Rebecca Bailey, Barry Callebaut

Rebecca is currently the R&D manager, product expert within the American Almond division of Barry Callebaut. She has been on the BC R&D team for approximately 10 years, first starting in the chocolate division before transferring to the nut division where she has spent most of her tenure. Her expertise is in nut product development and formulation for confectionery and baking applications. Rebecca and her team have developed products for many large companies, such as Hershey, Godiva, Nestle, Unilever, Mondelez, Baskin-Robbins, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and many more. Before coming to BC, Rebecca was the executive pastry chef at a premiere country club and owner and operator of the Tea Kettle Bakery and Cafe.

Rebecca graduated from the Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College in Philadelphia and attended Cornell University for a food science and project management certification. She has worked in restaurants and many high-end venues, extending from catering to restaurant service for approximately 12 years.

Rebecca Kuehn, Guittard Chocolate Company

Rebecca Kuehn is the R&D director at Guittard Chocolate Company where she is responsible for realizing innovations and managing technical matters in chocolate products and processing. Over the years, she has led and contributed to new product launches, product and process improvements and production line startups, both domestically and internationally.

As an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Rebecca was introduced to the fascinating world of chocolate. She continued her education, earning her M.S. in food science and technology from University of California, Davis, where her research contributed to the fundamentals of chocolate bloom and oil migration. Rebecca’s professional roles at Nestle USA, Olam Cocoa and Guittard have helped build her industry experience and to be named to the PMCA Board of Directors, PMCA West Region Committee Chair and honored as part of the National Confectioners Association (NCA) Future Leaders Program. Rebecca has had various speaking and educational engagements at the American Association of Candy Technologists, Retail Confectioners International, PMCA Annual Production Conference, University of California, Davis, Utah State University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Candy School. Rebecca lives in the San Francisco Bay Area where she is an avid trail runner, taking in the scenic views of the Pacific and surrounding mountains.

Aaron McGraw, Northwest Hazelnut Company

Aaron is the director of sales for Northwest Hazelnut Company and George Packing Company, where he focuses on building strong relationships between growers and food manufacturers. His experience spans the entire hazelnut supply chain and he brings a practical, market-driven perspective to pricing, product development and long-term grower partnerships.

Joe Sofia, Linnea’s, Inc.

Joe Sofia graduated from Cornell University and started his confectionery career at Nestlé USA in engineering, R&D and manufacturing. After 10 years he transferred to their Peter’s Chocolate division as a district sales manager to give sales a try. After 18 years at Nestle, the Peter’s division was sold to Cargill and Joe came with it! In 2010, Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate promoted him to chocolate specialist and relocated him to Lititz, PA where he resides today. After 22 years at Cargill, most recently as senior technical services advisor, Joe retired from Cargill in early 2026. Today, he works for Linnea’s Inc. in confectionery business development. Joe has hosted seminars and demonstrations at the Philadelphia Candy Show and Sweets & Snacks Expo. He serves on the PMCA Education Committee and assists with some of their industry classes. Joe also serves on the RCI Board of Directors and is on the instruction team for several of their classes. He was the recipient of RCI’s Henry J. Bornhoft Award in 2021 and the AACT Stroud Jordan award in 2025, in recognition for outstanding service to the confectionery industry.

Marlene Stauffer, Blommer Chocolate Company

Marlene Stauffer graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with a food science degree in the College of Agriculture Sciences. She has been with Blommer Chocolate Company since 1982. Her role is a technical fellow focusing on R&D and regulatory. She also offers support for all aspects of food safety and quality from raw materials, manufacturing, quality systems and product development to customer technical assistance.

Marlene was the leader of the NCA Proposition 65 Industry Working Group to recommend best practices. Certifications include FSPCA Preventive Controls for Human Food PCQI, FSVP, Internal Auditor by SAI Global and Advanced International HACCP Alliance. Marlene has been an instructor at several NCA, PMCA, RCI and university classes and spoken at PMCA, RCI, AACT, BCMA, FCIA, CMAA and CASA events.

Marlene is a member of PMCA’s Production Conference Program and Education committees. She is also a member of AACT, NCA’s Chocolate & Regulatory and Health & Nutrition Committees, the Cocoa Merchants Regulatory Committee (CMAA), the Pennsylvania Ag Council and a board member of FARRP (Food Allergy Resource and Research Program). She is a past recipient of the Marie Kelso Memorial Award and Stroud Jordan Award as well as a past PMCA president and chair of the board. She is currently president of the Food Industry Group. Marlene was inducted into the Candy Hall of Fame in 2024.

Daniel Wing, Hygiena

Daniel has worked with Hygiena since 2015 in the Pacific Northwest, supporting food manufacturers of all types along with other industries to help develop, implement and improve cleaning verification and sanitation programs.

What gets measured gets improved, so effective use of testing tools for allergens and other parameters are critical for mitigating risk and keeping the public safe.

Daniel is excited for the opportunity to present at this new PMCA course.