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.

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.

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. A member of the board of directors since 2017, he served as President from 2020 to 2024.

A former professor of Communication Studies, Dr. J Jackson-Beckham dedicated her academic career to the study of American beer. She is an author, speaker, vocal advocate for the craft beverage community, homebrewer, and Certified Cicerone. In 2018, Dr. J was named the Brewers Association’s first-ever Diversity Ambassador. In 2020, she was named Imbibe Magazine’s Beer Person of the Year. Today, she helps craft beverage organizations develop practices that drive success, build communities, and empower individuals as the Brewers Association Director of Member Resources.

Aaron Sarnoff-Wood is the VP of sales and co-founder of 2 Towns Ciderhouse. Aaron learned to love cider in his travels across Europe. Upon returning to the US he was unable to find craft ciders similar to those he enjoyed found in France, Spain and England and so he began making his own. Together with friend Lee Larsen, the two decided to found 2 Towns Ciderhouse in 2010 with a goal of crafting ciders influenced by European tradition but styled after the Northwest craft beer movement. Today, 2 Towns has grown from humble beginnings to become the largest independently owned cidery in the United States while still producing cider from exclusively fresh-pressed fruit.

Yann Gilles is a French Oenologue and Cidrologue, founder of cider and apple-spirit making consultancy Malus & Vitis, and has 25 years’ experience working in the cider sector. Born in Normandy where he discovered Cider made by his grand-parents, Yann holds an engineering degree in agriculture and food industry from Ecole Supérieure d’Agriculture in Angers and a diploma of Oenologist from Institut Universitaire de la Vigne et du Vin Jules Guyot in Burgundy. Yann launched his own consultancy in 2020 where he partners with cider producers to create apple juice, ciders, perries and spirits using a range of methods. Prior to this, Yann was scientific director at the French R&D cider institute www.ifpc.eu for 10 years, and before that he worked for more than a decade in a professional organization for agriculture, consulting to 50 cideries and leading a team of oenologists working on cider.

Scott Ramsey is the Executive Director of the New York Cider Association, a role he started in March of 2020. He brings over 30 years of corporate and non-profit marketing, communications, event production, and strategic leadership experience to his work in promoting, advocating, and building markets for New York Cider. Previous leadership roles include work with Fortune 500 premium brands such as MetLife, MasterCard, Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Phillips Van Heusen, Samsung and S&P Global. His creative marketing work has been published in such publications as the New York Times, GQ Magazine, and Vanity Fair and he has won numerous Telly, AVA Digital and Hermes awards. Scott also has a musical theatre background and was awarded Best Director in the West Village Musical Theatre Festival and was nominated as “Producer of the Year” by Special Events Magazine. Scott is also the Executive Producer and Owner of Fort Beacon Studios and has recently launched his new social media talk show video series, “That Perfect Day.” He is also recently certified as a Certified Cider Professional and a Dutchess County Certified Tourism Ambassador.

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.

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.