North Bay Woman

50 NORTH BAY WOMAN | F A L L 2 0 1 6 By Jane Lott A h-h-h, coffee. Most people can't start their day without it. It's the ubiquitous center of social engagements: "Let's meet for coffee and chat." And over the past 25 years, coffee has become a primary vehicle for global change. From fair trade to sustain- ability to women's economic initiatives, coffee has furthered social responsibility and cultural changes not just in coffee-growing regions, but in the United States, as well. Emblematic of this growth is Marin's own Equator Coffees and Teas Inc., the 2016 recipient of U.S. Small Business Administration's National Small Busi- ness of the Year Award, and the first certified LGBT business to win this honor. "It was huge," says Equator's co-founder, Helen Russell, of the SBA award. "Receiving this accolade is confirmation that you can achieve something beyond your wildest dreams." Behind that dream and the rise of Equator Coffees stand three powerful women: Russell and her partner, Brooke McDon- nell, who together founded the company in 1995, and Maureen McHugh, who joined them five months later and is now vice president. It was a conjunction of the right people with the right skills at the right time. The three were already longtime friends when, in the early 1990s, Russell and McDonnell decided to leave the Pacific Northwest, where they had worked flipping houses, to return to the Bay Area with a new venture: Europa, a specialty coffee bar, modeled after the trendy coffee shops, such as Starbucks in Seattle and Peet's in San Francisco, then still emerging. Europa was the beginning of Russell's dream of becoming an entrepreneur. "Ever since I was a kid," she says, "I've always wanted to own my own business." McDonnell, on the other hand, was more specific. She was oriented toward the flavor and production. Although Europa was the training ground, McDonnell soon grew frustrated with the coffee she received `from wholesalers and the lack of information regarding its origins and supply chain. It was her quest for more knowledge and better A powerful brew Equator Coffees & Teas Equator's co-founders (from left): Helen Russell and Brooke McDonnell, and Equator's VP Maureen McHugh. –Photo provided by Equator Coffees & Teas –Photo provided by Equator Coffees & Teas

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