The Hot Seat: Efrem Fesaha | Founder & CEO | Boon Boona Coffee

The Fireside Chat:

The Hot Seat (Fireside Chat) is a moderated conversation featuring leaders and people of influence from the business community and public sector. By highlighting stories of success (primarily from women and people of color), this event is designed to be an inspirational, mentorial resource for entrepreneurs and professionals.

About Your Guest:

Efrem Fesaha, is a first-generation Eritrean American whose family moved to the US (West Seattle) in 1988 for an opportunity his Father received to work for Boeing as a Mechanical Engineer. Efrem attended grade school in West Seattle, attended Washington State University for his B.A., and is currently a candidate for a Masters in Business Administration at Seattle University. Prior to establishing Boon Boona Coffee, Efrem worked 13 years in corporate finance for local companies such as Holland America, Nordstrom and Amazon. In 2011, Efrem returned from a three-month stay in his family's native country of Eritrea where he became inspired by the Cafe culture that existed in the capital Asmara and returned to Seattle with the desire to venture into coffee. Boon Boona Coffee was launched with the aim of sourcing the highest quality coffee from Africa. In collaboration with coffee farmers across many African nations they look to develop long-lasting relationships and support the sustainability of their crops. Boon Boona Roastery & Café operations are located in Downtown Renton, with a second café near the Central District of Seattle. Efrem won the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Washington Small Business Person of the Year award for 2022 and most recently was named 2022 Pacific Northwest Small Business Person of the Year, selected among state winners from Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

About Your Host, Rubelyn Chu:

Rubelyn Chu is the GM of ProDev, part of the YPC non-profit organization, and Co-Founder of Access2, a sourcing and staffing marketplace that operates in tandem with community organizations. We help ensure that space is occupied by providing opportunity through events and storytelling through our unique platform, one of them being sports.

Rubelyn is also part of the Alumni Advisory Board and Advisee in the Entrepreneurship Program at Northwest University and is a mentor to local high school and college students and in the local startup community. When she isn’t working, she can be found in the gym, going on road trips/traveling or with family and friends.