2025 Conference Guest Speakers

Owner, President 

Lydgate Farms, HCCA

Instagram: @kauaiwill @lydgatefarms

Opening Remarks, State of the Industry, Closing Remarks

Will Lydgate owns and operates Lydgate Farms, a cacao farm on Kauai, where his family has been since the 19th century. Lydgate Farms brings together the business of agriculture, value-added products, ag-tourism, and hospitality into a potent hybrid that is the number #1 rated tour on TripAdvisor on Kauai, and has earned multiple Top 50 Best in the World designations from the Cacao of Excellence — and it’s coveted Gold Award.

Will believes the best way to influence the world is at the level of the individual. Lydgate Farms mission is to change the way the world tastes chocolate, one person at a time, one bar at a time. Will believes he can leverage the revenue stream of the famed Hawaii visitor industry to support high value agriculture, create world class products and experiences, and support the prosperity of his team and the health Kauai’s land and people.

As president of the Hawaii Chocolate and Cacao Association, Will wants to make Hawaii the global center of excellence in cacao quality, research and education, and chocolate tourism.

Will Lydgate is also a retired musician — a bass and stringed instrument player and producer/engineer. He has shared the stage with musicians such as Taj Mahal, Bobby Weir, Jack Johnson, Billy Kreautzmann, Cas Haley, and Chris Berry. A graduate Summa Cum Laude of Berklee College of Music, Will holds a Master of Music degree. Music has never left him, so look for him playing bass, just when you least expect it.

Head of Operations

Kamananui Cacao Orchards

Senior Consultant

Cacao Services, Inc.

Instagram: @cacao_services_inc @kamananuicacaoorchards

maxwell@cacaoservices.com

State of the Industry

Max, a cacao agronomist and University of Hawaii alumnus, is the Head of Operations at Kamananui Cacao Orchards and a Senior Consultant at Cacao Services, Inc. His extensive international and local experience in cacao covers a wide range of areas, including breeding, propagation, farm design, post-harvest processing, and chocolate making. A TPSS department alumnus of UH Manoa's CTAHR, Max's work also involves importing and distributing dry cacao beans globally.

Farm Manager

Lydgate Farms

farm@lydgatefarms.com

State of the Industry

Kailey is the farm manager at Lydgate Farms on Kauai. She received her Bachelor of Science in wildlife biology from Colorado State University and began a career in conservation. In 2021 she joined Lydgate Farms as an agricultural researcher and farmer. Kailey was promoted in 2023 to farm manager where she currently manages 46 acres, over 3,000 cacao trees, a crew of eight, and oversees the farm’s thriving vanilla vines and bee hives. Outside of the farm, Kailey enjoys canoe paddling and surfing.

Chief Sourcing Officer

Dandelion Chocolate

Instagram: @gdalesandre

State of the Industry

Greg has a 30 year history in Cacao, Chocolate, and Technology. Graduating from Brown University with a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering, he spent the first part of his career working in a variety of startups in Engineering, Consulting, and Project Management capacities leading him to working as a Group Product Manager at Google. Starting in 2012 Greg shifted his work to Chocolate as the Chief Sourcing Officer for Dandelion Chocolate. In that capacity he’s worked with cocoa producers all over the world as well as helped build out Dandelion’s production and business. More recently he has started a private consultancy called Sourcerer Solutions where he’s working with cocoa producers all over the world. He has visited over 30 cocoa growing countries and hundreds of farms and fermentaries. He’s co-author of “Making Chocolate: Bean to Bar to S’more”, occasional co-host on Craft Chocolate TV, and Producer for the Craft Chocolate Experience San Francisco.

Physician/MD/Dr.; Clinical Professor of Medicine & Vice-Chief of Education for the Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology 

Stanford University School of Medicine

https://med.stanford.edu/profiles/john-clarke

Is Chocolate Healthy? A Doctor's Perspective

Dr. Clarke received his undergraduate degree from Brown University and his medical degree from Columbia University.  He completed residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Gastroenterology & Hepatology at Johns Hopkins University where he stayed as faculty for 9 years. During that time, he was an Associate Professor, Clinical Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Neurogastroenterology and GI Motility, and Clinical Director of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.  He moved to Stanford University in 2016 as Director of the Esophageal Program and is currently a Clinical Professor and Division Vice-Chief of Education. He is a long-time lover of chocolate.

Client Success Manager - Hawaii Region

Savor Brands

Instagram: @savorbrands / @savorbrandshawaii

tessa@savorbrands.com

Packaging and Design: Getting the Most Out of Your Brand

Tessa Ahsing has close to 7 years of experience in custom printing and packaging, working with Hawaii’s food manufacturers to create standout packaging that supports brand growth. She collaborates with both small businesses and larger food brands, offering practical, creative solutions that align with production processes and budget needs.  Her approach blends innovation with purpose—prescribing the right materials to protect the product and enhance its market presence.  Before entering the packaging industry, Tessa built a 30+ year career in luxury retail management across Waikiki, Wailea, and Las Vegas, including time in hospitality retail at The Kahala Hotel and Resort. Her retail experience gives her an eye for design, consumer engagement, and merchandising—insights she now applies to packaging that connects with buyers.  Tessa is deeply passionate about supporting Hawaii’s local farmers and value-added food products made in the islands. She enjoys discovering locally crafted goods and spends her downtime gardening and growing herbs and produce at home.  For Tessa, the most fulfilling part of her work is seeing local businesses scale through packaging that not only protects, but also tells a story—rooted in place, purpose, and people.

Chief Chocolate Officer

Mirzam Chocolate Makers

Instagram: @kathycocoa / @mirzamchocolate

Packaging and Design: Getting the Most Out of Your Brand

Kathy Johnston is the Chief Chocolate Officer at Mirzam Chocolate Makers in Dubai, where she leads product development, packaging, and creative direction. With over a decade of experience in food manufacturing, Kathy is known for her unique approach to food making that blends storytelling, sustainability, and regional cultural identity. Mirzam has received global recognition for its visually striking, culturally rich packaging working with over 80 artists. Kathy is passionate about regenerative farming, food making machinery and loves chocolate more than you.

Founder

Ora Cacao

Instagram: @cacaoceremony

jonas@oracacao.com

What is Ceremonial Cacao?

Through ten years of leadership in the ceremonial cacao movement, Jonas envisions a new era for chocolate that is a departure from low cost bulk cocoa for candy, which is an industrial exploitation of tropical rainforest ecosystems and peoples. Ceremonial cacao is a clear pathway to providing high value sustainable livelihoods for vast networks of family farms, while protecting tropical rainforest ecology and offering immense health benefits and delicious satisfaction for chocolate lovers. Jonas brings his expertise in mechanical engineering, with a BS and MS from Stanford University and graduate studies supported by the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for first generation Americans, to operate a world class chocolate factory that specializes in producing authentic 100% cacao that retains the wild essence of the rainforest. Ora Cacao currently direct sources organic and regenerative cacao from communities in Belize, Colombia, Guatemala, Tanzania, and Uganda, and uses rigorous lab testing to verify metals safety and high flavonoid content. Jonas is German and immigrated to the US at age 4 and loves dancing, exploring the world, enjoying peaceful time in nature, and sharing lovingly prepared food.

Author

One Cacao Tree

Instagram: @molecularmuse

ravenhanna@gmail.com

The Joy of Unfermented Cacao

Raven Hanna plays with cacao trees in a food forest in Wailea on the Hāmākua Coast of Hawai‘i Island. Since moving to Hawai‘i in 2010, she has been growing and experimenting with cacao. She brings curiosity and intuition for experimentation from her science background (Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry from Yale University) to cacao processing and chocolate making. She has many other interests, but you wouldn’t know it if you get her started talking about chocolate. Raven is a certified Hawai‘i Master Gardener, a certified Hawai‘i Master Food Preserver, and a certified science communicator (University of California, Santa Cruz). She is author of the book One Cacao Tree: A Guide to Backyard Cocoa, Tiny Fermentations, and Chocolate Making in the Tropics and occasionally sells tiny-batch, hand-dipped chocolates under the name Wailea Tea & Chocolate.