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About American Cider Association
The American Cider Association is an organization of cider and perry producers in the United States. Our mission is to grow a diverse and successful U.S. cider industry by providing valuable information, resources and services to our members and by advocating on their behalf.
Meet Our Team
Michelle McGrath
CEO
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Michelle joined the American Cider Association as CEO in July of 2016. Her rich history includes non-profit management, membership development, supporting farmers and value-added producers, grassroots lobbying, teaching and more. Michelle grew up on a Christmas tree farm in the Sierra Nevada Foothills near the famous Apple Hill marketing cooperative. Today she lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and their two young sons. Michelle has a master's degree in Ecology from University of California, San Diego and a certificate in sustainable business from Pinchot University. She was recognized by Wine Enthusiast Magazine as one of 40 tastemakers under 40 in 2018 and as a SevenFifty Daily Innovator in 2019.
Miranda Bradeen
Membership & Engagement Coordinator
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Miranda Bradeen has a long history in the beverage and hospitality industry and a passion for helping people feel seen and heard. A sommelier by trade, Miranda spent most of her career working with wine, however after walking the Camino de Santiago del Norte through Spain in 2021 she fell in love with all things cider. Eager to be a catalyst for growth within the industry, Miranda spends much of her time finding ways to learn about cider's history, culture, growing regions and farming practices, cultivars, production methods, and people surrounding all of the above. Currently she resides in Spokane WA with her husband, Scott, son Henry, and daughter, Dromi.
Jennie Dorsey
Education Operations Director
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Jennie Dorsey is a founding member of Pomme Boots Society for women in the Cider Industry and has held numerous positions since she first entered the Cider Industry over a decade ago. Jennie actually began her journey in the coffee industry where she was a nationally ranked competition barista and trainer specializing in sensory analysis with a focus on food pairings. The skills honed in competition led her on the path of beverage discovery, where she fell in love with cider and its unmatched pairing possibilities. Jennie is a working member of the Cider Certification team, and she was given the distinguished award of Cider Server of the Year in 2018 by the ACA. She is passionate about food and beverage of all kinds, cinema, and vintage lifestyle, and she can always be spotted by her brightly colored hair.
Ellen Husch
Administrative Support & Trade Show Manager
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Ellen has been with the American Cider Association since 2014. She provides administrative services as well as planning CiderCon® and the annual Trade Show. Prior to this, she worked in radio promotions and television news. Ellen is a mom of five daughters and is proud to call Colorado her home, where she enjoys hiking, gardening, cooking, reading and of course, cider!
Jenn Martell
Special Projects Manager
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Jenn Root Martell is a Virginia native who spent her early career as an international programs manager and nonprofit grant writer. In 2015 she made the move to the SF Bay Area with her husband and started a small commercial cidery - South City Ciderworks - that she managed for more than 7 years. She joined the ACA in 2023 as the Speaker Wrangler for CiderCon® and now assists with other logistical tasks and ACA advocacy efforts as the Special Projects Manager. She recently moved to Maine where she loves spending time outdoors with her family and exploring a new cider community.
Woodley Smith
Communications & Volunteer Manager
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Woodley fell in love with agriculture growing up on the family farm in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington State. Since 2005, Woodley and her family have been making small-scale hard cider on their farm and recently expanded their orchard to include more distinctive cider varieties to make available to local cidermakers. She started working for the American Cider Association in the summer of 2017 as the Volunteer Coordinator for CiderCon® and her role expanded to include managing communications in 2020. She is thrilled to be involved with an organization that not only draws on her professional skills, but engages her personal interests as well. She has a Master’s Degree in Sustainable Food Systems and speaks fluent Spanish.
Darlene Hayes
Educational Content Manager
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Cider expert and author of Cider Cocktails – Another Bite of the Apple, Darlene Hayes has traveled throughout the world interviewing cidermakers, growers, and researchers, all the while drinking many fabulous ciders and trying to wrap her head around cider, past and present. She is a well regarded international cider judge and teacher, editor of the cider zine Malus, and writes about cider for a variety of other publications, including a regular column for Spirited Magazine, as well as at allintocider.com. She makes a bit of cider of her own from her orchard where she is conducting research on the impact of terroir on apples used for cider.
Gabe Cook
Licensed CCP Educator
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Gabe Cook is The Ciderologist – an award winning cider expert changing the way people think and drink cider. He has more than fifteen years’ experience within the global cidery industry, working in the UK, New Zealand, Norway, the US and beyond. Gabe has worked for all sizes and types of cider maker, from traditional farmhouse producers, all the way up to the world’s largest. He has even managed to present a bottle of cider to the Queen (RIP). As well as providing world class consultancy to cider makers and cider sellers alike, Gabe has written two books – 2018’s Ciderology (Octopus) and 2021’s Modern British Cider (CAMRA Publishing) – as well as countless articles for regional, national and trade media. His authority on the fermented apple is confirmed by his role as Chair of Judges for the International Cider Awards, and most crucially as the creator of Europe’s only cider sommelier (pommelier) training.
Lee Reeve
Licensed CCP Educator
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Lee Reeve is internationally regarded as the leading authority on cider in Asia and is a noted speaker regarding its cider scene, market, and industry. He is the owner/operator of inCiderJapan, a promotion & marketing consulting company that imports and distributes world-class ciders to Japan. Lee is also the creator and organiser of the Japan Cider Cup Tasting Competition & International Cider Event.
Lee has been a regular contributor to CiderCraft and Malus magazines, and when he’s not judging ciders or teaching others about cider, there’s a reasonable chance he’s somewhere making cider.
Kyle White
Accounts Payable & Operations Support
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Kyle has been working with the American Cider Association since 2017. She owns a consulting business that provides administrative, financial, and internal communications support. She has over 18 years of nonprofit experience, working in a variety of roles, and currently maintains a portfolio of clients where she does everything from bookkeeping to financial, project, operational and HR management.