Featured Speaker Bio:

Jeff holds a BS in Economics from Northeastern University, a JD from Suffolk University Law School, and an LLM from Boston University School of Law in International Banking and Financial Law. 

Before becoming a lawyer, Jeff’s experience included work for the board of directors of a global computer company based in Paris, France, for Pioneer investments and for Prudential Insurance in Boston, among other jobs.  

After becoming an attorney, Jeff ran a private law practice, served as Director of the JRI Health Law Institute in Boston, and then at Fidelity Investments as a Trust Specialist, as Director of Estate Planning, and finally as a VP of Private Foundation Services in Fidelity’s Charitable Services Division. 

In 2002, Jeff co-founded Flat Black Coffee Company, Ltd., with David and Jennifer House.  Flat Black is committed to ethical business practices in an industry known for its exploitative history.  From the start, Jeff, David, and Jennifer were determined to affect positive change in the coffee industry in order to foster economic, environmental, and social sustainability.  To that end, they have focused on providing Boston consumers with the world’s finest single-origin coffees that are fairly traded, organically grown, shade grown, and single estate. 

Flat Black now has three retail stores in Boston, with a fourth location that is a private café within a prominent marketing firm in downtown Boston.  Flat Black roasts all of its coffee in Boston, and has a wholesale division that serves restaurants, café’s, offices and grocers in Boston, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, western Massachusetts and Connecticut.