Caroline DiGiusto, bio coming soon!

Kelley is the Marketing Communications Manager for sister brands Marin French Cheese Co., Laura Chenel, and St. Benoit Creamery. She has been in the food and hospitality industry for about 10 years and has been involved in the cheese community for much of that time. She has traveled both domestically and internationally, visiting dairies, cheesemakers, and specialty shops across borders. In her consumer-facing role she gets to share her passion for artisan cheese and dairy through digital and print outlets, in-person events, and community outreach. She is a Northern California native who loves bringing people together over good food and drinks.

Agriculture degree in hand Jane pondered the question; how do I combine my love of all thing’s food with my passion for agriculture? The answer was and always will be CHEESE! After graduation Jane sought to immerse herself in cheese. From that time on, she was introduced not only the world of bloomy rinds, cheese wires and affinage but also to the most amazing community of people, the California Cheese peopleand her cheese life exploded! She first dipped her toes into the proverbial fondue pot back in 2011 as the first intern at the Cheese School of San Francisco. She then hopped over to Maui for some time on a goat dairy. Upon returning to Oakland, CA she landed a job as a cheese monger (and eventual cheese department manager) at Market Hall Foods. Five years at Market Hall were spent filling her brain and belly with all things cheese! Days passed quickly behind the counter where she shared tasty morsels with customers and regale them with the stories behind the cheese. The cheese counter is where she first learned about Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company (PRFC) and their story. From then on, she was hooked, even using Toma on stage to introduce herself at the 2015 Cheese Monger Invitational! She yearned to work for a dairy and creamery and have her own part in the cheeses’ story. In 2017 she joined the PRFC team, where she has been fortunate to help with sales, lead farm tours and tastings, serve as part of the quality assurance team, logistics and operations and is now the Direct-to-Consumer manager. Jane and her husband live in Petaluma and are part owners of Civilization Brewery in Santa Rosa. To this day Jane’s favorite thing about cheese, is swapping tasty tidbits, finding a perfect pairing with a California wine or beer and sharing the stories and histories of California’s rich cheese tradition.

Marlene Velasquez is the Human Resources & Health & Safety Manager at Rumiano Cheese Company, the oldest family-owned cheese company in California. Rumiano Cheese was the first plant on the West Coast to produce organic cheese at scale.
Previously, Marlene was employed at Andersen & Sons Shelling as a health and safety manager for nearly three years. She oversaw health and safety for the shelling and hulling operations, of almond and walnut production. She implemented training through policy and procedure, leading to safer practices and lowered worker’s compensation rates, while building relationships.

Marlene graduated from Maxwell High School in 2008. She later joined the food processing industry and worked her way into management at a young age. She volunteers in the community with events, sports and FFA contest judging.

Marlene was born and raised in Maxwell. Her father, Rafael, a heavy equipment operations foreman, instilled his love of agriculture in his children. Marlene continues to reside in Maxwell with her children, Levi, 13, and Liv, 5. They keep her busy with sports, dance, 4-H and snack bar duty.

Brandon Wood worked at Whole Foods Market from 2009 to 2022, ten of those years spent behind a cheese counter. He has written, traveled, studied, read, grown, and developed in and for cheese. From Cheese Camp, to multiple CMI’s to getting his CCP certificate in 2016, and tons in between. On February 11th, 2022 Brandon opened his own cheese shop in Livermore, CA called the Cheese Parlor. Cheese is literally now his life!