Patrick Shearer

Portland Roasting Co. distributes roasted coffee beans. The company offers coffee and related products through wholesale, internet, and retail channels. It was founded by Mark Stell in 1996 and is headquartered in Portland, OR.

Endicott Biofuels LLC develops cleaner fuel alternatives. The firm builds bio-refineries of adding to the domestic supply of economically renewable transportation fuel. The company was founded by Christopher J. Frantz, Stephen W. Brown, and Kenneth L. Erdoes in 2006 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.

Southern Methodist University is a private university near the center of Dallas, SMU offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs through seven schools in the humanities and sciences, business, the performing, visual, and communication arts, engineering, education and human development, law, and theology.

Endicott Biofuels II LLC develops cleaner fuel alternatives. The company was founded by Christopher J. Frantz in 2007 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.

B. Riley Securities, Inc. is a registered broker/dealer headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The firm is a subsidiary of B. Riley Securities Holdings LLC, ultimately owned by B. Riley Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: RILY). The firm was formed in 2017, when B. Riley Financial, Inc. merged two of their brokers, B. Riley & Co. (founded in 1997) and FBR Capital Markets & Co. (founded in 1989), under the name of B. Riley FBR, Inc. B. Riley Securities provides research and trading ideas to institutional clients and high net-worth individuals. They provide investment banking services to a wide range of middle-market private and public companies.

Brooks Sports, Inc. designs and markets running-specific performance footwear, apparel, and accessories. The firm offers running shoes, shorts, tops, long sleeve tops, sports bras and tanks, skirts, jackets and vests, tights and pants, nightlife products, socks, and accessories for women. The company was founded in 1914 and is headquartered in Seattle, WA.

World Coffee Research is a non-profit agricultural research organization that was formed by the coffee industry in 2012. The non-profit company is based in College Station. The American company's strategic aim is to preserve origin diversity in the face of the climate crisis by accelerating innovation in coffee agriculture. The company's core work is around coffee genetic improvement, and they work across the entire innovation pipeline to provide farmers with access to improved varieties. The company has developed a tool for understanding and measuring coffee's flavors and aromas, which supports farmers in making informed decisions about varieties.