AWS Educational Foundation 2024 Board of Trustees

Larry S. Jackson

President

Larry has been a member of AWS since 2008 and a member of the AWSEF Board of Trustees since 2018.  Larry is a professional winemaker since 2010, having been a founder of one winery, and now working at a second.  He has been an active amateur winemaker since 1982.  Larry is an AWS Graduate Wine Judge.  He is a retired Senior Research Scientist of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a former nuclear submarine officer.  He and his wife, Annette, very much enjoy wine tourism and being foodies.  He has a Ph.D. in Library and Information Science, and M.S. and B.S. degrees in Computer Science.

Bonnie Lance

Vice President, Corporate Development and Executive Vice President

Bonnie Lance has served on the AWSEF Board of Trustees since 2010. First as VP for Corporate Development (2010-2014), then President (2014-2020) and now back as the VP for Corporate Development. Bonnie has worked at various vineyards on the North Fork of Long Island, NY since 2004 and most recently helped out at Sannino Bella Vita Vineyard in Cutchogue, NY, where she assisted with various wine education classes and in the tasting room. Bonnie has achieved certification as a Specialist of Wine with the Society of Wine Educators, is certified with the WSET at both the intermediate and advanced levels, a Year 1 graduate of the Wine Judge Certification program and TIPS certified. She is an AWS member of both the Kylix NYC Chapter since 2004 & the Meadowlands NJ Chapter since 2015. Bonnie is the Head of Fund Administration at Ascend Partners in New York City. Bonnie, her husband, Jay, and daughter, Hannah, reside in Butler, NJ.

Denise Griner

Secretary

secretary@awsef.org

Denise has been a member of the AWS since 2014, attended her first conference in Tyson, VA in 2015, and hasn’t missed one since. She has been the treasurer of the Meadowlands, NJ Chapter since 2015 and joined the AWSEF Board of Trustees in 2022.  Denise has a BS in Radiation Science Technology degree from the University of Nebraska and has been employed at Hackensack University Medical Center for 32 years where she is currently a Physicist Assistant specializing in Nuclear Medicine and Radiation Safety.  She currently resides in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ with her two dogs.  Denise enjoys learning about wine and sharing her knowledge with friends, family, and fellow wine enthusiasts.  She enjoys good food, good wine, and traveling with good friends and family.  

Isabelle Lesschaeve

Vice President, Scholarships

awsef-scholarship@innovinum.com

Isabelle Lesschaeve is an accomplished educator, coach, and consultant specializing in wine sensory science.

Throughout her 30-year career in the food and wine industry, Isabelle has made significant contributions to the field. Her research work has been published in over 50 peer-reviewed academic publications, and she has authored several book chapters. Isabelle's expertise and insights have earned her the pleasure of being a keynote speaker at international conferences such as the International Cool Climate Wine Symposium, the Australian Wine Technical Conference, the Pangborn Sensory Symposium, and the Sense Asia Conference.

Isabelle joined AWS as a professional member in 2021. Her passion lies in helping wine enthusiasts, aspiring wine professionals, and aspiring sommeliers develop their tasting skills and become more articulate in their wine descriptions and tasting notes.

Therise Collier

Vice President, Private Development

vpprivate@awsef.org

Therise Collier has been a member of the American Wine Society (North Alabama Chapter) for 16 years. She is an AWS Certified Wine Judge, completed the WSET level 2 with merit, and has participated in numerous wine judging competitions across the US. She has been an Amateur Wine maker for 18 years and proprietor of Creekside at Colliers End. She currently serves as Vice President, Alabama Winemakers and Grape Growers Association, which promotes wine education for greater Alabama. She recently retired from her career as a Cyber System Security Engineer and has a Bachelor of Science degree from California State University, Los Angeles. She and her husband, Walt, have traveled throughout the world as wine enthusiasts and to expand their knowledge in viniculture and vinification techniques.

Walter Rachele

Treasurer

Walt Rachele has been a member of AWS for over 30 years, Past Chapter Chairman (Carroll County), Wine Judge Certification Program Graduate and Instructor for 20 years. He has traveled in search of the Mother Vine to Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Hungary finding only wonderful local wines, unusual varietals and new friends.  Completing a 3 year term as Treasurer with AWS and a prior term (2000-2005) as Treasurer of AWSEF is again combining his love of learning about wine with his profession of Accounting & Finance to join the AWSEF BOD as Treasurer.  His heartfelt goal is to help provide funding for the next generations of students that will be the future of the wine industry.

Bill Stefan

AWS President

Eric Feldhake

General Counsel

Eric has been a member of the AWS Walt Whitman Chapter since 2002. He has been an officer of the Walt Whitman Chapter since 2008. Eric is an AWS Wine Judge.  Eric is a partner with the Law Firm of Kulzer & DiPadova in Haddonfield, New Jersey focusing on Tax and Trust and Estate matters. He is admitted to practice law before the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Tax Court, U.S. District Court of New Jersey, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and State of New Jersey. He is a member of the American Bar Association, Pennsylvania Bar Association, New Jersey Bar Association, Cape May Bar Association, and a Trustee and Tax Committee Chairperson for the Camden County Bar Association. He is also a Major in the Army Reserves serving in the JAG Corps with 31 years of enlisted and commissioned service. He received his Bachelors of Science from Indiana University, and MBA, Juris Doctorate, and LL.M. in Taxation from Temple University. Eric is married to Lauren (also an AWS member) and their children are Eric, Jr., Emma, Elizabeth, and Eva.

Danny Klein

Trustee Emeritus

Danny is a Regional Vice President for the AWS in the Northern NJ/Southern NY region and has been a volunteer and assistant at the AWS National Conference for ten years.  He is a certified AWS wine judge, judges for multiple State Governor’s Cup wine competitions, and is Chairman for the NJ State Fair Wine Competition and the AWS NJ Amateur Wine Competitions.  Danny is a graduate of Rutgers University with a BS and an MBA and is currently employed as a Regional Operations Manager for an S&P 500 Company.

Kristen Lindelow

Trustee Emeritus

Kristen discovered the AWS in 2010 when she joined the N. Alabama Chapter.  While she was a Regional Vice President, she assisted with founding five chapters in North Alabama and Mississippi.  Kristen is an AWS-Certified Wine Judge and judges for a number of competitions across the U.S. and in Europe. She is a Certified Specialist of Wine through the Society of Wine Educators, a French Wine Scholar and Spanish Wine Scholar through the Wine Scholar Guild, and has completed the WSET Level 2 (intermediate) with merit.  She enjoys educating others about wine, including her husband, Phillip, with whom she lives in Huntsville (Rocket City), Alabama.