Serving People Serving Coffee Since 2005
Issue link: http://baristamagazine.epubxp.com/i/931664
Ildi Revi THE CONSUMMATE COFFEE EDUCATOR By Ashley Rodriguez MASTER I CAUGHT ILDI REVI, education director for Ally Coffee, in between fi nishing the build-out of Ally's new headquarters facility in Greenville, S.C., and taking off for Brazil to work with an exporter teaching roasting and tasting classes. You probably know Ildi—she may be the reason you know anything about coffee teaching and education. Formerly the education manager for the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), Ildi is responsible for the Instructor Development Program that gives coffee pros the tools to teach classes and think critically about what it means to teach and train adults. It's no surprise, then, that Ildi began her career in education. Working as a teacher in Africa in the late 1980s, she found coffee accidently on a visit to a farm in Binga, Zimbabwe. We're not being dramatic to say that was when her life changed forever. The way Ildi talks about education and adult learning is far beyond what you'd expect to hear in a classroom, and she pushes not just her students to understand their needs, but also herself to serve her audience. Ildi draws inspiration from the Highlander Folk School—famous for bringing together and being a learning hub for civil rights leaders like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr.—and applies the ideologies of the school into her teaching: meeting people where they are, addressing issues important to learners, and promoting a cooperative environment that breeds leaders of the coffee community. 97 www.baristamagazine.com