Vanessa Velasco Email & Phone Number

Vanessa is currenly the founder and CEO of VerraCoffee, a social enterprise that works with local Filipino farmers to bring their products to a global market. VerraCoffee has distributors in Japan, Singapore, New Zealand, Europe, and the US. A portion of the income from coffee sales are invested in scholarships for tribal children. Part of the company's work is bringing coffee lovers to immerse in farms and understand the work of the farmers through the coffee camps. A substantial amount of the camps' revenues are given to farmers, which helps increase their income. Free trainings are offered to PWDs, particularly the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, to give them more opportunities for employment.Prior to founding VerraCoffee, Vanessa has spent more than two decades as communication consultant in Creative Point International, a company that her father founded. She worked with companies for their stakeholder engagement programs, corporate social responsibility, grassroots research and environmental and social documentation. Her clients are mostly risk-prone and high-impact companies particularly in the transport, energy and mining industries. Through her years of consulting experience, she was immersed in the different stakeholder groups and communities that led her to understand the needs of people in the grassroots. The business model of VerraCoffee was shaped through the deep understanding she gained by working with these different stakeholders for the past two decades.