Karla Schade is a certified chocolate taster, international judge, and educator with a background in botany.  Her knowledge of plants and flavor informs a nuanced, sensory-driven approach to chocolate tasting. 

 

Through her work @openingchocolate, Karla combines formal education, judging experience, and botanical insight to make craft chocolate approachable, engaging, and deeply memorable.

Kim Wilson is the co-founder of Cocoa Future Collaborative, a Seattle-based nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering cacao origins by creating locally made cocoa products that significantly increase farming community incomes.

 

With a background spanning both corporate strategy and entrepreneurial ventures, Kim centers her work on building local economies through value-added processing, with a particular focus on gender equality and sustainable impact.

Born and raised in Ecuador and now based in the United States, Val is a cacao expert and passionate advocate for Mashpi Chocolate.

 

What began as a soil recovery project in Ecuador, evolved into a regenerative chocolate initiative rooted in healthy, ecosystems and exceptional quality. Her work focuses on cacao soil health and regenerative agriculture and she is dedicated to educating audiences on the vital connection between living soils resilient food systems and meaningful chocolate.

Leila Carvajal Erker is a fourth-generation cacao entrepreneur, and advocate for ethical and transparent supply chains in the craft food industry.

 

Born into a cacao family in Ecuador, she grew up surrounded by farms, fermentation centers, and processing facilities. From an early age, she witnessed the mistreatment of farmers by traders and gained first hand exposure to the commodity exchange. This shaped her belief that cacao is not just a commodity, but a living connection between land, people, and culture.

 

As a chemical engineer, Leila now manages her family’s cacao processing plant and founded CocoaSupply, bridging cacao origin with artisan makers worldwide through education, transparency, and long-term partnerships.

Sherrie Gavin is a PhD Candidate in Feminist Food Studies at the University of New England, Australia. Her research interests focus on interdisciplinary studies specific to women, religion, food, and culture. Her passion is in examining feminist food studies within distinct cultures, subcultures, applying broader explorations of cultural phenomena. These applications intersect with pop culture representations of women, religion, and food within historical landscapes.

 

Having completed her undergraduate degree at Southern Utah University in analyzing the socioeconomic perspectives of the American Civil War, her graduate research is inclusive of religious food practices, culinary pop culture, and the significance of food in society. She was recently the keynote speaker in the London Calling conference, where she analyzed the socio-historical place of potatoes in English culture and pop culture.  

London Coe is the pioneering chocolate buyer of Peace on Fifth, an ethically sourced fairly traded traceable heirloom craft chocolate from across the globe space in Dayton Ohio, which launched in 2011. By prioritizing makers that are BIPOC, AAPI, farmers, and women from across the global south, her work has been broadening the conversation about human trafficking in chocolate and driving slavery out of chocolate.

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At her core, the compassionate commerce store builds relationships and creates revenue streams that change the DNA of families from seeing their children as livestock to sell into pride pieces to cherish.  London makes it easy to save the world by changing the chocolate we buy.  And what a delicious way to save the world.

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​London invites you to an intentional tasting practice where flavor becomes a language of presence, place, and devotion. Her method drives us to appreciate anew single origin bean to bar craft chocolate by exploring how chocolate awakens the senses, deepens awareness, and can be a conduit of pleasure, presence, and connection: with the self, the maker, and the land that shapes the chocolate we love.

JennyLicious Chocolate 

Jenny has been a chocolate aficionado from a very young age. From enjoying original Cadbury Chocolate in England and Lindt Chocolate in Switzerland to taking a Chocolate class in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2018 she learned the nuances of exceptional chocolate. 

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She has enjoyed many chocolate tastings, chocolate classes, and several factory tours. 

Jenny now makes her own bean to bar craft chocolate sourcing her beans from fair trade suppliers. 

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Jenny’s chocolate has been featured multiple times at Utah Chocolate Society tastings and events. She currently heads a committee for aspiring chocolate makers for the Society. 

An Ecole Chocolat “Chocolate Making from the Bean” graduate, with honors, ignited her passion for expanding her own fine craft chocolate business. 

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Enjoy her many cacao origin options. 

Find her on Instagram at @JennyLiciouschocolate

Ashlee Peterson Grant is the Owner of Sweet and Sassy Chocolates- "Artisan Chocolates with Attitude". She is passionate about creating top quality chocolates. She creates delicious gourmet artisan bonbons in dozens of unique flavors. Her creations are mouthwatering mini pieces of art. 

 

Since she was a child, Ashlee enjoyed making delicious sweet creations. From a young age, it was one of her dreams to one day own a Sweet Shop. For the last couple decades Ashlee has traveled all over the world exploring the world of chocolate, and learning about Cacao production. She has gathered ideas for new bonbon flavor combinations, as well a top quality ingredients all along her way. Sweet and Sassy Chocolates is her dream come to life and she is excited to share some of her delicious and unique bonbons with you here at the festival. 

 

Ashlee is also an Energy Healing facilitator, Creativity teacher, and the Founder of Free-Spirited Faith. Her passion and love for both chocolate and healing led her to creating her Cacao, Creation and Drum ceremonies. During these ceremonies Cacao is used as a powerful heart opener to lead people down the path to healing and creating their own dreams into their reality.