Bill Hesbach is a Connecticut native with a background in engineering.
He's an Eastern Apicultural Society Certified Master Beekeeper, a graduate of the University of Montana's master beekeeping program, and the President of the Connecticut Beekeepers Association.
Bill also operates a side bee business called Wing Dance Apiary in Cheshire, CT., which produces artisanal raw honey and other natural hive products.
Bill teaches bee biology and various beekeeping methods at meetings hosted by regional beekeeping clubs. Bill is an active member of the Eastern Apicultural Society, where he is part of the Master Beekeeper Certification program. Bill is a regular guest speaker at national beekeeping seminars.
His special interests in beekeeping include bee biology, flight, and the connection between local flora and bee behavior. He's a published author, and his articles on beekeeping appear in The American Bee Journal and Bee Culture magazines.
Heather Mattila is faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences at Wellesley College, a women's liberal arts college that is located just outside of Boston (USA). She completed her Ph.D. in 2005 at the University of Guelph (Canada), where her research focused on the effects of nutritional stress on honey bee health and productivity. She subsequently completed a four-year postdoctoral fellowship at Cornell University (USA), where her research shifted to an examination of the mating behavior by honey bee queens and its impact on the colonies that they produce. Heather is now Professor and Chair of Biological Sciences, and her research has expanded to focus on mechanisms of social communication and organization in bees and hornets, including their predator-prey interactions, collective communication, and chemical ecology. Heather teaches undergraduate classes at Wellesley on the subjects of organismal biology, animal behavior, and social insect biology. In addition to teaching at the College, she is honored to receive opportunities to speak with beekeepers and other people around the world who are interested in learning about how to support the health and welfare of social insects. Heather’s research program is supported by a dedicated group of Wellesley students, collaborations with colleagues from universities across North America, Europe, and Asia, and by the many colonies of bees that her lab maintains on the Wellesley College campus.
Landi Simone is a small-scale commercial beekeeper in northern New Jersey, owner of Gooserock Farm LLC. She manages about 100 colonies, raises queens and nucs, and produces varietal honeys, artisan honey spreads, beeswax cosmetics and handmade beeswax soaps. Landi has kept bees since 1997 and was certified as an EAS Master Beekeeper in 2004. She served ten years as Chair of the Master Beekeeper Certification Committee for EAS and, before that, as Director of the Master Beekeepers. She is committed to beekeeping education, and has taught a local short course in beekeeping for over twenty years, as well as being a frequent presenter at both EAS and multiple other venues. Landi’s practical approach to beekeeping stems in part from her background; she is a retired consulting civil engineer with degrees from Columbia Universtity and Rutgers. She finds her second career in apiculture every bit as challenging as engineering and a lot more fun.