Speaker

BIOS

PLENARY

  • Jake "Beeman" Barker is a Cornell and EAS Master Beekeeper, EAS Lifetime member, and chemist.

    As Chief Bee Wrangler at Golden Fox Farms, Jake manages over 100 hives in the greater Louisville area for honey, queen, and nuc production. Always experimenting, these apiaries explore genetics, hive configuration, and management techniques.

    Jake is co-founder of Apis Rescue Inc., a non-profit bee research and rescue group which operates a swarm program covering 5,500 square miles.

    Jake also co-founded a multi-county beginner beekeeping program which provides beginner beekeepers with practical knowledge to greatly improve colony survival.

SPEAKERS

  • Theresa Martin author of Dead Bees Don’t Make Honey: 10 Tips for Healthy Productive Bees

    Theresa has achieved 99% colony survival and honey production that is twice the local average in her seven years as a beekeeper, with 20–25 colonies in Kentucky. She practices a beekeeping methodology that places bee health as the highest priority and optimal pathway to productivity. Following the model of how bees survive in the wild, employing integrated pest management, and providing high support yet low intervention, she demonstrates that healthy, alive bees are more productive than sick or dead bees. Theresa is a Cornell Master Beekeeper, 2024 Kentucky State Beekeeper of the Year, and Vice-President of the Kentucky State Beekeepers Association. She worked at Fidelity Investments and Procter & Gamble in information technology and operations management. Theresa can be reached at theresa@littlewolf.farm  Her book is available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Bees-Dont-Make-Honey/dp/B0CY9G9C89

  • DVM
    MASTER BEEKEEPER

    Leonard attended the University of Kentucky and Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine and is a small animal veterinarian in Louisville, where he owns and operates Davis Animal Clinic.  He is USDA-Aphis accredited.  He currently manages 45+ colonies practicing self-sustaining beekeeping.  He grafts and raises his own queens.  Leonard is an Eastern Apiculture Society (EAS) Certified Master Beekeeper and the EAS Kentucky Director.   He was the president of the EAS 2021 Conference that was held in Shepherdsville just south of Louisville.  He is currently the president of the Bullitt County Beekeepers Association, a member of the Kentuckiana Beekeepers Association, the Kentucky Queen Breeders Association, and the Kentucky State Beekeepers Association.  Leonard has taught at several local association meetings, the EAS Conference, the Kentucky State Beekeepers meetings, and various other clubs and organizations.

  • MASTER BEEKEEPER

    Kent Williams is a Kentucky-based EAS Certified Master beekeeper who has been in beekeeping industry for 30+ years. In that time, Williams established the Kent Williams Bee School in conjunction with the Lake Barkley Beekeeper’s Association, as well as provided education to beekeepers all over the country.

RESEARCHERS

  • PhD

    Brock Harpur is an Associate Professor in the Entomology Department of Purdue. Brock arrived at Purdue after completing a National Science and Engineering Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at the Donnelley Centre, the University of Toronto with Ben Blencowe. His work explores the evolution and genetics of honey bees. Brock completed his Ph.D. on population genomics of honey bees at York University with Amro Zayed as an Elia Research Scholar. He's been a beekeeper for over 15 years.m description

  • PhD

    Amber Hale, Associate Professor of Biology, earned her PhD in biology from the University of Kentucky and her BS in Biomedical Science from Texas A&M University. She established her research lab and taught biology courses across the curriculum at McNeese State University before joining Centre College faculty in 2025. 

    Dr. Hale’s research uses molecular methods to answer basic scientific questions about species that are not well studied. Currently, her research is focused on honeybee genetics, metagenomics, ecological interactions, and the application of basic research to management practices.

  • PHD CANDIDATE

STATE and LOCAL RESOURCES

  • Dr. Amanda Skidmore is the State Apiarist from Kentucky Department of Agriculture. After graduating with her PhD in Entomology from University of Kentucky, she spent time researching pollinators and beneficial insects in Indiana and working as an extension professor New Mexico. Her background is in integrated pest and pollinator management, where she has focused on developing common sense practice for homeowners and agriculture producers that mange insect pests and protect pollinators while reducing pesticide use. In her role as State Apiarist her focus is on keeping Kentucky honey bees healthy and working to promote beekeeping and support beekeepers across the state. She covers all 120 of Kentucky’s counties and works with beekeepers to perform certified health inspections, participates in collecting data for the National Honey Bee Health Survey, and speaks at local beekeeping association meetings.

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