Kristy Leissle

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Dr. Kristy Leissle is Founder & CEO of African Cocoa Marketplace (ACM), the digital marketplace connecting Africa’s cocoa sellers directly to global buyers and creating a more transparent, efficient path to trade. She is also Co-Founder, with Bill Guyton, of Specialty Cocoa & Chocolate Associates, and serves as Curriculum Director for the Cocoa Masterclass by Cacao Latitudes.

Kristy’s work blends entrepreneurship, research, and storytelling. For more than two decades, she has documented African cocoa supply chains and farmer perspectives, including as author of the book Cocoa and of the Confectionery News series “I am a cocoa farmer.” Previously, Kristy was on the faculty of the University of Washington in African Studies and Global Studies. She has also marketed specialty cocoa for Twin & Twin Trading and led education programming for the Northwest Chocolate Festival.

Kristy holds degrees from Oxford University, the University of Washington, and Boston College. She lives in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.