John Berardino, Brewery Manager, Alfa Laval USA Previous to his current position, John worked in US and Germany breweries; holding positions from grain to glass in brewing, production and operations over 20 years.  He was also involved with brewery construction and expansion, equipment evaluation and purchase along with product development and sales. As one of the world’s largest manufacturers of specialist process equipment, Alfa Laval works at the cutting edge of virtually all the technologies widely used in brewing. Berardino will discuss CIP processes for breweries. 

Ron Bishop holds a B.A. in chemistry from Youngstown State University and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the West Virginia University School of Medicine. His full-time research, spanning 17 years, focuses on cancer research and biosafety.  Over the last 11 years, Dr. Bishop has taught a variety of courses (biology, genetics, general and organic chemistry, biochemistry and environmental sciences) at different campuses.  He currently teaches in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department at SUNY Oneonta, and is nationally certified in hazardous materials management.  Ron also has an extensive construction background and more than two years of experience in investigative journalism, and will discuss hydrofracturing practices and how water contamination can occur during the gas drilling process.

Andrew Byers is a botanist and formally trained chef, who works at  Eve’s Cidery, apple growers and producer of artisan hard ciders, in Van Etten, NY. He is a volunteer member of the Shaleshock Action Alliance, a coalition of working groups organized to protect the environment from exploitative gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale region. Byers' primary focus is the effect of gas drilling on water safety, especially irrigation water used in agriculture, water pollution and human health effects.

Patrick Conway, president and co-founder, Great Lakes Brewing Co., Cleveland, OH; his love of beer began while he was bartending to get through graduate school at the University of Chicago and continued when he left for Europe and toured many small breweries there. A native Clevelander with a passion for the city that equals his passion for beer, he came back to his hometown to open the first craft brewery in Ohio. He, with the help of his brother Daniel, chose Ohio City, the urban neighborhood that is also home to the historic West Side Market. Conway presents an overview of Great Lakes Brewing Co.’s sustainable water use in brewery and brewpub operations.

Jason Fox is a native of Rochester and a graduate of SUNY Geneseo. After homebrewing for several years, Fox apprenticed with Dave Schlosser, Custom BrewCrafters’ first brewmaster, and in January 2001, Fox was promoted to brewmaster for Custom BrewCrafters. In 2008-2009, Fox worked with the Honeoye Falls Department of Public Works and Trans Terra Corp. on the specifications, design and installation of a brewery wastewater treatment system that can process up to 100,000 gallons/month.  Jason Fox lives in the city of Rochester with his wife and two children.

Walter Hang is President of Toxics Targeting, Inc., an environmental database firm in Ithaca, NY that compiles government data in order to map and profile more than 550,000 known and potential toxic sites in New York.  He has worked for more than 30 years as an advocate for environmental health protection.  Mr. Hang and his colleagues recently documented extensive oil and gas drilling hazards across the state and built a coalition of more than 9,000 concerned citizens, elected officials, business leaders and environmental groups.  That coalition is requesting proposed Marcellus Shale horizontal drilling regulations to be withdrawn and fundamentally revised. Walter Hang appears on the panel discussing hydrofracturing and other risks to water quality in the Great Lakes.

G. William Page, PhD., AICP, is a Professor in the Department of Urban & Regional Planning, University of Buffalo, SUNY, where he teaches courses on environmental policy, environmental planning methods and support systems, and land use planning. Research interests include water planning and urban causes of greenhouse gas emissions. He served as co-editor of a special issue on water published by the  Journal of the American Planning Association in 2007. Dr. Page is the Associate Editor for North America of the Journal of Environmental Planning & Management. He appears on the panel discussion of water pricing and policy within the Great Lakes region.

Linda A. Rastani, Linda A. Rastani, a native of the Finger Lakes region, is National Tank Equipment Sales Manager, Alfa Laval USA, based in the Kenosha, WI, office.  Rastani has been in the sanitary equipment business for over 30 years, where 18 of
those years have been with Alfa Laval's sanitary equipment segment, working
with the dairy, food, beverage, wine and brewery markets.  Rastani is a
member of the MBAA and 3A organizations.  Alfa Laval (brand names include
Tri-Clover and G&H Products over the years) offers equipment and solutions
designed for greater water efficiency. Rastani appears on  the panel
discussion of CIP processes for brewers and cheese makers.

Sammis White is a Professor of Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM).  He is a graduate of Williams College (BA) and the University of Pennsylvania (PhD). He has co-authored two books, co-edited three others, and written or co-authored over 145 journal articles, reports, and research monographs.  In addition, he was won a UWM award for teaching excellence. His current major area of interest is water, particularly how to build an industry base around providing solutions to water problems.  He is an active participant in the Milwaukee Water Council, an industry/university partnership to solve water problems and create jobs. White is speaking on the panel on water pricing and policy within the Great Lakes region.

Michael Wolkoff is currently Deputy Chairman of the Economics Department at the University of Rochester.  Dr. Wolkoff has been on the faculty of the University of Rochester for nearly 30 years.  He has research and teaching interests in the areas of Public Finance and Applied Economics.  He is the author of numerous refereed publications, numerous reports for governmental and private organizations and one book (SUNY Press).  Dr. Wolkoff appreciates a fine IPA but has no hesitation in experiencing other beer styles.