World Coffee Research CEO Dr. Jennifer “Vern” Long named to the Forbes 50 Over 50 list
Annual list highlights extraordinary changemakers
Key takeaway
- A global stage for a coffee-sector leader. Dr. Jennifer "Vern" Long has been named to Forbes' 2026 50 Over 50 list in the Impact category, recognizing her work uniting 200+ companies, 30 countries, and 11 governments around the coffee industry's first globally coordinated variety development program.
World Coffee Research CEO Dr. Jennifer "Vern" Long has been named to the Forbes 50 Over 50 list in the Impact category for 2026, recognizing her leadership in the coffee sector.
The sixth annual 50 Over 50 list spotlights influential women across industries who are shaping their fields and communities through leadership, innovation, and impact.
Through WCR, Dr. Long has united 200+ companies across 30 countries and 11 governments to build the coffee industry's first globally coordinated variety development program, delivering new, climate-resilient varieties faster than ever before and helping secure coffee supplies for farmers and consumers.
"I do this work because I believe that co-opetition models in science will solve some of our most consequential global challenges," said Dr. Long. "Coffee is facing a hard decade. That's exactly the kind of problem worth spending your most experienced years on and why it is such an honor to be included in the Impact category of the 2026 Forbes 50 Over 50 list."
Dr. Long says the recognition also belongs to the 200+ companies in 30 countries partnering with the 11 governments who decided the future of coffee was worth building together, and to a team that has made variety development move 2.5x faster than it used to. "Science is a team sport played over generations."