Jana has been a champion of craft beverage for over fifteen years. She is a cider judge, Certified Pommelier, founding member of Pomme Boots Society and published category writer. Deeply passionate about cider and community, Jana was the inaugural recipient of PICC’s NW Cider Leadership Award in 2019. She currently serves as Program Manager for Northwest Cider Association.

Nichola Hall has a Ph.D. in Yeast Physiology and a BSc(Hons) in Microbial Biotechnology. Dr. Hall has held various positions in the wine industry: Director of Microbiology at Bronco Wine Company, Ceres, CA (2002-2007), Technical Consultant at Vinquiry, Inc., Windsor, CA (2007-2009) and is currently at Scott Laboratories, Petaluma, CA employed as General Manager for the Fermentation and Enology Department (2009-present). From 2009-present, Dr. Hall is a co-winemaker at Mathew Bruno Wines and is very involved in the American Society of Enology and Viticulture serving as president in 2016-2017. She is a past chair of the Unified Wine and Grape Symposium and a long-standing member of the AVF grant management Enology committee. Since 2019 she has taught the Quality Control and Analysis in winemaking course as part of the UC Davis’s winemaking certificate program.

Maria Kennedy is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of American Studies at Rutgers University. She has conducted research on cider, heritage, and environmental conservation in the United Kingdom and the United States. She is also the Co-Director of the New Jersey Folk Festival at Rutgers University.

Andreas Sundgren, is the founder of Brännland Iscider, which in its decade long history has grown to gain international recognition for its ice ciders served at some of the world’s most prestigious restaurants such as The Fat Duck, Arzak, Diverxo, Disfrutar, Crissier Hotel De Ville and many others. Brännland Iscider 2021 was the first Swedish wine to ever be served at a Nobel banquette in 2022. In parallel to building a production dedicated entirely to ice cider with a yearly production of 80.000 bottles per year, Brännland Iscider has begun establishing the worlds northernmost cider-focused orchards in the company’s home region.

Abram Goldman-Armstrong is Cidermaker and Head Brewer at Tall Ship Craft Cider/ Fjordfolk Mikrobryggeri in Sandefjord, Norway, with a 4000L brewhouse. He operated Cider Riot! in Portland, Oregon from 2013-2019. Abram has been making cider and beer since 1995 and judging and writing about them nearly as long. Currently a contributor to Malus and Brewer and Distiller International, Abram has recently judged at Cider World in Frankfurt, Nordic and Baltic International Cider Awards in Lativa and Norway, World Beer Cup in Nashville, and Salon International de les Sidras de Gala in Asturias.

Brighid O’Keane is the Executive Director of the Cider Institute of North America (CINA), a global provider of cider production education. She came to cider from the wine industry, where she worked in support of sustainable winegrowing education and certification in the Pacific Northwest. Brighid has nearly two decades of experience in nonprofit organizational development, primarily in the fields of sustainable food systems and active transportation. She is an advisor to the Specialty Tea Alliance and returns as often as possible to her family’s rice farm in Northeastern Thailand.

Joseph is head cidermaker at Ash & Elm Cider Co., and has been with the company since its opening. Joseph makes each cider with care (and obsession) so that it has the potential to become someone’s new favorite. A mechanic at heart, Joseph loves tinkering with and figuring out each piece of equipment at the cidery. Outside of work, Joseph teaches classical guitar and enjoys spending time with his wife and cats.

Tom Oliver of Oliver’s Cider and Perry is a cider & perry maker and farmer in Ocle Pychard, Herefordshire in the UK. He grows many varieties of cider apple and perry pear and produces a wide range of ciders and perries from his own fruit, as well as cider apples and perry pears from a select group of partner farmers and orchardists in the county. The ciders and perries are made from 100% fresh pressed fruit, fermented spontaneously by wild yeasts, emphasising a very traditional approach of seasonality and vintage but utilising an imaginative approach to blending and a cautious use of technology and science where appropriate. The co-ferments with Jonny Mills of Mills Brewing have become some of the most widely anticipated releases in the UK. Tom is also a partner in The London Cider House at Borough Market. A cider showcase in the thriving market in central London. He is also the co-founder of the annual tasting of fine cider in the UK “The Cider Salon” in Bristol. Tom rediscovered the long lost “Coppy” perry pear some 25 years ago and is a founder member of the Slow Food Presidium “Three Counties Perry”.

Gregory Peck is an Assistant Professor of Horticulture in Cornell University’s School of Integrative Plant Science. He has conducted research in fruit-crop production systems in California, Washington, New York, and Virginia. Dr. Peck’s academic training spans horticulture, plant physiology, soil science, entomology, food science, plant pathology, ecology, agricultural economics, and education. His research program is designed to support and improve the sustainability, productivity, and profitability of tree-fruit producers. Current projects focus on hard cider production, sustainable soil and groundcover management for apple orchards, and improving crop-load management in apple trees through the use of a pollen tube growth model.

Andy was born and raised in the Tidewater region of Virginia before moving to Richmond, VA for 10 years, all of which were spent working in the culinary field. His love of food led to an interest in fermentation and agriculture which eventually led to him leaving the restaurant industry to pursue an internship in small scale farming, and ultimately stumbling into a cellar position at Potter’s Craft Cider. He spent his early years washing kegs, filling bottles, and delivering cider around the state while also using his culinary background and natural curiosity to experiment and push Potter’s in new directions. His love of experimentation, local agriculture and Belgian beer are all evident in the current portfolio at Potter’s Craft Cider.