Chris Swersey lives in Salmon, Idaho. He serves as competition manager, organizing and executing the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup competitions. He also organizes the Beer Sensory Evaluation Program and serves as a staff member of the Events and Technical committees and several subcommittees.

Bart Watson, Vice President of Strategy & Chief Economist for the Brewers Association, is a stats geek, beer lover, and Certified Cicerone®. He holds a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, where in addition to his dissertation, he completed a comprehensive survey of Bay Area brewpubs one pint at a time. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @BrewersStats.

Kaylyn Kirkpatrick is the director of education for the Brewers Association where she works diligently to ensure members are equipped with the educational resources they need to thrive and survive. Previously, Kaylyn managed the Cornell University Brewing Extension program where she worked to develop and facilitate resources for the craft beer community in New York state. She got her start in beer working in quality assurance at New Belgium Brewing Company. Kaylyn has an academic background in brewing science, having completed an M.S. at Oregon State University where she led the first investigations into "hop creep" as well as earning the prestigious Diploma in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing & Distilling in London.

Kaylyn is an active competition beer judge, having participated in regional, national, and international beer competitions such as the National Homebrew Competition (NHC), Great American Beer Festival® (GABF®), and World Beer Cup® (WBC). She proudly serves on the Master Brewers Association of the Americas (MBAA) National Technical Committee and the American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC) Webinar Subcommittee. She is the author of the eCornell Craft Brewing course, a crash course in beer ingredients and commercial brewing for hobbyists and professional brewers alike.

A former professor of Communication Studies, Dr. J Jackson-Beckham dedicated her academic career to the study of American beer. Today, she helps craft beverage organizations develop practices that drive success, build communities, and empower individuals. She is an author, speaker, vocal advocate for the craft beverage community, homebrewer, and Certified Cicerone. In 2018, Dr. J was named the Brewers Association's first-ever Diversity Ambassador. In 2020, she was named Imbibe Magazine’s Beer Person of the Year. Today, Jackson-Beckham leads the Brewers Association's social impact efforts in diversity, equity, and inclusion, member and community engagement, high-ROI philanthropy, and association accountability.

Kaylyn Kirkpatrick is the director of education for the Brewers Association where she works diligently to ensure members are equipped with the educational resources they need to thrive and survive. Previously, Kaylyn managed the Cornell University Brewing Extension program where she worked to develop and facilitate resources for the craft beer community in New York state. She got her start in beer working in quality assurance at New Belgium Brewing Company. Kaylyn has an academic background in brewing science, having completed an M.S. at Oregon State University where she led the first investigations into "hop creep" as well as earning the prestigious Diploma in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing & Distilling in London.

Kaylyn is an active competition beer judge, having participated in regional, national, and international beer competitions such as the National Homebrew Competition (NHC), Great American Beer Festival® (GABF®), and World Beer Cup® (WBC). She proudly serves on the Master Brewers Association of the Americas (MBAA) National Technical Committee and the American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC) Webinar Subcommittee. She is the author of the eCornell Craft Brewing course, a crash course in beer ingredients and commercial brewing for hobbyists and professional brewers alike.

Paul Gatza is the Senior Vice President of Professional Brewing Division at the Brewers Association. Paul’s origin in the beer community started when he took up homebrewing in 1990. He worked on the bottling line at Boulder Beer and would sneak over to the brewhouse when opportunity allowed. He owned a pair of homebrew supply shops in Boulder and Longmont, Colorado from 1994 to 1998. He served as director of the American Homebrewers Association for seven years and is in his 23rd year as Brewers Association director. Paul is ranked as a National Beer Judge by the Beer Judge Certification Program. Paul is also a former judge director of both the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup, before moving to the judge panels for these elite competitions.