Tariq started Revel Cider in 2014, while studying Plant Science at the University of Guelph (in Ontario, Canada). He was 20 years old, so Revel is really the only thing he’s done his entire adult life. Tariq’s educational background is in agriculture, but while he’s worked on a farm they do not own land. Instead they buy all of their fruit from local farmers, as well as foraging fruit, spruce resin, flowers and botanicals over the course of the year. They want to make ciders that truly represent where they are, by including as many species as possible in their blends. They call this full spectrum terroir.

Tina Azarvand joined Strategic Tax Planning and is a Tax Manager with the firm. While working as a Tax Attorney, Tina became interested in the Employee Retention Credit through the ever-evolving legislation, where she decided to shift her focus to assisting small businesses with ERC while it is available. As a Tax Attorney, Tina focused on assisting individuals and businesses facing tax controversies with the IRS and local taxing authorities. In 2022, Tina was selected to the SuperLawyers: Rising Stars list and the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch list, both of which are distinctions given to less than 3% of the attorneys in each respective state. Tina was also selected as the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service (MVLS) Young Volunteer of the Year for 2022.

Albert Johnson is a fourth-generation cidermaker and farmer at Ross-on-Wye Cider & Perry Company in Herefordshire, UK. Albert balances the tradition and heritage of his family home with a forward thinking and creative perspective on where cider and perry can travel to in the future; exploring through his cidermaking all the avenues which apples and pears can journey down, with a specialty in single variety ciders and named varietal blends. He is vice-chair of the Three Counties Cider & Perry Association, and has been organising CraftCon, the UK’s only cidermaking trade conference, since it began in 2019.

Caitlin Braam is the founder and CEO of Yonder Cider and The Source Cider, based in Seattle and Wenatchee, Washington. She has worked in the beverage industry for more than 15 years, working with cideries, breweries and wineries of all sizes. Passionate about helping businesses grow, she spends her days working with producers, talking with growers and introducing consumers to the world of craft beverages. Before starting Yonder Cider and The Source Cider, she was president of Seattle Cider Company and brand strategist at Angry Orchard, as well as a freelance beverage business consultant focused on marketing, branding and public relations. A Certified Cider Professional and WSET Level 2 graduate, Caitlin spends her free time traveling the world and dreaming up Yonder’s next creation.

Mimi Casteel grew up on her family’s wine estate, Bethel Heights Vineyard. After graduate school Mimi worked as a forest ecologist in public lands, which led her to realize that the real battle for the future revolves around how we manage private lands. Mimi’s vineyard, farm and wine, Hope Well, are a living laboratory for agroecological experimentation and practice. Mimi also works with others as an agroecology mentor, and on projects devoted to accelerating the transformation of managed landscapes to bountiful cultural ecosystems.

From growing up in the epicenter of New York State apple production to driving some of the US’s most ambitious and industry leading cider programs, Ryan Burk has spent his life around apples and cider. He helped establish and lead Virtue Cider in Michigan and elevate America’s largest cider maker, Angry Orchard, taking the brand to new successes on both the national and local stage with the Innovation Cider House in Walden NY, where he focused on terrior driven ciders that have won awards around the world. As dedicated industry professional, Ryan has served on the board of the American Cider Association and is a founding board member of the Cider Institute of North America, the US’s premier science-based education platform. He has been recognized for his advocacy, innovation and collaboration by Imbibe 75 People to Watch, Wine Enthusiast’s 40 Under 40 and The Buena Cofradía de los Siceratores de Asturias. Ryan is now making cider under his own label as well as co-founding Feel Goods Company, a full definition innovation pipeline development studio bringing beverage brands to life across categories.

Christine Hardie is Co-Owner & Cidermaker at Riley’s Cidery on Bowen Island, BC. The Riley’s orchard has one of the largest collections of heritage apples in North America with over 900 different varieties. Christine trained under Peter Mitchell at the Cider and Perry Academy in Herefordshire and prior to that at the University of British Columbia completing the UBC Farm Practicum in Sustainable Agriculture. She is passionate about making dry, fruit forward, low intervention ciders.

Michelle Markeysteyn’s mission is to make it easy to raise happy, healthy kids and help our farmers prosper. For over 20 years she has gotten her hands dirty on farms from 4-4,000 acres in size, taught in school gardens, researched ways to make it easier to get local foods on our tables, and then advocated for policies that do just that. Michelle lives in the heart of the Willamette Valley with her two growing boys.

Particularly known for her skill at tasting and blending, Nicole LeGrand Leibon has been cited as one of the best cider judges because of her generous feedback. As the first cider-specific hire for Farnum Hill Ciders and Poverty Lane Orchards in 2000, she helped create a style that honored the terroir and the fruit, while gaining renown for the best ciders in America. In 2018, while finishing her 19th harvest at Farnum Hill Ciders, Nicole went on to expand her skills to distilling. She became the Assistant Distiller at SILO Distillery in Windsor, VT, as well as Head Cidermaker. In her first year working solely with dessert and heirloom varieties, her cider won acclaim and was a Finalist for the 2020 Good Food Awards. Deeply experienced in cider, from orchard to package, Nicole has been there for industry growth from its tiny beginnings to the juggernaut it is today. She has traveled extensively to taste and judge cider, and to teach sensory analysis. Previous gigs as brewer and yeast lab tech. Super powers: sense of smell and ability to break glassware. Cider blend consultant LeNose Knows. Nicole is also a board member for CINA.

Robby Honda is the owner of Tanuki Cider in Santa Cruz, Ca, which he established in 2014 with his brother, Brad Honda. Tanuki focuses on producing central coast dry farmhouse ciders with a rich spirit. Robby lives in Aptos, California with his wife Hannah and kids, Mika and Koji.