Rising Stars: Meet Colleen King of Highland Park

Today we’d like to introduce you to Colleen King.

Hi Colleen, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and from an early age, I had a deep curiosity of where products, ideas, and people come from. I started my career in coffee in my small town and worked my way up from being a barista to sourcing green coffee directly from farmers around the world.

I managed sourcing in 11 countries and helped develop the third wave specialty coffee movement in North America, Middle East and Asia. We did this by sourcing and scaling with roasters that were invested in quality and creating personal relationships that stabilized historically opaque supply chains.

Meanwhile, I was silently treating my endometriosis with cannabis. I came to it as a patient and activist for access to a plant that changed the game for my health. In 2017, recreational legalization hit California and I saw the same spark of innovation that coffee had in 2010. I met second and third generation regenerative growers in the Emerald Triangle, and I was captivated by their story and craft. I saw an opportunity to have a conversation about quality and went all in.

Today, I work at the intersection of sourcing, storytelling, and technology helping brands scale without losing their soul. My greatest joy was getting my Ganjier certification, joining Budist as a cannabis critic, and judging cups around the world. This year alone, I’ve judged 7 competitions including the California State Fair, MJ Bowl in Vegas and at Spannabis in Barcelona.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Several times in my career (coffee, cannabis, judging hash and in tech) I had to learn how to build credibility in rooms where I was the youngest and often the only woman. Later, I had to navigate entire industries collapsing or reinventing themselves overnight.

That said, it’s been smooth in the sense that I’m confident and deeply trust my intuition. I walked my own path and I trusted my gut, so I very rarely felt that I wasn’t in the right place.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My palette and my experience in international markets. I’ve been working in sensory science for fifteen years now, which means I no longer get palette fatigue. I can make quick and strong assessments without everything smelling or tasting the same.

That mix has given me a unique lens for how innovation and quality really works. It’s not about speed or disruption for its own sake. It’s about care, relationships, and designing systems that make good work easier to sustain. I’m most proud of building programs that bring visibility to the invisible labor behind great products.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I hope to see decriminalization, interstate commerce and international export. The value of a specialty product always lies outside of the place it’s produced. I’m excited to help them tell their stories and open a global dialogue about connoisseurship. I predict that hash, genetics and terroir will be the center of that conversation.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sourceress.io
• Instagram: @colleencolleen
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleen-king-343820b0/
• Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sourceress/id1449900764