leste improve their production processes to better the quality of coffee in your cup. 

He’s also the reason our cafe’s playlist is so darn good.

Coffee order: 1 plus 1 (shot of water + shot of espress)

Fave preserve: Bread & Butter Cucumber Pickles

Kathy’s primary teacher background saw her establish a number of school kitchen gardens with the most recent at Clayton North Primary School taking out the Regional and Special Multicultural Award from the Victorian School Garden Awards. Kathy has worked on curriculum development with the Biological Farmers Association and worked at Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens running education programs to help primary school children understand biodiversity and food systems. Kathy brought our preserving program to life, building and supporting a great team of volunteers who form the backbone of the preserving hub. 

Her home garden is exceptional and if you’re lucky enough to be offered her homemade sourdough and famous jam, don’t say no!

Coffee order: Flat White 

Fave preserve: Tomato + Chilli Jam

Daiki’s love for coffee began in Japan; in fact the reason he moved to Melbourne in 2018 was due to its reputation as the coffee capital of the world. With that kind of dedication, there’s really no one else we’d trust to roast our beans to perfection! Daiki particularly loves the science behind roasting and how each batch can be tailored to change the flavor of the coffee bean.

Outside of work, Daiki can be found playing basketball (usually with Jake!), listening to jazz or enjoying his second favourite beverage, a whiskey neat.

Coffee order: V60 Pour Over

Fave preserve: Fig + Earl Grey Jam

She spent five years in an agency devising creative communications for clients across the retail, hospitality, tourism and property spheres, but her real love is working with brands who encompass sustainability, equality and purpose into all that they do. Brands just like The Corner Store Network!

She now spends her days managing all aspects of our marketing and communications, so don’t be alarmed if you see her waving a phone around in the cafe.

Michelle has also spent the last ten years undertaking the very important job of reviewing Melbourne chips so if you want to know where the best fried potatoes are, you know who to ask.

Coffee order: Aeropress, black

Fave preserve: Lime Curd

Moving from Jan Juc to Melbourne to complete a Bsc. Science Advanced Global Challenges, Issy was drawn to the hospitality industry due to a passion for coffee (blamed on their Italian heritage) and a keenness to meet interesting people. Their science degree is applied daily through their expert barista skills, climate activism and communication with visitors, volunteers and the team at large.

In the cafe, you can always count on Issy for a perfect cuppa and a random science fact, but outside of work you’ll find them rock climbing, playing games or attempting to knit.

Coffee order: Batch Brew

Fave preserve: Tomato Kassundi

Growing up in the Wimmera, Felicity learned all about preserving with her grandmother on the farm. Little did she know she’d be using those exact skills in her role as Preserving Coordinator many years later! Before joining us, Felicity worked as a chef in Ballarat, Melbourne and Sweden, specialising in fine dining, pastry and desserts.

She is known for baking under all conditions - stress baking, sad baking, happy baking, boredom baking - and is now studying social enterprise in order to work with more wonderful volunteers like those she manages in our kitchen.

Her other hobbies include art, music and checking for new leaves on her precious houseplants.

Fave preserve: Rhubarb + Grapefruit Jam

Coffee order: Flat White

Born and raised in Mexico, Krista has traveled the world to pursue humanitarian endeavours. Since the age of 20, she’s done everything from building homes in rural Mexican and Latin American communities to coordinating emotional support programs for immigrant women in New York to teaching English to children in Nicaragua. 

Krista moved to Australia to further her growth as a social worker, particularly within Indigenous and immigrant communities, but was surprised to develop a fondness for coffee and the service industry. She now splits her time between being a social worker in a housing organisation and working in our cafe!

Outside of work you’ll find her enjoying plenty of hobbies - roller skating, tennis and playing the ukulele to name a few!

Coffee order: Flat White

Fave preserve: Apricot Jam

For more than 17 years Tracey has been running programs and speaking on leadership and learning culture across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the UK. She’s even written three books on leadership and culture, with her last book - Ferocious Warmth: School Leaders Who Inspire and Transform - published in 2021. In fact, her contributions to the improvement of student and organisational outcomes have seen her named a National Fellow of the Australian Council of Education Leaders (FACEL). 

Tracey has been a supporter of The Corner Store Network for many years, and is especially honoured to be Chair of the Board of the organisation. Apart from her love for kassundi, she’s not one to ever knock back some berry jam or preserved limes for her g&t.

Coffee order: Stock standard cafe latte, thanks very much!

Fave preserve: Kassundi, always

A Professor at Monash University in the Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics, Brett’s interest lies in economic development research, specifically in Timor-Leste. His research has taken him to South Africa, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea and of course, Timor-Leste, where he is engaged in an AusAID-funded project on improving the welfare of coffee-producing households.

Brett has been involved in supporting people-to-people trade with organisations in Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste for a number of years but his real passion is to empower the people of Timor-Leste to build a strong and growing economy for the people - “ekonomia ba communidade”.

Coffee order: Long black

Fave spice: Timorese turmeric

Born in Sri Lanka, Amodha migrated to Australia towards the end of 1990. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Colombo, specialising in environmental science, plus a Graduate Diploma in Education from Monash University. 

Across her career she’s worked as a lecturer at University of Colombo (Sri Lanka) and Victoria University (Melbourne) teaching Ecology and Animal Behaviour, before starting her current role as Product Manager at technology-focused social enterprise Infoxchange. 

With a passion for nature conservation, Amodha enjoys working with native flora in her garden and visiting national parks and nature reserves. She’s also quite partial to socialising with family and friends, which generally involves a lot of food. 

Coffee order: Latte

Fave preserve: Kathy's original recipe jam

Over a 25 year career, Natalie has worked for purpose-driven organisations that focus on social justice, technology and digital inclusion. As a partner at boutique firm, Thinkrum, Natalie partners with organisations to co-design locally focused social impact programs. She’s also leading the establishment of an Inclusive Design practice with non-profit social enterprise, Ability Works.

Besides the aforementioned op-shopping and up-cycling, Natalie is passionate about creating a digitally inclusive society, where individuality is valued and all participants can thrive. 

Coffee order: Regular Cappuccino

Fave preserve: Yuzu Marmalade