The following contributions reflect my continued commitment to advancing the mission of the CIA and enriching the student experience across classrooms, kitchens, and the wider professional community.

Professional Development

2025 - Webinar: Understanding Lamination with Alan Dumonceaux (Bread Baker’s Guild of America)
Participated in a two-part virtual class exploring ingredient selection, fat percentages, dough formulation, preferments, folding and shaping methods, proofing, enzyme action, and oven management. Strengthened technical knowledge and applied updated lamination insights to teaching.

2025 - Webinar: Building Blocks: Enriched Dough Techniques with Richard Charpentier (Bread Baker’s Guild of America)
Attended a one-hour virtual lecture on the science and techniques of enriched doughs, covering ingredient functionality, fermentation, and production processes.

2025 – Croissant Tasting Tour (San Francisco, CA)
Led a group of professional bakers on a curated tour of leading San Francisco bakeries specializing in laminated dough. Evaluated product quality, shaping, and finishing techniques across top-tier operations. Applied insights to classroom discussions on benchmarks of quality and emerging industry trends.

2025 – Romain Dufour Viennoiserie & Panettone Class (Petaluma, CA)
Participated in a one-day intensive on advanced viennoiserie and fermentation methods. Explored panettone production and long-fermentation processes, reinforcing and expanding technical knowledge. Incorporated insights into laminated dough instruction.

2025 – Donald Wressell Chocolate in Baking Masterclass (Petaluma, CA)
Attended a chocolate-focused session with Donald Wressell at the Artisan Baking Center. Gained new techniques for incorporating cocoa and chocolate into baked goods and viennoiserie. Integrated select recipes and approaches into CIA curriculum.

2024 – Craft Chocolate Expo (San Francisco, California)
Attended industry presentations and tastings on craft chocolate. Explored topics including recipe demonstrations, cocoa sourcing, and sustainability. Strengthened knowledge of industry innovations and trends to integrate into teaching.

2024 – Peninsula Pastries Masterclass with Chef Anne Corbule (Chicago, IL)
Completed a three-day hands-on class covering petit gâteaux, plated desserts, cookies, and petits fours. Brought recipes and techniques back to the department and incorporated selected methods into curriculum.

2023 – Melbourne Pastry Tour (Melbourne, Australia)
Participated in a pastry and chocolate immersion experience across Melbourne’s café culture. Visited Bibelot, Small Batch, Monforte, Mörk Chocolate, Ratio Chocolate, and Asian-influenced bakeries. Gained perspectives on the fusion of European technique with Asian flavors and emerging global trends, broadening professional and curricular applications.

2023 – Certified Higher Education Professional
Earned CHEP credential focused on student engagement and success strategies in higher education.

Scholarship Activities

2025 – Presenter, International Baking Industry Exposition (Las Vegas, NV)
Invited presenter on advanced lamination techniques at North America’s largest baking and pastry exposition.

2025 – Professional Course, Savour School (Melbourne, Australia)
Developed and taught three laminated dough masterclasses at Savour, Chef Kirsten Tibballs’ school in Melbourne, Australia.

2025 – Advanced Lamination Class, Central Milling (Petaluma, CA)
Developed and taught a 2-day professional laminated dough class focusing on lamination theory and production consistency for professional chefs and bakers.

2024 – Menus of Change Conference, CIA + Harvard SPH (Poughkeepsie, NY)
Co-presented with CIA colleagues on sustainability in pastry education with a focus on plant-based pastry.

2024 – The Bespoke Tarts & Petits Gâteaux of Lauren Haas, Chocolate Academy (New York, NY)
Developed and taught a 3-day hands-on course for industry leaders on plant-based pastry, viennoiserie, and plated desserts.

2024 – Foundations of Lamination Course, Bread Baker’s Guild of America (Petaluma, CA)
Developed and taught a 2-day advanced lamination class for professionals; strengthened CIA’s partnership with Central Milling and BBGA.

2024 – Plant-Based Pastry, College of Food Innovation & Technology Symposium (Providence, RI)
Developed and taught a hands-on session on plant-based pastry at a conference focsed on sustainability and food innovation.

2024 – Australian Native Ingredients, CIA Greystone (St. Helena, CA)
Shared ingredient knowledge and sourcing insights with students and faculty following an international research trip.

2023 – Plant-Based Pastry Collaboration, Savour School (Melbourne, Australia)
Developed and taught two hands-on professional courses on plant-based pastry techniques.

Institutional Service

AY 2023–2026 – Academic Technology Committee (Greystone Representative)
Represent Greystone faculty and interests on the Academic Technology Committee, contributing to institution-wide technology planning, Greystone-specific needs, and curriculum integration.

2024 – Sustainable Food Systems Course Redesign (Farm-to-Table Concentration)
Redesigned the Sustainable Food Systems course in the Greystone Farm-to-Table Concentration to offer a more seamless student experience. Developed new learning modules, assignments, and resources, and created a comprehensive Moodle shell to support delivery.

2023–Present – Student Engagement & Revenue Initiatives

• Introduced and expanded the Pastry Nook at Spice Islands Marketplace. This initiative offers products from the Applied Pastry and Chocolates & Confections courses for sale, providing students with practical, entrepreneurial experience while also helping offset the cost of course delivery.

• Established a system for consistent mignardise supply to the Gatehouse restaurant during Chocolates & Confections blocks, reducing waste while enhancing both student learning and guest experience.

2023–Present – Industry Partnership Support

• Facilitated gift-in-kind partnerships with Silikomart, IRCA, Barry Callebaut, and Central Milling to expand student access to tools and ingredients.

• Supported CIA’s relationship with the Bread Bakers Guild of America, including initiating free BBGA student memberships to extend professional engagement opportunities.

• Supported numerous events and CIA consulting activities with key GIK partner Ghirardelli.

2023–2024 – Departmental Contributions

• Helped identify and source new bakeshop equipment to improve instructional efficiency.

• Actively engaged in department meetings and course coordination.

• Mentored new faculty and organized visiting instructor sessions to support smooth transitions and enrich student learning.

2023 – Program Review Process
Supported Chef Angela Salvatore with program review documentation and preparation, supporting accreditation and curriculum evaluation efforts.

2023 – Sustainability Course Development
Created a new elective in sustainable pastry, including full course design (structure, objectives, assignments, resources, and Moodle shell). The course expands Baking & Pastry offerings for bachelor’s students, supports enrollment growth, and strengthens CIA’s leadership in sustainability. This course is currently progressing through CIA’s curricular approval process.

2023 – Napa Valley Register Article
Authored an article on behalf of CIA Greystone, sharing pastry expertise and advancing public awareness of CIA’s academic leadership.

2023 – Student Seminar Leadership
Led a sustainability-focused pastry seminar during student project day, introducing students to the intersections of sustainability and professional pastry practice.

2023–Present – Earn & Learn (E&L) Student Engagement
Created and delivered onboarding training materials for Bakeshop E&L students. Consistently engaged 1–2 students per semester in R&D and applied learning projects, providing structured support to strengthen their skills.

Ongoing – Cross-Campus Engagement (CIA Hyde Park)
Fostered connections between Greystone and Hyde Park baking and pastry faculty to align educational goals and resources.