Julia Baumgartner came to the chocolate world via the coffee industry, where she worked for many years with fair trade and organic cooperatives in Latin America. While studying a Masters in Development Practice at the Tropical Agriculture Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) in Costa Rica, she found a passion for transferring her knowledge and experience in coffee to the chocolate world. She now works with Equal Exchange, coordinating the Cooperative Development Program grant, which works with cacao cooperatives in Peru, the Dominican Republic and Ecuador on productivity, quality and capitalization initiatives.