Meet the Presenters

Topic: Women of Cacao: Cultural History, Leadership & the Future of Chocolate

Date: Saturday May 30th, 2026
Time: 10 AM - 12 Noon Atlanta Time
Location: Virtual

Read About the Webinar: https://cocoatown.com/blogs/blog/women-in-chocolate-past-present-future

Register: https://form.jotform.com/260924250699162

Fiorella Richter

Fiorella is the founder of Women of Cacao and General Manager of Kaukawa Cacao, a Peru-based company working with native cacao varieties and origin-centered cacao experiences. Her work bridges cacao culture, sensory exploration, producer visibility, and regenerative approaches to cacao value chains. Through collaborations with producers, chocolate makers, and global cacao organizations, she advocates for a more holistic understanding of cacao—one that honors both ancestral knowledge and contemporary science.

She is also a student of the Cacao of Excellence sensory evaluation program, deepening her work with cacao quality assessment &  flavor analysis directly from the bean. Her approach explores how sensory evaluation and scientific tools can support greater visibility, recognition, and value creation for producers and origin countries.

Ava Holmes

Ava J. is a serial entrepreneur whose work blends on-the-ground activism, storytelling through creative mediums such as fashion and chocolate and out-of-the-box social ventureship. Her work has been featured across major media outlets from The NY Times and Vogue to Discovery Channel and TED Talks.

Ava co-founded Women of Cacao and Cacao Center, an educational center and research hub in the lower Amazon that explores wild cacao strains, medicinal plants, and regenerative agroforestry. Her team collaborates with local farmers, scientists, and conservationists to produce the region’s first organic, ecologically-grown chocolate.