Meet the 2024 Official Conference Cheesemongers (OCCs). This team is a vital part of making ACS Annual Conference successful!
Alli Keyser-Marti, CCP®
Gold Ridge Organic Farms
Building on a culinary career starting in her teenage years, in 2014 Alli Keyser-Marti fell in love with exploring the world of milk, salt, enzymes, and microbes. Her cheese journey includes managing Cowgirl Creamery’s original Pt Reyes shop, overseeing the Oliver’s Market Stony Point cheese department, as well as being awarded an ACEF Scholarship to attend the Portland conference in 2022, where she successfully completed the CCP® exam. She has followed this passion from her backyard in California to small farms all over France, rural Ohio, roadside stands in Sardinia, and ferries in Croatia. Most recently you’ll find her skillfully pairing cheese with olive oil or apple tastings at the farm in Sebastopol.
Jennifer Cox, CCP®
Gourmet Foods International
Jennifer Cox is a native of San Antonio and has a passion for all things cheese including a south Texas favorite, queso! She started her food journey in catering and quickly discovered her passion for cheese when she became the deli and cheese shop manager at Central Market. After a few years in the role, she decided to further her education through the Mons Academie so she flew to France to learn affinage, milk goats and make cheese in the countryside. It was here that her passion for learning everything she can about the process of cheesemaking and supporting cheesemakers was really solidified. She earned her CCP in 2019 in Richmond, Va and is also an IDDBA Certified Salumiere. Some of her favorite people are American Artisan cheesemakers and her goal in life is to make sure their cheeses are in every home in Texas! She is currently an Account Manager for Gourmet Foods International.
Maria Rojas, CCP®
Whole Foods
Maria’s love of cheese started in Colombia while growing up. She enjoyed eating fresh cheese bought directly from the local farms. Her professional career started in the design world but she decided to leave that life to follow her passion for food. She managed a small organic garden in Arizona where she worked with volunteers and taught classes in desert gardening. Her career in cheese began with a cheesemaking course in Murray’s Cheese, New York. Her curiosity and eagerness to keep learning about cheese led her to apply for a position in the Specialty Department in Whole Foods, and then she found her forever home with cheese. She has worked her way from team member to cheese buyer into a lead position, and she also has completed the ACS CCP Exam. Maria loves traveling and learning from other cultures and people.
PAST OFFICIAL CONFERENCE CHEESEMONGERS
2023
- Liz Steeves, ACS C.C.P®
- Nicole Pinch, ACS C.C.P®
- Austin Banach, ACS C.C.P®
- Kyra James, ACS C.C.P®
2022
- Lynne Affleck, ACS C.C.P®
- Alicia Baldwin, ACS C.C.P®
- Joshua Collier, ACS C.C.P®
- Kyra James, ACS C.C.P®
2019
- Devin Lamma, ACS CCP™
- Noreen Mayer
- Evan Talen, ACS CCP™
2018
- Jordan Edwards, ACS CCP™
- Katie Grice
- Alex Armstrong, ACS CCP™
2017
- James Danforth, ACS CCP™
- Brian Gilbert, ACS CCP™
- Katie Quinn, ACS CCP™
2016
- Meredith Fitzgerald, ACS CCP™
- Joe Green, ACS CCP™
- Arielle Neher, ACS CCP™
2015
- Erin Clancy, ACS CCP™
- James Gentry, ACS CCP™
- Janee’ Muha, ACS CCP™
2014
- Randall Felts, ACS CCP™
- Kelsie Parsons, ACS CCP™
2013
- Jason Herbert, ACS CCP™
- Leah McFadden, ACS CCP™
2012
- Alexander Kast, ACS CCP™
- Rachel Perez, ACS CCP™
2011
- Jeanne Rodier
- Kelly Sheehan
2010
- Paige Lamb