Mary Allen Lindemann

Mary Allen Lindemann’s B.A. in poetry from Brown University led her first to a career in advertising and marketing in NY, Boston and Seattle where she worked on retail and wholesale clothing accounts in addition to IBM, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ tourism and economic development, Safeway supermarkets and Peek Freans cookies.

Her life changed the day she tried a Caffè Latte while living in Seattle in the late 1980s, before the specialty coffee boom really took hold. Her newfound passion for coffee and a love of New England brought her, and her partner Alan Spear to Portland, Maine, where they founded Coffee By Design in 1994.

Mary Allen’s commitment to quality coffee, to building strong relationships with farmers and suppliers, and to giving back to the local and international communities to which Coffee By Design is intimately connected, are reflected daily in the way Coffee By Design does business. With her guidance, the company stays true to its Maine roots and maintains its commitment to giving back to the local and international communities to which Coffee By Design is intimately connected. Part of her job is to make sure the company continues to be a “good corporate citizen” while making social change happen in a unique and meaningful way.

She is involved with the International Women’s Coffee Alliance Chapters in Burundi, India, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador and in Maine, she is a founding member of Portland Buy Local, Women Standing Together and the First Friday Art Walk. She currently serves on The Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center and Portland Ovations boards and is on the advisory board of Portland Buy Local. She is a past board member of the Downtown Corporation Board, past president of Maine Businesses for Social Responsibility, Portland Buy Local and more. She has contributed to Specialty Coffee Chronicle and Hospitality News and has been a featured speaker at the Brown University’s Women’s Leadership Conference, Envision Maine’s Summit and the Salvation Army Tools for Life Program.

Awards earned include State of Maine Legislative Sentiment for Public Service, the Women Making a Difference Award from the Maine Centers for Women, the Tribute to Women in Industry Award from Maine Women’s Fund, an Essential Founders Award from Portland Buy Local and she was named a Southern Region Champion by Women, Work and Community.

Mary Allen considers herself fortunate to have formed a great partnership with Alan Spear and is excited to see the next generation of CBD including seeing her daughter Alina’s developing interest in CBD.

She hopes that the work she does on a daily basis at Coffee By Design and in the community both locally and globally makes a difference now and in the years to come. She truly believes you can change the world one cup of coffee at a time.