This Nonprofit Coffee Business Serves Up a Higher Purpose
Butler Coffee Lab provides gainful employment to people with disabilities.
BRIANA EALY AND JAKE FAIR. PHOTO COURTESY OF BUTLER COFFEE LAB
Terry Kaiserman and Nadine Tripodi are spending their retirement years making sure your morning cup of joe has meaning.
In 2023, the couple launched the non-profit Butler Coffee Lab to provide dignified employment for adults with disabilities, including veterans, while giving profits back to the community.
Workers at the facility on East Cunningham Street in Butler pocket a paycheck as they weigh, package and seal small batches of ground coffee into 16-ounce bags and single-use Hot Pods similar to Keurig K-Cups. Once customizable labels are placed on the products, they’re ready to be shipped to area restaurants, grocery stores and farm markets, including Butler’s Freedom Farms and Shenot Farms in Wexford.
Through a partnership with Procure Impact, a business that acts as a connector between hospitality companies, Butler Coffee Lab works with River Inn in Washington, D.C. and Airlie Hotel in Virginia, with hopes to expand further.
Along with light, medium, dark and espresso roasts with different additives such as non-dairy creamer, sugar, cinnamon and Carolina Reaper pepper, there are various teas, lemon beverages and hot chocolate pods.
TERRY KAISERMAN AND NADINE TRIPODI. PHOTO COURTESY OF BUTLER COFFEE LAB
Last December, Butler Coffee Lab received a $200,000 grant from The Heinz Endowments, enabling it to launch Keystone Talent Bridge, an adaptive workforce training and empowerment program that pairs job seekers with inclusive employers throughout Western Pennsylvania.
Who knows, some of these folks could end up working for inclusive businesses such as Penn Hills-based Spectrum Fudge or Cookie Cookie Ice Cream in Kennedy.
Through a 10-week cohort at Butler Coffee Lab, participants will collect a real wage while receiving hands-on production experience, classroom instruction and workplace skills. At the same time, Keystone Talent Bridge will help employers build practical, inclusive hiring systems and provide support.
The program is in its pilot phase with plans to take flight in 2027, complete with a larger retail area where participants can learn how to handle money while they earn it. While Kaiserman and Tripodi aren’t spending their golden years, these globe-trotting retirees are jet-set in their own community-focused way.
They both have a love for fine coffee and decades worth of business acumen. Tripodi, whose daughter Tess has special needs, founded Butler Technologies Inc. in 1990 and Kaiserman spent his career in product design and development, including drink pods.
BRIANNA EALY AND JAKE FAIR. PHOTO COURTESY OF BUTLER COFFEE LAB
After extensive research, they partnered with an infrared coffee roaster. The process of heating the beans using radiant energy rather than hot air and open flames reduces acidity and enhances flavors.
Once they settled on the perfect product for their mission, they hired Luke Gilligan as executive director to help them navigate the nonprofit world; the Indiana native was born into it.
Gilligan’s mother was a social worker, so he grew up interacting with people of all ages and ability levels. At 16, he started a nonprofit called Huggable Happiness, teaching teenage entrepreneurship in underserved areas. During his freshman year at Grove City College, he founded Resense, which creates innovative and restorative products for individuals living with dementia or memory loss.
Operations Manager Sharon Vollmer has a background in food service and nonprofit work and also organizes Butler’s annual Witches Day Out event. She not only oversees the four-person coffee-packing crew, she watches them thrive in a positive atmosphere. Eight individuals have already found jobs outside of the facility. There are 30 people on the waiting list and Butler Coffee Lab hopes to run four cohorts this year.
Brianna Ealy, who joined Butler Coffee Lab in 2025, has been promoted to trainer. She’ll help onboard new employees, set the pace on the production line and continue building her own skills that will lead to long-term employment opportunities.
“You can work here four hours a week,” Tripodi says, “if those four hours make a difference in your life.”
