Will Loughlin started his career in cider as a pourer at a regional New York cider company and moved his way up to Head Cidermaker. Currently he is the Assistant Cidermaker at The Angry Orchard Innovation Center in Walden, New York and a sitting board member of the New York Cider Association. To supplement on the job training he has taken many classes through the Cider Institute of North America and regularly attends CiderCon®. Coming from a teaching background, he believes that if you aren’t trying to innovate and learn you are only hurting yourself. 

Jenn Smith runs Grow-NY, a food and ag startup program, for Cornell University, where she draws on her background in craft beverage market development, most recently as the founding Executive Director of the New York Cider Association and the Director of the New York State Distillers Guild. In addition to working with NYCA and NYSDG, Jenn was an NYC-based consultant to entrepreneurs creating value-added products and hospitality ventures. Before that, she was the marketing director of New York’s largest wine and spirits retailer.