Rhyan Cockrell is a cidermaker, orchardist, cider advocate and quail collector. Before her cider journey, Rhyan worked in politics, fundraising, and event planning. These experiences helped her to develop key skills she has been able to transfer to the cider world through advocacy at the state capitol and community-building events at her taproom.

Rhyan is Co-Owner with her dad, Rich Cockrell, at Cockrell Cider Farm in Puyallup, WA. Rich has taught Rhyan everything she knows about cidermaking and orcharding. He continues to be a strong mentor to her as she steps into her own identity as a cidermaker. Together alongside family and friends, they manage 8 acres of apple trees and produce handcrafted, small batch ciders in both traditional and modern styles.

Rhyan chose to become a Certified Pommelier™ to further her knowledge of production techniques, apple varieties, and cider across the world. In the future, she hopes to experiment with different styles and dive further into orchard management.

Follow Rhyan on her cider influencer journey on Instagram, @rhyanmakescider.

Certified Pommelier™ Rhyan Cockrell earned her advanced certification at CiderCon® 2026 in Providence, RI.

Scott Katsma is an award-winning cidermaker, passionate innovator, and renowned educator with over a decade of industry experience. As a leader in the craft cider industry, Scott has devoted more than 11 years to helping build Seattle Cider Company into one of the largest regional cider companies in the U.S., where he currently serves as the Brand Development Manager. Scott became Head Cidermaker for Seattle Cider Co. in 2016 and quickly advanced to become the Director of Fermentation and Innovation for Seattle Cider Co., Two Beers Brewing Co., and Sound Craft Seltzer. In these roles, he developed a diverse skill set spanning beverage production and the broader alcohol industry. Under Scott’s guidance, Seattle Cider was awarded the Best Large Cidermaker title at the Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Awards for three consecutive years (2022-2024). Scott has also been a dedicated advocate for the cider community through his work with the Northwest Cider Association; an active member of the board of directors since 2017, he served as Board President from 2020 to 2024.

Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Sadie Wagnell first became interested in cider in college after taking a class about the science and history of alcohol production in the United States. She studied biology in school, working extensively at her University’s Natural History Museum doing taxidermy and specimen preparation. She eventually joined Schilling Cider as a Quality Assurance Technician, and now works as the Quality Assurance Manager at Schilling. She values the balance between technical work and creativity that cidermaking offers, and has fallen in love with almost every crabapple cider she’s every tried!

Marina Sumrada’s journey into the world of cider started long before she earned her Certified Pommelier designation. Originally from a small town in Pennsylvania, Marina first got a taste of the cider world over five years ago. But it wasn’t until she moved to the Pacific Northwest that her cider obsession truly fermented! Now, as the Marketing Manager for Brand Partnerships at Schilling Cider, Marina is living her dream – working alongside a team of brilliant, talented people she adores every day.

Her passion for cider goes beyond just sipping it – Marina is stoked about educating others and sharing the joy of craft cider. A particular highlight for her has been working on National Cider Month, where she collaborates with cideries of all sizes and styles across the country. She feels incredibly lucky to connect with so many like-minded cider enthusiasts, skilled makers, and industry friends on a daily basis.

When she’s not raising a glass of cider, Marina’s busy spreading the word about the beverage that has stolen her heart. Whether it’s creating connections, sharing her expertise, or simply posting about the latest & greatest cider she’s tried on her cider-focused @malusmarina Instagram profile, she’s ready to help take the cider scene to new heights and bring new cider friends along for the ride.

Taylor Corrigan (she/they) is a long time cider enthusiast. She started her journey with a bottle of Finnriver Pear cider that was sold at her previous job. After a few years of visiting the cider garden and enjoying many a drink she finally got herself a job there! Working with some great folks and learning so much information about cider she decided to take it to the next level. Taylor, along with being a parent of two young children, is also a dancer and perfomer focusing on fusion belly dance. She can even balance a bottle of cider on her head!

Maia Wohlert began her journey in cider in 2021 after graduating from Eckerd College with a bachelors in biology and moving to Seattle. Her introduction into the world of cider began at Dragon’s Head Cider under the guidance of Laura Cherry and Levi Danielson. Maia learned the ins and outs of orcharding, production, and cider sales, and discovered her love for cider making. She is currently working as the cidermaker at Greenwood Cider and experiments with small batches of cider at home. Maia loves a traditional French and Spanish style cider, and she will never say no to a Pet Nat.

Ava Davis is a longtime cider enthusiast turned advocate. Based in the Pacific Northwest, she spreads her love and passion for cider via her cider focused Instagram account. Showcasing the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest, she aims to entertain, educate, and promote cider. She truly believes that cider is for everyone and that there is a cider for everybody! In her spare time she enjoys hiking, paddle boarding, and reading.

Adam Wargacki is a biochemist, orchardist, and winemaker born, raised and living in the Puget Sound.

Returning home from a Bay Area biotech startup where he had helped invent the fermentation of seaweed into commodity alcohols and biofuels. – In 2012 Adam took up care of an old family orchard in Shelton, began foraging for pears on Anderson Island, and undertook an intensive study of remnant homestead orchards in Seattle’s public spaces.

Assembling a “Pomona” of over 200 historic books on fruit variety, horticulture, and winemaking – he learned that the working orchard is an important historic metaphor for thriving families and communities embedded harmoniously in nature. In 2015, Adam planted Empyrical Orchards in Snohomish, Washington. This collection of cider-apple, perry-pear, quince and pome-seedlings has since grown to 7 acres and 1,500 trees. His three children have room to play within its double-spaced rows. The crop from those trees sustains Empyrical Cider, founded with his wife Elizabeth in 2022.

Empyrical starts with respect for the very best of nature and tradition, followed by relentless experimentation to continually elevate the intensity, quality and perceived value of cider and perry.

Andrew Byers trained as a culinary botanist and has many years of experience in kitchens and orchards. As head cidermaker at Finnriver Farm and Cidery in Chimacum, WA for the last 10 years he has focused on a network of small scale, organic sources of fruit and botanicals in the PNW. He also currently serves on the board of the Northwest Cider Association.

Ashley Wilson stumbled upon the cider industry in 2021, but soon fell in love. She started off as a production associate at Locust Cider in Gig Harbor, WA where her mentors nurtured her interest into passion. She has since traveled to Roseland, VA to broaden her experience as Head Cidermaker at Bryant’s Cider. Ashley takes special interest experimenting with botanical and creating unique small batch ciders. She looks forward to furthering her craft and sharing the love of cider by joining the team at Schilling Cider in Auburn, WA.

Ashley chose to take the Certified Pommelier exam to further her education. She aspires to become an industry expert to help spark intrigue and provide guidance so others may also find pleasure in cider.

Jessica is a former cider slinger and overly-educated enthusiast with a graphic design habit. She resides in the Pacific Northwest and loves supporting all her wonderful cider friends making great local products.

Jessica chose to pursue a Pommelier™ certification for the challenge, to improve her knowledge and palate, and to build her community.

Find out what she’s tasting on Instagram @jessicashortcake.

Walker Smith and his wife are slowing growing Goldeneye Cider, currently a cidery-in-planning. They are located in Whatcom County, Washington, just south of the Canadian border and west of the Cascade Mountains. It’s important for them to maintain and enhance the connection between sustainable agriculture and cider while also protecting and utilizing the wild spaces. What that in mind, they collect from unmanaged trees and co-ferment with native fruits to produce a line of ciders that showcase the local flavors of Whatcom County.

Walker decided to take the Certified Pommelier™ exam to test his knowledge, train his palate, connect with other passionate cider professionals and continue learning how best to connect sustainable agriculture, local food systems and habitat restoration.

Cam Workman has worked both on-premise and off-premise wine in bars and wine retail, as a production and packaging lead at a fancy Midwest jam and cocktail syrup company, in a variety of food service positions, a coffee roaster, and poured freelance wine tastings for public and private events. Cam thinks he’s finally found a path he wants to focus on: making cider. He’s also found a home in Seattle, where he works at Schilling Cider as the manager of their Quality Assurance team. He spends his days solving interesting puzzles, coming up with new ideas, working with fantastic people, and using magic to build some radical spreadsheets that support their awesome team. He’s always thought he’d be working in wine, but the exact moment he discovered cider he realized that he’d stumbled into something amazing that he knew he wanted to be a part of. He can’t wait to spend the next years of his life getting to know everyone and learning as much as he can!

He chose to become a Certified Pommelier™ because he’s hoping to use what he’s learned in his time as a cidermaker to help guide and grow the industry! The Pommelier certification seemed like a way to help give him a little extra sparkle.

Y. Dave Klawer is a cidermaker, orchardist, cider advocate, educator and enthusiast. He is completing a Masters Degree in Agriculture with hopes to grow the best possible cider fruit. He and his wife have several thousand young trees and look to supply cidermakers within the region with highest quality cider fruit and fresh pressed juice.

He and his wife Heather Klawer are Co-Owners and Co-founders of Bitters & Sharps LLC. They are a wholesale nursery and orchard management company specializing in cider fruit production, custom grafting, orchard design, orchard planning, and consultation services.

They also have a small cider company called Alma Cider. They are located in Northwestern Washington, where the mountains meet the sea, in the beautiful Skagit Valley. 

Dave chose to become a Certified Pommelier™ in the pursuit of becoming an expert in as many aspects of cider as possible, so that he can learn to make the best possible cider and perry products. He also wanted to be able to help standardize the language in which cider is described, so that nationally there is more consistency with verbiage. Ultimately, he believes these universal adaptations will benefit the cider industry as a whole, as well as consumers who can be guided towards the cider that best fits their palate, occasion, mood, or food pairing. Lastly, he really, really likes cider.

Storie Madrid is a longtime cider enthusiast from Seattle, WA. She and her spouse, Erik, are are the owners of Press Then Press, a cider focused webstore that ships cider across the US. They are also in the planning stages for a cider focused taproom in the Seattle area. She decided to pursue becoming a Certified Pommelier™ to test and expand her knowledge of cider and to practice objectively tasting and describing cider so that she can help turn more people into cider drinkers

Nick Hill is the founder, co-owner & head cidermaker at Puget Sound Cider Company. When he first started crafting cider he did a lot of research on how cider was made. It was at this time he discovered the lost history of cider in this country. It was like he found a treasure trove! He was especially fascinated with traditional American cider apples and their origins. Since then he has had great success using traditional cider apples in their ciders and helping people discover just how good American cider can be.

Nick chose to become a Certified Pommelier™ to expand his knowledge and understanding of today’s rapidly evolving dynamic cider industry as a whole. Now he has more confidence representing his company, his region and promoting cider as a high quality, high value beverage.

Kate Pinsley began her cider journey with a pint of Original Sin served in a sketchy bar in the East Village. Her next stop was the Finger Lakes with its bounty of upstate cideries. In the course of completing her master’s thesis on apple tannins at Cornell University, Kate learned cidermaking and became quite the cider nerd. Kate is now the Senior Director of Beverage at Schilling Cider in Seattle, leading the cider production and R&D teams in their mission to create quality canned cider. Kate decided to pursue her Pommelier™ certification to challenge her cider knowledge and palate, and to connect with more cidermakers and cider fans.

Erik Madrid is a cider enthusiast and hobbyist cidermaker from Seattle, WA. He and his wife Storie (also recently certified) are the owners of Press Then Press, a cider focused webstore that ships cider across the US. They are also in the planning stages for a cider focused taproom in the Seattle area. Erik pursued the Pommelier™ certification out of his love for cider, his interest in sharing all the nuances of the beverage and its history with others, and to be a part of its future.

Suzannah Klaniecki is a cidermaker with Schilling Cider based in Seattle, Washington. She decided to take the Certified Pommelier™ exam because she likes having the in-depth knowledge that comes from studying cider which she believes has this great combination of science, art, and culture.

Jamie’s passion for cider began in 2014 when curiosity led her through the door of Liberty Ciderworks, a small urban cidery located in Spokane, WA. There she discovered that the use of exceptional fruit and cider making techniques can produce ciders as complex and delicious as the finest wines. After several years of being a regular patron of Liberty Ciderworks, Jamie was convinced the cider industry was the place that brought her the most joy and she became co-owner in 2019. Jamie currently fills the role of Sales Director and loves working with people. Her desire to educate and inspire others to discover cider led her to pursue her Pommelier™ certification through the American Cider Association. Jamie’s other interests include experimenting with food pairings, world travel, vintage vinyl records, and the Dodgers.