Candace Rose Casados, MBA President

Opening Welcome and Updates on the MBA

Candace Rose Casados is a dedicated beekeeper with 15 years of experience and a Master Beekeeping certification in progress. Her passion for honeybees began in childhood and has blossomed into a lifelong commitment to understanding and supporting these vital pollinators.

As a holistic nutritionist, Candace specializes in incorporating the medicinal and nutritional resources created by honeybees into her practice. She deeply values the intricate connection between honeybees and humans, advocating for sustainable practices that benefit both.

Through her work, Candace educates and inspires others to appreciate the essential role bees play in our ecosystem and the many ways their contributions enrich human health and well-being.

Keynote Speaker 

Dr. Judy Wu-Smart

Bio: Dr. Judy Wu-Smart (Associate Professor & Extension Specialist) received her MS at Washington State University under the advisement of Drs. Steve Sheppard and Carol Anelli and a PhD from University of Minnesota with Dr. Marla Spivak. She has been the director of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Bee Lab since 2015. At UNL, she and her team have been developing a robust pollinator health program for the Midwest region to help beekeepers, scientists, policy makers, and land managers understand the underlying stressors challenging bee health, such as improper management of pests and diseases and exposure to pesticides. Community engagement and promoting science literacy around these complicated farm-to-table issues are also key components of our research and extension education programs. To find more about our programs and training opportunities visit https://entomology.unl.edu/bee-lab and https://gpmb.unl.edu/ or follow us on Facebook.

Speakers 

Heather Boerema

Bio: Heather Boerema has been keeping bees since 2014. She attributes her success in sustainable beekeeping , queen rearing and NUC production to Mel Disselkoen who was her mentor from day one. She maintains around seventy colonies and enjoys mentoring and encouraging new beekeepers. When not working bees or mentoring new beekeepers, Heather is a full time ER nurse at a West MI hospital and enjoys gardening and spending time with her family.

Brad Cloutier

Bio: Brad Cloutier, owner at Decatur Ridge Apiaries, is a founding member of the Berrien Cass Beekeepers Club. He has been a beekeeper for 8 years, focusing on queen rearing and production.

Ryan Dinehart

Bio: Ryan Dinehart has worked for USDA APHIS Wildlife Services as a Wildlife Specialist for five years. In 2023, he began a new role as part of Wildlife Services’ Congressionally funded Non Lethal Initiative, collaborating with cooperators to implement innovative strategies for mitigating black bear and beaver damage concerns. Ryan has a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources Biology and a Master of Science in Conservation Biology from Central Michigan University.

Mel Disselkoen

Bio: Mel Disselkoen was born on a farm in South Dakota. He grew up with an independent farming mentality of hard work and creative problem solving. A Master Beekeeper, he has kept bees for over 50 years and is familiar with all facets of beekeeping. Today Mel enjoys observing honeybee behavior and teaching beekeepers how to use his OTS queen rearing method to self-sufficiency reach their objectives. A creationist and naturalist, Mel sees the honeybee as an exquisitely-designed being that unites the plant and animal kingdoms and therefore he is devoted to its well-being and protection.

Kim and John Haynes

John and Kim have been keeping bees for over 15 years, starting with the full season beekeeping classes from SEMBA. When we moved to Jackson, we started a beekeeping class at the Dahlem Nature Center, modeled after SEMBA's format, which has been offered for the last five years.The thing that keeps us engaged with beekeeping is the seemingly infinite science and survival instincts of bees. Our focus has been on education, developing pollinator habitat, both at our hobby farm and for Dahlem, and emphasizing the sustainable management of bees.

Ana Heck

Bio: Ana Heck is Michigan State University's apiculture extension educator. She learned beekeeping in Nicaragua while working with a nonprofit organization that led rural development projects. She later worked with the University of Minnesota Bee Squad and Michigan State University's Department of Entomology before joining Extension.

Her role engages beekeepers, growers, pesticide applicators, and home gardeners to improve the health of pollinators. Ana holds a master’s degree in public policy and a graduate minor in entomology from the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Melissa Holahan

Bio: Dr. Melissa Holahan is a veterinarian, beekeeper, and small ruminant farmer based in Northville, Michigan. She began beekeeping in 2016, completed intermediate training in 2018, and now teaches honey bee health through various avenues. A graduate of Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, she completed a critical care residency before launching a mobile large animal practice focused on small ruminants and honey bees. She owns Chubb E. Acres Farm, LLC, specializing in dairy goats, and speaks nationally on sustainable agriculture, veterinary care, and her experiences as a farmer, veterinarian, and beekeeper.

Dr. Zachary Huang

Bio: Dr. Zachary Huang is an associate professor in entomology at Michigan State University. Zachary grew up in a small village in Hunan, China and went to college to study agriculture in the first batch of students following the cultural revolution. During the early 1980s, he received a scholarship to study honey bees in Canada, and in 1998, he came to MSU. Zach’s research includes stresses on honey bee behavior, physiology and colony performance, Nosema apis, Nosema ceranae, Varroa destructor, extreme temperatures, transportation, pollination, and pesticides. He blogs regularly about honey bee flowers at bees.msu.edu.

Dr. Adam Ingrao

Bio: Dr. Adam Ingrao is the Co-Founder and National Director for the Heroes to Hives program, leads the beekeeping education program at Bay Mills Community College, is an instructor for the Great Plains Master Beekeeping course, and serves as an Outreach Specialist at Michigan Food and Farming Systems. Dr. Ingrao also co-owns and operates Bee Wise Farms LLC, the largest producer of local nucs in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Nick Kaminski

Bio: Nick Kaminski is a first-generation beekeeper, and the owner/operator of Hickory Tree Farm Apiaries in Kent City MI. Nick has been keeping bees for 10 years and as a Marine corps Veteran has been a participant of and now instructs for Heroes to Hives. As the operator and beekeeper for HTFA Nick manages 100 migratory colonies Between Georgia and Michigan as well as producing queen bees and nucleus colonies for sale.

David Kazyak

Bio: David Kazyak has been immersed in beekeeping for over a decade, managing multiple apiaries across Livingston Co. that typically total around 50-60 hives each season. His work extends beyond honey production—each year he raises queens and nucleus colonies to strengthen and sustain resilient bee populations.

Mentorship is central to his approach, as he actively supports fellow beekeepers in refining their craft and overcoming the challenges of maintaining healthy colonies. For the past three years, David has served as the Michigan Beekeeping District 2 Representative, currently he is part of their leadership team in the VP role, advocating for sustainable practices and fostering a thriving beekeeping community.

His passion for pollinators extends into the garden, where he cultivates late-season nectar sources to ensure bees have essential forage well into the fall. Innovation drives his work: he designs and builds his own beekeeping equipment and continually explores new strategies to improve hive management and sustainability.

Most recently, David has taken on the role of Speaker Coordinator for A2B2, where he creates engaging topics and presenters to enrich the beekeeping community.

In addition to being a beekeeper, David is a hobby farmer cultivating 30+ fruits and vegetables which he supplies to family and neighbors. Other hobbies include bicycling and playing the banjo.

Joel Lantz

Bio: Joel Lantz is a Marquette, Michigan-based beekeeper, one of the founders of the Superior Beekeeping Club, and Michigan Beekeeper’s Association’s UP representative for many years. Although retired from the world of everyday work, he continues to follow his passion for education by spending his time raising, learning, and teaching all things bee. When not immersed in this 40 year pursuit, he spends time in the woods, makes rustic furniture, paints, writes and chases his grandkids—the next generation of beekeepers.

Photo courtesy of Jan Lawson

Jan Lawson

Bio: Jan started beekeeping in the late 1960s when I was 14 years old. He really didn’t know what he was doing, so he learned by trial and error, which was much easier back then. There were very few bee clubs and he didn’t have a mentor,so when he got himself into serious trouble, Roger Hoopingarner was just a phone call away. Roger was always patient and rescued Jan many times. These days Jan is searching for the magic number of bee hives. That number where beekeeping is fun, especially on those hot summer days. He can occasionally be found at the Dadants Bee Store where he “works” part time. If he’s not there, he’s in the garden or in the bee yard.

Dr. Meghan Milbrath

Bio: Dr. Meghan Milbrath is an assistant professor in the Department of Entomology at MSU, where she studies honey bee diseases, focusing on transmission risk and treatment. Dr. Milbrath is also a beekeeper - she began working bees over 25 years ago as a hobby, and since 2011, has run The Sand Hill Apiary, a small livestock and queen rearing operation in Munith, Michigan. She studied biology at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN, and received degrees in public health from Tulane University and the University of Michigan, where she focused on environmental health sciences and disease transmission risk. Meghan worked as a postdoctoral research associate at Michigan State University, studying nosema disease and in the honey bee lab at Swedish Agricultural University.

Carolyn Miller

Bio: Carolyn Miller is the Arboretum & Invasive Species Coordinator for the Beal Botanical Garden & Campus Arboretum at Michigan State University. She maps all the trees and shrubs across campus and tackles the invasive plants in many of the natural areas on campus. She holds an MA in Biology from Miami University (Ohio) and is currently a master’s student in forestry at MSU. Her passion is getting native plants into urban landscapes to support pollinators and other fauna. In her spare time, she and her wife enjoy traveling, birding, botanizing (well, Carolyn enjoys that part), and photography.

Adam Pachl

Bio: Adam Pachl is the North American Technical Manager for Bee Health for GreenLight Biosciences, the maker of Norroa. He has been with GreenLight since August of 2024, but prior to this he was the Assistant State Apiary Inspector for the North Dakota Department of Agriculture for 6 years. He lives in Mandan, North Dakota, where he manages two colonies with his 8-year-old son, Anson, and also helps manage colonies for the Dakota Zoo and Gateway to Science in neighboring Bismarck for educational purposes. When not working with or talking about bees Adam likes drumming, cooking, or being outdoors with his son, wife Sara, and two dogs Cora and Penny.

Mike Sautter

Bio: Mike has been a beekeeper for 25+ years. As an active sideline beekeeper with over 100 colonies, Michael’s knowledge has been acquired by doing hands-on work with the bees, including swarm collecting and removals, research, networking and attending numerous local & regional seminars. Several years ago after attending a Larry Connors queen rearing course in Detroit, he began rearing quality queens and nucs. Recently he earned his Kentucky Queen Breeders Certificate. In the last 15 years he has obtained breeder queens from various locations throughout the United States.

Michael is passionate about helping others in their quest for sustainable beekeeping, by providing support, encouragement and education, as well as being a source for quality locally bred queens and nucs.

Brian Walters

Bio: Brian Walters, current Kalamazoo Bee Club president, has been a beekeeper for six years. His journey into beekeeping started years ago when common milkweed voluntarily started to grow in his terrace garden. He encouraged it to prosper and loved seeing all the native pollinators and honey bees visiting. Things grew from there. Brian currently runs four hives on his urban farm, five at the Kalamazoo Nature Center and one in Kalamazoo at Wildwood. He is also co-instructor for KVCC's beekeeping program.

Gordon Wardell

Bio: What started out as a hobby became a 40 year profession for Gordy Wardell. He worked for 12 years in international apicultural development then as an Extension Apiculturist at the University of Maryland. He established an R&D company where he developed the honey bee nutritional supplement, MegaBee®.

Gordy was also the Director of Pollination Operations for a California almond grower where he coordinated pollination for 40,000 acres of almond orchards.

In addition, he is a board member of Project Apis m., a science advisor to the Almond Board of California, and former lecturer at California Polytechnic University.