CAMERON JACK
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
LECTURER AND DISTANCE EDUCATION COORDINATOR
Cameron has been interested in beekeeping since his youth and now teaches several courses related to honey bees and apiculture at the University of Florida. His goal is to create an educational program that prepares students for the many challenges associated with beekeeping and to train those interested in entering the beekeeping workforce. Cameron is also responsible for coordinating the distance education efforts at the Entomology and Nematology Department. He serves as an academic advisor for all M.S. non-thesis online students and students enrolled in certificate programs.
Kimberly Drennan, AIA LEED AP, is an architect and assistant professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. In her professional and academic work, she specializes in the design and construction of high-performance housing systems. Her research into alternative ecological models of thermoregulation translates into innovative solutions to environmental challenges of our built environment.
Kimberly is HiveTech Solutions’ co-founder and CEO. The company developed a mobile indoor climate-controlled apiary (MICA), a portable enclosure for hives that fits on a flatbed trailer. The device provides a safe overwinter spot for colonies and keeps honeybees in a healthy hibernation so the bees don’t fall victim to deadly swings in weather that can prompt them to end their hibernation too soon. It also enables beekeepers to prevent common seasonal spikes in varroa mites, a parasite that is a significant factor in colony decline. www.hivetechsolutions.com.
Drennan is an architect specializing in environmental design and high-performance housing. She teaches architecture at the University of Colorado-Boulder, where she met the company’s co-founder and Chief Science Officer Chelsea Cook after discovering there were beehives near a project site for her sophomore design class. Cook was managing those hives for CU as she completed a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. She’s now an assistant professor at Marquette University. The two started a research project that capitalized on their professional talents and their commitment to saving the planet’s most ubiquitous pollinator.
Drennan’s fascination with honeybees is rooted in her upbringing in rural Texas. She spent much of her formative years in Bee House, Texas, a tiny hamlet in unincorporated Coryell county named for the prolific hives early settlers found there.
Dave Wick, BVS, Inc.
David Wick of Stevensville, Montana, brings 21 years of demonstrated ability to implement new or novel uses of technology. Ongoing and currently, Mr. Wick is providing services to the nations beekeepers as a virus and disease monitoring service.
David Burns, Honey Lane Honey Bee Farms, Catlin, Illinois
David is a 2010 Certified Master Beekeeper through the Eastern Apicultural Society and is a frequent contributor at major beekeeping conferences and conventions, can be heard on blogs, and mentors hundreds of beekeepers through his mentoring club. His digital online classes have been viewed by thousands across the US and other countries. David is also the original creator of two most popular products: the Winter Bee Kind winter feeding system and the Burns Bees 3 Season Feeding System.
David has a YouTube channel and co-authored the book, "Backyard Beekeeping".
Steve Jimenez founded Hives for Heroes in 2018.
Hives for Heroes is a national military veteran non-profit organization focusing on honey bee conservation and a healthy transition from service. Through the national network of beekeepers and veterans they provide connection, purpose, and healthy relationships fostering a lifelong hobby in beekeeping.
Hives for Heroes started in late 2018 in Houston, Texas with a small team of dedicated volunteers who have become family. They have quickly grown into a nationwide organization, in all 50 states, seeking to serve the next veteran in their local community. https://www.hivesforheroes.com/
In 2019, Steve also founded rūtd - An enterprise software and mobile application solution connecting veterans and resources, in a single click, to end veteran suicide.
Jeannie Saum, – B.S.Ed., M.Ed. is a retired educator of 37 years, a beekeeper, and co-owner of BEEpothecary, a small business that produces dietary supplements, skincare and shaving products made with propolis and other beehive resources. Jeannie is an avid gardener, seamstress, knitter, and writer, providing magazine articles about beekeeping and hive resources. She and business partner and artist, Laurie Dotson, are working on a series of books about the health benefits of hive resources and the value-added products that can be made with them. Publication of Book 1, Health, Powered by Bees, is expected sometime in early 2021.
Jeannie and husband, Steve, have converted some of their Langstroth hives into AZ-style hives and keep bees in a Bee House, repurposed from an old camping trailer. This has allowed Jeannie to continue beekeeping, even though her mobility is limited due to back surgeries. She continues as an educator in retirement, sharing her passion for bee hive resources and teaching others about their amazing health benefits, the many value-added products that can be made, and Health - Powered by BEES!
Jessica Buelow
Jess Buelow is an Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology PhD student in the Leonard Lab at the University of Nevada, Reno. She studies native bees, especially bumble bees, and their behavior, cognition, and nutrition. In her undergraduate education, she studied honeybee behavior and conditioning.
Bob Carrigan, Stinson Beach, CA
Bob is the inventor of The SwarmReacher TM which was first presented at
The EAS Conference Honey Show in Ithica, NY in 2022.
He is a member of the Marin Beekeepers and the San Francisco Beekeepers.