Meet the Team

Jimmy Avendano is the CEO and co-founder of Yellow Rooster Coffee, where he leads the company’s coffee sourcing, sales, operations, and strategic growth. With extensive knowledge of the coffee industry, Jimmy works closely with producers, exporters, roasters, and customers to build strong international relationships and connect exceptional coffees with markets across the United States.

Before co-founding Yellow Rooster, Jimmy gained valuable industry experience at BUNN, a leading global manufacturer of commercial coffee equipment. This experience gave him a broad understanding of the coffee supply chain—from sourcing and importing to roasting, brewing, equipment, sales, and customer service.

Jimmy holds a bachelor’s degree in business and completed graduate coursework toward a master’s degree in Human Development Counseling. This combination of business expertise and human-centered leadership strengthens his ability to cultivate meaningful relationships throughout the coffee industry.

Guided by integrity, perseverance, and a deep respect for the people behind every cup, Jimmy is committed to expanding Yellow Rooster’s reach while strengthening its operational and financial foundation. His vision is to establish Yellow Rooster as a trusted coffee partner recognized for quality, transparency, innovation, and long-lasting relationships.

Alejandro brings more than 15 years of experience in the coffee industry, with a background spanning international trade, financial analysis, and logistics. At Yellow Rooster Coffee, he oversees financial strategy and international logistics, helping ensure the efficient movement of coffee from origin to the U.S. market while supporting the company’s financial health and long-term growth.

His experience across different areas of the coffee supply chain gives him a broad perspective on the business, from managing costs and logistics to building strong relationships with producers, exporters, warehouses, and partners.

He is a Colombian Agronomist with a professional career rooted in agriculture and coffee. In Colombia, he worked in the fruit export industry with the country’s leading company in the sector, gaining valuable experience in agricultural production and processes. He later developed his career in the coffee industry, working with green coffee, quality control, sensory analysis, and roasting. As a roaster, he has developed coffee profiles and projects in the United States, primarily in New York and Florida, with a focus on highlighting the unique characteristics of each origin. He is passionate about traveling, discovering different cultures, continuous learning, and sharing knowledge, always open to connecting and exchanging ideas with people from different backgrounds.

Nate was born in Alaska and has called Sanford, North Carolina home for the past twenty years. A United States Air Force veteran and disabled veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, he holds associate degrees in Biotechnology and BioQuality and a degree in Business Administration from NCCU and Central Carolina Community College. His career has spanned police dispatch, restaurant management, real estate, and sales and marketing leadership. He fell in love with coffee at ten and has been drinking it black since his twenties, and today works across espresso, French press, and pour over, with a particular interest in coferments, naturals, and rare varietals. He is passionate about dialing in the perfect cup and learning something new every day.

Cata Astronauta is based in Medellín, Colombia, with more than eight years of experience in the coffee industry, focused on quality. She is a Certified Barista Technician and Q Grader, with training in Q Processing with an emphasis on fermentation and yeasts.

She has led specialty coffee shops in Medellín, Colombia, and served as Processing Coordinator in Salgar, Antioquia.

She has worked at Yellow Rooster Coffee Imports for three years in Sourcing, Producer Relationships, and Quality Control, supporting international clients and building long-term commercial relationships with Colombian producers.

She has participated as a taster and judge in competitions, national events, and coffee auctions, contributing her professional expertise in the evaluation and selection of high-quality coffees.

Originally from the Venezuelan Andes, Gen is a coffee professional with nine years of experience spanning key parts of the coffee supply chain. Her career has evolved from barista and head barista to cafe management, relationship management for the U.S market, and currently performs as QC and Sourcing Manager for us at Yellow Rooster. In all this roles, Gen has worked hand in hand with talented roasters, producers, coffee shop owners and numerous other coffee professionals across the globe, building strong and genuine relationships, and supporting their coffee needs. This diverse experience has given her a thoughtful and well-rounded understanding of coffee from origin to the final cup, where humanity is always the main character.

Lilian Córdova is a coffee entrepreneur, storyteller, and marketing strategist. At Yellow Rooster Coffee Imports, she leads marketing, communications, and brand strategy, sharing the stories behind its coffees, producers, and origins.

She is also the founder of Fuego Creativo: Coffee for Creators, a specialty coffee brand that inspires creativity and connection through coffee. An Emmy Award-winning journalist and producer, Lilian brings more than fifteen years of experience with companies including NBCUniversal, Telemundo, and Yahoo Hispanic Americas. She also writes, directs, and produces films.

Joaquin Gonzalez is a Colombian coffee professional with a career rooted in agriculture, commodities, and specialty coffee. Born in Bogotá and raised largely in the Middle East, he came to the United States to study resource economics at the University of Florida, later working in commodity trading before fully diving into coffee. He comes from a coffee producing farm in Cundinamarca, Colombia, and has a passion for exploring the range of coffee varietals and processing methods within coffee.