Our Staff
Michael King - Manager & Owner
I started in the coffee business in 1997 along with my partner Helen and two friends. For the last 15 years Helen and I have been building a coffee roasting company that is dedicated to striving for the best in both the quality of our coffee and helping to improve the lives of the farmers and families who grow it. My passion for farmers extends beyond the coffee lands; I am passionate about building healthy soils and grow local produce using organic methods - I can often be seen tending to the many gardens that surround the café.
My goal is for our business to help put a face on the coffee famers and their communities and at the same provide folks with a great cup of coffee.
Helen Voogd - Owner
I arrived in the Yukon in the summer of 1990 intending to stay for just one summer. However, the spell of the north drew me and after a quick return to Vancouver for a final year of university, I returned to Whitehorse for good.
In 1997 I ventured into the fair trade coffee business with my partner Michael and two friends. Conducting business in a fair way with the producers of that product, the coffee farmers, just made sense.
Years later, I'm still passionate about what we do. I've been fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit coffee farmers in their home communities in several countries and have a much better understanding the challenges farmers face.
Bruce MacDonald - Head Roaster
I was born in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia where I spent most of the first part of my working life aboard fishing boats on the North Atlantic. At 33 I moved to the Yukon in search of spirit and adventure. I was not to be disappointed, as all the time I have been looking, adventure always come my way.
I have always strived to do the very best at whatever I have decided to take on in my life. Roasting coffee and being a part of Bean North is no exception. I am very proud to be part of a business, and a group of people, who promote fairness in the world.
Ruth Bull - Customer Service & Production
About five years ago my love for a good cup of coffee gave me the opportunity to work for Bean North. Even though my work is mostly office oriented and preparing coffee orders, no two days are the same. I have the chance to be surrounded by an amazing group of people that actually care about our planet and I really enjoy walking to work - even in the winter!
Carlos Ferguson - Barista & Production
For much of my life, coffee was simply a brown beverage that supplied caffeine (a fuel for long distance driving or late night studying) and was provided by truck stops, diners, and cafes all over North America. My self and my tastes eventually matured however and I began to appreciate the finer things in life such as good food, wine, and coffee. I came to the Yukon for the quiet and simplicity, the valleys unpeopled and still, but the coffee lured me to Bean North, first as a customer and now as barista/baker/blender/roaster. I enjoy getting to know the wonderful people that have also been drawn by the place and the coffee.
When not at Bean North, I'm probably at home in the cabin reading.
