Madeline Haydon is the Founder of nutpods, the best-selling plant-based coffee creamer brand. Madeline developed nutpods based on a personal need:  a rich and creamy, dairy-free coffee creamer without artificial ingredients or sugar.  nutpods has since grown to be the #2 all channel brand in the exploding plant-based, non-dairy creamer category by cultivating and leveraging a passionate consumer following.  Initially launched as a Kickstarter project, nutpods is now one of the fastest growing brands of refrigerated plant-based creamers in national retailers and still the #1 selling brand on Amazon.    In 2023 Madeline was named to Inc Magazine’s 200 female founders who are building the companies of tomorrow list and in 2019 was selected as an Ernst & Young’s “Entrepreneur of the Year – PNW Region”. nutpods was also ranked #13 on the 2019 Inc 5000 list of Fastest Growing Companies and was also selected as the Amazon “Small Business of the Year”. In 2024, nutpods announced its sale to M-PearlRock Partners and Madeline happily transitioned to a board role to help guide the brand to its next chapter of growth. Madeline holds a BS from the University of Washington and an MBA from Seattle University.

Craig Dubitsky, happy® Products’ Co-founder & CEO, is an accomplished entrepreneur who most recently served as founder of hello® products, the fastest-growing oral care brand in North America (acquired by Colgate Palmolive). Before hello®, Craig co-founded and served as creative lead at eos products, whose iconic lip sphere grew the entire lip care category by 4.5x according to Mintel. A lifelong entrepreneur, Craig served as founding board member at method products, as an advisor to Seventh Generation and Boots, and is an Entrepreneur in Residence at Babson. He’s obsessed with turning commodities into desirables and making everyday products people fall in love with.

Ben is the Founder & CEO of Recess, the category defining and leading brand of the Healthy Relaxation product space – a new and rapidly emerging space being driven by consumers demand for products that help them reduce stress, relax & unwind, and moderate their alcohol consumption to enhance overall mental well being given the stress of modern times. Over the past six years, Ben has led the company’s transformation and expansion of the business beyond its original Recess CBD line, driven by the successful launch and rapid growth of the Recess Mood line of beverages and powders, and most recently Recess Zero Proof Craft Mocktails – all of which fit cohesively within the Recess brand platform. Today Recess is carried in over 18,000 retail doors including Target, Albertsons, HEB, CVS, Wegmans, Sprouts, Whole Foods, Fresh Market, and many others; and is also one the fastest growing beverage brands on Amazon where it is the largest alcohol alternative brand. Before starting Recess, Ben spent the first six years of his career in Silicon Valley where he worked at two very early stage startups in the marketing technology space.

Rosa is a food fanatic and former investor-turned-food entrepreneur. She’s a believer in “food as medicine” but doesn’t believe you need to give up taste for health. Inspired by the herbal tonics her Chinese grandma brewed for her while growing up, she’s on a mission to make wellness accessible by combining ancient nutrition with modern flavors. Prior to embarking on her entrepreneurial journey and founding wildwonder, Rosa was a private equity and venture investor at Warburg Pincus and investment banker at Morgan Stanley. Rosa is a Fulbright Scholar and holds a MBA from Stanford University. She’s been named Inc’s Female Founder 250 and San Francisco Business Times 40 Under 40 Honoree.

In 2011, Aaron left his lucrative sports chiropractic practice to push the chips “all in” with business partner and fellow Santa Cruz native Orion Melehan to enter an industry with a failure rate of 99%...the beverage industry. With zero beverage experience and high hopes of creating the next Billion dollar beverage brand, he moved his family off the grid…literally. With two kids he downsized his life to live in a 400 sq. foot home with no power and no income. Obsessed with producing high quality, efficacious, and niche functional lifestyle drinks to replace the high sugar, synthetically caffeinated and artificially laden energy and “sports” drinks, LIFEAID garnered tremendous traction with CrossFitters and Spartan Racers concerned about clean recovery with their FITAID sku. Today, the entire LIFEAID line of FITAID recovery, FITAID Energy, FITAID RX, FOCUSAID, PARTYAID, IMMUNITYAID and powder sticks continue to dominate niche markets as well as garnering significant traction in conventional channels such as Whole Foods, Sprouts, HEB, Vitamin Shoppe and many others. LIFEAID products are currently sold in tens of thousands of accounts, have 550,000+ active engaged followers on social media platforms, sponsor professional athletes in many major sports, and was ranked in the Inc 500 fastest growing companies in the US several years in a row. Aaron obtained his BA in Economics from Saint Vincent College with a minor in international business and his Doctor of Chiropractic from Palmer College of Chiropractic. He worked with athletes in Santa Cruz, CA for 10 years. In 2008, Aaron was elected to serve as a trustee on the Santa Cruz County Board of Education. He was re-elected in 2010. He has since sold his practice and given up politics to focus on making FITAID a household name. Aaron is married to his beautiful wife Ramah of 21 years and has two children, 20 y.o. Trinity and 18 y.o. Bronson who are the company’s biggest advocates.

Orion Melehan is the co-founder and CEO of LifeAid Beverage Company, a producer of natural fitness and functional beverages. A beverage outsider with a big idea, Orion put his life savings into LifeAid with his friend and co-founder Dr. Aaron Hinde in 2011 - while the economy was still in crisis. In the 13 years since, the two have grown LifeAid into an international brand using a novel route-to-market approach - selling to thousands of consumers on ecommerce via digital marketing before entering brick-and-mortar. Their products are now sold in thousands of retailers including Whole Foods, Sprouts, Raleys/Nob Hill, The Vitamin Shoppe, HEB, and Amazon with distribution to over 22 countries. They have 500,000+ engaged social media followers, and have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, San Jose Mercury News and BevNet. Orion himself has been a featured guest speaker multiple times at leading beverage industry conferences including BevNet Live. Today LifeAid continues to innovate with over 24 ready-to-drink products on the market. Their latest innovation is FitAid RX Zero which utilizes CreaBev® Creatine, the world’s first stable creatine in liquid. LifeAid continues to innovate in the fast-growing and highly competitive sports and energy drink categories with their brand of better-for-you performance beverages. Orion and his family live in the mountains of Santa Cruz, CA where he was also born and raised. He believes that the Santa Cruz free thinking lifestyle and wealth of outdoor recreational activities continues to be part of the fabric of the company. Orion graduated from UC Santa Barbara and prior to launching LifeAid had his own practice as a Certified Financial Planner®. In his personal time, he enjoys DJing, hiking, traveling, personal development, CrossFit® and golf.

Heidi Dillon is the CEO of Distill Ventures, where she stands at the forefront of emerging trends in the drinks, wellness, and consumer sectors with a passionate focus on finding and nurturing the most talented founders and their brands. With over 25 years of transformative experience in disrupting consumer packaged goods (CPG) categories, Heidi has become a driving force in the industry. Notable milestones in Heidi's career include the successful launch of LUNA with Clif Bar & Company, the development of a functional foods accelerator and health and sustainability initiatives at Starbucks. Since her arrival at Distill Ventures North America in 2018, Heidi has been a catalyst for innovation. She led the creation of the first non-alcoholic drinks practice globally and more recently, the creation of Distill Ventures’ Pre-Accelerator, an early stage funding initiative designed to support entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds. In her capacity as Managing Director, Heidi orchestrated the growth and expansion of Distill Ventures North America. She skillfully managed a team of specialized drinks executives, guiding spirits and non-alcoholic drinks founders through the entire business lifecycle – from pre-launch and market roll-out to growth, scaling, and acquisition. In her current CEO role, Heidi Dillon continues to shape Distill Ventures' portfolio with a heightened commitment to inclusion and diversity with a particular passion to dismantle the barriers to capital for female founded brands (just 2.8% in 2023 per Carta). Working alongside her dedicated team, Heidi ensures that diverse founders remain at the core of the company's mission, with a steadfast dedication to meeting the evolving needs of the global consumers they serve with a focus on no & low, agave, sustainability and new world whiskey.

Melissa Dolan is a Director at Emil Capital Partners, a venture capital firm specializing in consumer brands. With extensive experience in fostering brand growth through strategic partnerships and investments, Melissa has played a pivotal role in facilitating successful collaborations, including Deebo Samuels and Lindsay Horan investing in Cheribundi. Prior to her current investment role, Melissa was a brand manager at Danone, where she led campaigns and activations with the NFL and Disney. Her expertise in structuring celebrity partnerships and her unique perspective as a brand-manager-turned-investor makes her a valuable speaker on this topic.

Brandy has over 20 years of senior leadership experience across the beverage alcohol industry. She is the Founder and CEO of ThirstWell, and is a trusted advisory partner to multinational corporations, financial institutions, trade organizations and C-level executives in the drinks business. Most recently she served as Chief Strategy Officer at IWSR Drinks Market Analysis and has held previous roles at Bacardi Limited and Allied Domecq Spirits & Wines. Brandy is an expert on category and consumer trends and is known for her strategic insights on business transformation and profitable growth. She is excited by the dynamic changes happening across drinks, especially in the non-alcoholic segment. Her insights have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fortune, Forbes, CBS Marketplace, and Bloomberg and she is a frequent speaker at industry events.

Cyrus is the Founder and CEO of Dora’s Naturals, a privately held natural food and beverage distributor serving thousands of locations throughout Metro New York. Dora’s is the largest perishable beverage distributor in the United States and focuses on exclusive relationships with leading brands across four product categories: snacks, dairy case, ambient beverage and chilled beverages. Cyrus also has deep experience in the manufacturing and brand space where he has started and continues to runs several other business units.

Gurdeep is a Co-Founder and General Partner at Rocana Venture Partners ("Rocana"). Rocana is a mission-driven U.S.-based venture capital fund that supports entrepreneurs creating innovative and disruptive health and wellness-related consumer brands. Rocana's three key verticals are food & beverage, personal care & beauty, and mind-body wellness. The underlying "Better Living" mission of Rocana is to elevate what you put inside yourself, what you put on yourself, and what you do with yourself, focusing on gut health, mental health, and physical health. Rocana's community of values-aligned and highly engaged investors helps to create transformational outcomes for its brand partners. Rocana has a very human-centric approach, and the mission is born out of Gurdeep's deep passion for health and wellness.

Jeremie spent almost 25 years becoming an industry leading expert in sales strategy and planning across enterprises including Conagra, Danone (Dannon), and Del Monte Foods. He honed that expertise at Booze & Company for companies like Clorox, Kraft, and Coca Cola. He now focuses his time as a founding partner at ahatis, where he is bringing next-generation thought leadership to apply the latest technologies to world class organizations. 

Deborah is the Founder & General Partner at Willow Growth Partners. Willow provides early growth capital to entrepreneurs building the next generation of transformative consumer brands and the disruptive technologies that power them. In 2014, Deborah launched a family office investment vehicle focused on seed-stage consumer brands and enabling tech companies. That vehicle has currently achieved seven liquidity events, realizing a 10.6x MOIC. Deborah has held numerous Advisory Board and Board of Director roles; a critical element of Deborah’s investment thesis is to leverage her 20+ years of operating experience by helping founders rationally, effectively and optimally scale their businesses.

Maria Pearman, CPA, CGMA, is GHJ’s Food and Beverage Practice Leader. She has more than 15 years of public accounting experience providing accounting and advisory services to clients. Maria is an expert in the beverage and alcohol industry specializing in internal accounting processes, financial reviews, budgeting, cash flow forecasting, financial strategy and succession planning. Prior to joining GHJ in 2021, Maria built a national practice focused on beverage alcohol clients. She helped clients to improve financial results and maximize efficiency of operations and guided them through ownership transitions. Published by the Brewers Association in 2019, Maria wrote a top-rated book, Small Brewery Finance, to help small businesses run more successful breweries. In 2021, the American Distillers Institute released her second book, Distillery Finance. Maria is also a featured speaker and author on topics in the beverage space, specifically related to craft breweries. She has taught courses at the Business of Craft Beer program at the University of Vermont and Portland State University, as well as the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States Academy.

Corey Nicely is the Category Manager of Cooler at Pilot. In this role, she is responsible for strategy-setting, planning and executing all programs within packaged beverage (non-alcoholic and alcoholic) for the company’s 650 travel centers.  She partners with suppliers to optimize contracts, build guest-focused planograms, and promote sales-driving programs through in-store and digital tools. Corey started at Pilot in 2019 and has grown her career on the Cold Vault team throughout her time with the company. Prior to her work at Pilot, Corey graduated from Maryville College with a B.S. in Business Management, where she also played softball. Corey and her husband, Austin, have a two-and-a-half-year-old son, Riley, and their springer spaniels, Emma and Skye. 

Fueled by innovation and a passion for creativity, Rebecca’s entrepreneurial spirit helps craft trend-forward food and beverage innovation. Holding an MBA from the University of Wisconsin and over ten years of industry experience, her depth of knowledge and insights are exceptional. Rebecca drives end-to-end category growth, strategy, and execution, along with marketing and relevant NPD launches. She plays a pivotal role in propelling regional growth across the Beverage category.

Jared Jacobs is a Partner at CAVU, a leading consumer investment firm that has backed iconic brands such as Poppi and Vital Proteins. He currently serves on the Boards of Once Upon a Farm, Recess, Gymkhana Fine Foods, Beekeeper’s Naturals and Native Pet, among others. Jared was recognized by Forbes in their “30 Under 30” list for Venture Capital in 2020. Prior to joining CAVU, Jared was an Associate at AEA Investors. He started his career as an investment banking analyst at Morgan Stanley in the M&A group.

Hunter Thurman is CEO of research and consulting firm Alpha-Diver, and founder of the Psych-PulseTM database which continually measures consumer psychology at large scale since 2018. His team of PhD decision scientists and strategists shares findings from the database in the Bev50, Snack50, Quick50, and Tipsy50 reports, and works with leading brands, retailers and the Wall Street analyst community to explain, measure, predict, and drive consumer behavior.

Dale LaFlam is a seasoned consultant with over 30 years of experience in the retail and CPG industries. He has held key operational roles with top-tier retailers like The Gap, Limited Corp, Armani Exchange, and Quiksilver Retail Inc., where he was instrumental in expanding Quiksilver’s North American presence from six to over 140 locations. Transitioning into consulting, Dale has worked with some of the largest companies in the world, including Walmart, where he trained their merchants on developing effective category strategies. Now primarily focused on startup brands, Dale provides expert guidance in crafting comprehensive business plans, executing growth strategies, and navigating fundraising efforts. He also serves as a board advisor to several emerging beverage brands, offering strategic direction and industry insights to drive their success. As the co-founder of Curation Bev Co, a successful RTD alcohol brand that ranks as the 3rd best-selling in its accounts within Colorado, Dale leverages his extensive experience and passion for the beverage industry to help new brands scale and secure investment.

Adam Kost is a visionary marketing and sales executive with a strong track record of building and scaling brands across the beverage industry. As the Founder and CEO of Goodwell Brands and Dirty Shirley, Adam has demonstrated his ability to drive growth and innovation, particularly in the startup and Fortune 500 space. His expertise spans from spearheading marketing strategies to boosting revenues through consumer insights, cross-functional leadership, and operational efficiency. Adam’s career includes leadership roles across several prominent companies in the beverage industry. He was Vice President of Marketing at Waterloo Sparkling Water, leading to a successful exit and Milestone Brands, guiding brand strategy and growth initiatives. At ZX Ventures, a division of AB InBev, he led global eCommerce sourcing and operations across multiple markets. Earlier in his career, Adam held various marketing and sales positions with Heineken and Pernod Ricard, managing brand and trade marketing efforts for iconic beverage portfolios. Adam’s educational background includes an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin with a focus on Finance and Marketing, and a Bachelor’s and Associate’s degree from Johnson & Wales University in Hospitality and Restaurant Management. With a passion for both marketing strategy and product innovation, Adam has consistently driven brands to new heights, leveraging his skills in digital marketing, team leadership, and consumer trend analysis to create lasting impact in the beverage industry.

Rocco Milano serves as Executive Vice President of Sales at Gin & Juice By Dre and Snoop. Certified as a spirit's specialist with the Society of Wine Educators, Milano was inducted into the Culinary Institute of America’s Society of Fellows in March 2023. Milano initially honed his craft as Head Mixologist at Dallas, Texas’ prestigious four-star restaurant and lounge, The Mansion at Turtle Creek. Milano would go on to head the groundbreaking craft-cocktail programs at Dallas hotspots Private/Social and Barter under future partner Patrick Halbert. In that position, Milano would garner numerous accolades and honors, including receiving the CultureMap Dallas Tastermaker Award for “Best Bartender” in 2012. Building on that experience, Milano co-founded On The Rocks with Halbert and Andrew Gill to bring high-end mixology into the growing ready-to-drink space. Following On The Rocks’ successful purchase by Beam Suntory in 2020, Milano remained the company’s Global Brand Ambassador until 2023, after which he joined Gin & Juice By Dre and Snoop’s founding leadership team.

Karen Ivanis-Rogers is the Sr. Director of the Albertsons Venture Group. She joined Albertsons eight years ago specifically for this role, working alongside Jim Foltz. Karen feels incredibly fortunate to be in this position.  In her role, Karen collaborates with Jim on evaluating and signing new investments and working directly with portfolio companies to accelerate their growth. She also serves as an observer on six boards.  Prior to Albertsons Ventures, Karen worked in CPG with the bigger brands at Johnson and Johnson, Clorox, Nestle Foods, Del Monte and Nature Made Vitamins.    Karen is particularly proud of the Innovation Launchpad, a program she initiated two years ago. Since its inception, Albertsons has processed applications from over 1,500 brands, set up 110 brands to compete, and awarded over half a million dollars in prizes. The Launchpad has successfully connected these brands with merchants across the company and promoted them online. The diversity statistics of the Launchpad brands, including women-owned and minority-owned businesses, are impressive.  In 2024, Karen was thrilled to be recognized as a Nosh Notable on behalf of the Launchpad work.   Karen lives in the Oakland Hills with her husband.

Nate is a 4th generation entrepreneur in the food industry and now runs Barrel Ventures. An Early stage fund investing from pre-farm to post-fork and everything in between. He's been fortunate to partner with such emerging companies such as Olipop, Helaina, Go-Nanas & more. Nate is a graduate of the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University and received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management where he was awarded a Kellogg Scholarship and named a Zell Fellow. In his free time, Nate is a passionate endurance athlete and movie quote savant. He lives in Chicago and serves on the associate boards of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and Social Venture Partners.

Forrest is an entrepreneur, professional marketer and content creator with a background in cinematography in the action sports and music industries. Before co-founding JuneShine, Forrest grew up on Maui, Hawaii and was a contributing cinematographer on a Best Documentary Film at the annual Surfer Awards, and a content creator for Top Dog Entertainment’s Isaiah Rashad. In 2020 he was named to the Forbes 30 under 30: Food & Drink list just 2 years after he started brewing hard kombucha in his garage in San Diego. Today, Forrest is the CMO at JuneShine Brands, a next generation beverage brand platform with over 90,000 points of distribution across its portfolio spanning hard kombucha, domestic premium lager, FMBs, and RTDs.

Ryan Pintado-Vertner is a Chicago-based strategic marketing veteran with two decades of experience guiding the strategy, marketing and innovation choices of Fortune-level brands, startups, and nonprofit organizations. He earned his MBA from the Haas School of Business at U.C.-Berkeley. Ryan believes it’s not enough to create yet another brand in the marketplace. We have to go beyond the basics to create brands that will bring more justice, regeneration, equity and wellness to the world. He is the Founder & CEO at Smoketown, a boutique brand consultancy whose fractional CMO services and strategy practice help mission-driven consumer brands maximize their growth and build more traction, while having meaningful ESG impact. Clients have included Bragg Live Foods, Purely Elizabeth, DeeBee’s Organics and Aura Bora. He is also an advisor at Trailhead Capital and Whipstitch Capital, and a co-founder of (included), the largest peer network of BIPOC CEOs in the CPG industry.

Aura Bora’s best-selling retail varieties include Lavender Cucumber, Ginger Meyer Lemon, and Strawberry Basil. Every month Paul and his team formulate and release online-exclusive flavors for sparkling water aficionados like Guava Eucalyptus, Mango Chili, and the infamous Green Bean Casserole. Aura Bora prides itself on being sugar-free, calorie-free, non-GMO, Whole30 certified, and made with real herbal extracts. Read more in VICE, AdWeek, Forbes, Dieline, Food Network, and Fortune. Paul’s entrepreneurial journey started with t-shirts, socks, concrete curbs, and even Christmas trees. As a Forbes “30 Under 30” awardee and Shark Tank success story, he has turned Aura Bora into one of the fastest growing beverages in the world. He has appeared as an industry speaker for the Techstars and SKU accelerators as well as New Hope Network’s Business School for natural products. Paul also enjoys speaking with universities. Aura Bora has been a case study for students at Cornell, the University of Texas, University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication, Texas A&M, and UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Cameron is the Head of Food and Beverage at TikTok Shop, where he oversees the growth of the category and management of brands in the food and beverage space. Cameron has over a decade of experience in the grocery and CPG industry, where he most recently led category and program management teams at Amazon Fresh. Cameron holds a BS from The Ohio State University and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

With over 15 years of experience in the beverage industry, Cassie Finley currently serves as the Vice President of Customer Development at Southern Glazers Wine & Spirits. Cassie's extensive background in category management includes the last two years with the largest ocean-to-ocean distributor in the world, as well as significant buying experience at leading retailers, including 4 years with the largest grocer, Kroger, and two years in natural channel with Whole Foods Market. Her career began with a 15-year tenure at Walmart, where she honed her skills in buying, category management and vendor relationships. Cassie is passionate about connecting people with products that enhance their experiences, and she thrives on developing innovative strategies that drive growth and customer satisfaction. Her commitment to excellence and her deep understanding of the beverage market from both the retailer and distributor lens gives her unique perspective on how to win with the customer.

As founder and CEO of BevNET, John Craven is a widely-recognized authority on the beverage industry and he is frequently cited in mainstream media. His vision shapes the editorial, publishing, and positioning of all of BevNET's properties, including BevNET.com, NOSH.com, BevNET Magazine, Brewbound.com and their associated conferences. John is a graduate of Boston College with a BS in Marketing and Computer Science.

Max Baumann is an established entrepreneur and business leader in the food and beverage industry. He is currently the founder & CEO of Basemakers, the fastest-growing retail sales agency. Basemakers offers services including: brokerage, sales strategy & merchandising for some of the best CPG brands in the world: Oli Pop, Guayaki, Siete, Harmless Harvest and more. Basemakers has made the INC 500 list for the fastest-growing privately-held companies in America four years. Max has been featured on the TODAY show, Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, Business Insider, Entrepreneur, Oprah Media, BevNet, among others. He resides in Los Angeles, CA and in his spare time, you can find him seeking waves across the pacific coast. Max received his CPD in General Management from Wharton’s Executive Education program in April 2014 and is a recognized Wharton Fellow.

Shae Maloney is a Brewing Solutions Specialist at John I. Haas in Yakima, WA, where she focuses on applications development, technical support, and educational outreach. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Colorado State University in 2015 with a B.S. in Fermentation Science and Technology. Since entering the brewing industry, Shae has worked as a brewer, cellar person, and QA specialist at GoodLife Brewing Co. and Worthy Brewing. She joined Haas in 2021 and is actively involved as a co-leader of the Yakima Chapter of the Pink Boots Society and a member of the MBAA District Northwest technical committee. Outside of work, Shae enjoys spending time outdoors and spoiling her goldendoodle, Dobby.

Jeff Dailey is the Sensory Manager at John I. Haas in Yakima, Washington, where he leads sensory panels evaluating experimental hops, innovative products, and harvest lots. Since joining in 2019, Jeff developed the Sensory Plus™ quality control system and pioneered methods for detecting smoke taint and tracking hop shelf life. His work has been key in launching new hop varieties like Talus and products such as HopKick and LUPOMAX. Originally from Fort Collins, Colorado, Jeff holds a master’s degree in food science from Washington State University and is an active member of MBAA and ASBC. In his free time, he enjoys reading, running, and perfecting pizza recipes.

Caroline Schwarzman is the Head of Business Development at MycoTechnology, collaborating with innovative, leading CPG and ingredient firms to commercialize the first ever honey truffle sweetener. She's spent her career in commercial roles at startups across industries, specializing in growth strategy to accelerate product traction, increase scale velocity and expand market access. Caroline has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a passion for creating products that improve human and planetary health.

Kelcey Pusateri is a Senior Technologist who leverages her passion for tasty beverages to drive collaborative innovation projects forward. She likes to engage with customers and help problem solve to find the best solution that can accelerate product development and improve performance. She obtained a bachelor’s in food science from North Carolina State University.

Jason Wang is the Global Application Manager for the Beverage category at Ingredion, where he spearheads the strategic design and development of technology roadmaps for global beverage innovation. With more than a decade of experience in the Food and Beverage sector, Jason boasts an impressive track record in both global CPG and ingredient companies. His expertise lies in driving beverage category applications, leading ingredient and formulation expertise on a global scale, and supporting the commercialization of new products and innovative customized solutions across multiple regions. Under his leadership, Ingredion continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible, consistently delivering cutting-edge solutions to meet the evolving demands of the beverage category globally.

Keighly is a creative marketing professional with over 15 years of experience, specializing in leveraging data and trends to help brands meet consumer needs and stay ahead of the competition. Her strategic insights empower companies to adapt and thrive in a dynamic market.

Adam brings 20+ years of innovation experience in R&D, with in-depth knowledge of coffee, tea, and botanical extraction and final formulation.

With a distinguished career spanning several decades, Ed is the Chief Technology Officer at CTI and holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry and completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at UNC-Chapel Hill. He has led teams in developing innovative products and held senior positions at Covestro, Bostik, Loparex, and 3D Systems. Ed's expertise spans coatings, adhesives, and 3D printing.

Maria is the Chief Marketing Officer at CTI and is an accomplished multicultural executive with a 25-year track record of spearheading global and regional strategic marketing initiatives for startups and Fortune 100 companies. Recognized for consistently delivering exceptional results in complex project executions, Maria brings extensive expertise in consumer marketing, brand management, CPG, data-driven strategies, PR, and omnichannel approaches across diverse routes to market.

With a keen eye for product innovation and a knack for research planning, formulation designing, and rapid prototyping, Neha brings over 7 years of industry experience. Throughout her career, Neha has successfully completed and published numerous food and nutrition-based research projects. With her expertise spanning across clean label fruit juices, ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages, nutritional supplements, ready-to-eat (RTE) snack, she is a true innovator in the field, dedicated to advancing the science of food and nutrition.

Joanne has over 10 years at FFP (Javo) and more than 30 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, specializing in collaborating with brands to develop innovative applications that resonate with consumers.

With 19 years at FFP (Javo) and more than 25 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, Brad brings a wealth of expertise in beverage development and innovation.

Melanie Virreira is the Vice President of Marketing at Resource Label Group, the most awarded provider of pressure-sensitive labels, shrink sleeves, and RFID/NFC technology for the packaging industry. With over 17 years of experience in marketing and strategy at leading packaging companies, Melanie has been instrumental in driving growth and innovation in the beverage segment.

Amanda strategically advises clients in a variety of intellectual property matters including brand selection, portfolio strategy, trademark application prosecution, brand enforcement and defense, due diligence, anti-counterfeiting measures, and trademark maintenance. She has extensive experience in working on the trademark lifecycle with companies in more than 140 countries. Amanda has a reputation for building strong relationships with clients and using creative thinking to achieve their business goals. She recognizes how the needs of a Fortune 100 company are different from a start-up or non-profit and tailors her counsel to reflect appropriate strategies for each. During her career, Amanda has had the opportunity to work with clients in a variety of industries including food, beverage, dietary supplements, cosmetics, personal care, e-commerce, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, water reclamation, oil and gas, household goods and fixtures, employment, and entertainment. Amanda previously worked as an IP attorney at other Chicago-based law firms. In her most recent role before joining UB Greensfelder, she served as head of trademark prosecution.

Kelly Criswell is the founder of Mudge, a branding agency specializing in innovative food, beverage, and wellness brands. With over 20 years in CPG brand development and packaging design (we stopped counting after 20), Kelly has helped brands from global powerhouses like Nestlé and Red Bull to emerging challengers connect with their perfect consumer. She’s known for weaving compelling brand stories and creating disruptive packaging that stands out in crowded markets. In her free time, you can find her snapping pics in grocery aisles, obsessing over the latest trends in food and bev, and sampling every single new brand she finds–for science. Ask her husband about their “Erewhon budget."

Jeremy Halpern is a Partner at Nutter, McClennen & Fish, LLP and the Co-Chair of its Emerging Companies Group and its Food and Beverage Practice Group. Jeremy’s practice focuses on emerging and mature operating companies, private equity, venture capital and angel financing transactions, mergers and acquisitions, commercial transactions, executive and team compensation matters, and general support for high growth and privately held companies in technology, life sciences, and consumer products.

Bill Sipper is the Managing Partner of Cascadia Managing Brands, a leading brand management and consulting firm with over 30 years of expertise in the food and beverage industry. Bill has held pivotal executive roles—VP Sales, VP Marketing, VP Operations, and VP Production—at iconic brands like Evian, Nantucket Nectars, Fresh Samantha/Odwalla, and Naked Juice. Through Cascadia, he has driven the success of leading brands, including Lindt, Droste, Liquid Death, Hint Water, C2O Coconut Water, Zico Coconut Water, Dirty Potato Chips, Steaz, Bruce Cost, Franklin & Sons, Poshi, Too Good Gourmet, and 310 Nutrition. Bill’s consulting clients span major corporations, including Coca-Cola, Deloitte, InBev, Bain, and the U.S. Department of Commerce, along with foreign governments aiming to expand their product exports into the U.S. market. A recognized industry thought leader, Bill recently published Flavors and Fortunes: Navigating the Food and Beverage World, a comprehensive guide with essential insights for both emerging and established brands.

Zach has been a CPG lender for the last 20 years, focusing on emerging brands in within the CPG ecosystem. He has been on both sides, as a lender and investor, as well as operations. Throughout his career, Zach has helped finance some of the top beverage brands in the US.

Dawn Harris- Patton is a native of Los Angeles, California. She is a graduate from the University Southern California with a BA in Broadcast Journalism, and a graduate of the prestigious Management Development for Entrepreneurs program from the UCLA Anderson School of Business. Dawn spent 12 years early on as an on-air television and radio news reporter specializing in investigative reporting in top 50 markets around the United States before evolving into a career as a marketing consultant and entrepreneur. Dawn is currently the founder and CEO of Try MY T, LLC, ( TMT) a beverage manufacturer of premium ready to drink iced teas. "MY T" as customers affectionately call the brand, is known for being super refreshing, clean and smooth with no aftertaste, and low caffeine. Try MY T is currently sold in natural channels in retail, foodservice and club. Currently TMT is sold in over 500 independents and natural retail such as Sprouts Farmers Markets, Whole Foods and soon to be launching into Costco.

I have worked in the adult beverage retail space for over 13 years and currently am the Spirits Senior Category Merchant at Whole Foods Market covering all US & Canada stores.  I have held various merchant roles in the past, but very grateful to be fully devoted to Spirits as it slowly has turned into a personal passion as well as my work life.  When not reviewing fun and innovative products at work, I enjoy spending time with my wife & son exploring all Sonoma County has to offer with its beautiful parks and running trails.

Corey Nicely is the Category Manager of Cooler at Pilot. In this role, she is responsible for strategy-setting, planning and executing all programs within packaged beverage (non-alcoholic and alcoholic) for the company’s 650 travel centers.  She partners with suppliers to optimize contracts, build guest-focused planograms, and promote sales-driving programs through in-store and digital tools. Corey started at Pilot in 2019 and has grown her career on the Cold Vault team throughout her time with the company. Prior to her work at Pilot, Corey graduated from Maryville College with a B.S. in Business Management, where she also played softball. Corey and her husband, Austin, have a two-and-a-half-year-old son, Riley, and their springer spaniels, Emma and Skye.