Declare a Vote of No Confidence in the SCA Board of Directors

On September 11th, 2017 the Specialty Coffee Association announced the selection of Dubai, UAE as the location for the 2018 WCE World Coffee Championships. This created immediate concern for the safety and well-being of individuals traveling to Dubai to attend, coach and compete in the event due to the documented human rights abuses within the UAE. Specifically pertaining to the treatment of LGBTQIA individuals. (See below references for specific documentation) Due to immediate and strong dissent by the SCA member community, a subsequent announcement was made to review the decision.
On November 8th, 2017 the announcement was made that Dubai would remain the current location for the 2018 WCE competitions, with the potential for competitors to apply for a deferred candidacy if they felt unsafe traveling to Dubai. This decision was determined by the current board of directors for the SCA.

Signers of this petition declare a vote of "No Confidence" in the current SCA Board of Directors and call for an immediate dissolution of the board with new elections to be held at the earliest possible date. Current board members may run again for election, only upon the disclosure of how they voted in the Dubai review decision.

If the board is not immediately dissolved, a formal complaint will be filed with the California Department of Justice that the SCA has violated California NonProfit Corporation Law by not maintaining a board which represents a reasonable gender and racial balance. The complaint will also cite violation of California Corporate Law Section 5231(a), that the director(s) did willfully act in blatant disregard for the physical and emotional welfare of its members, further ignoring numerous documented complaints of these concerns (5231(b)).

For further information on the human rights violations by the UAE and the Emirate of Dubai, please see:
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/united-arab-emirates#e81181
As well as cases including GiGi Gorgeous, Jamie Harron, Karen Mke and Kamilla Satto