Jasper Hill Cheese Camp
I am in my final semester for my Master’s in Hospitality and Tourism Management from Purdue University. I have also obtained a Bachelor’s in Culinary Arts and Food Service Management from Johnson and Wales University and an Associate’s in Culinary Arts from The Chef’s Academy. I currently work at Tulip Tree Creamery teaching cheese-making classes, and at my former job I conducted research for The Cheese Trail national map and database. I started my career in the cheese industry at Fair Oaks Farms and was a Cheesemonger for Murray’s Cheese. In my spare time I volunteer with the Cheese Culture Coalition on the Education Committee and I am a Cheese State University Scholar. I am an active American Cheese Society member and enjoy learning everything I can about cheese. I volunteer at the Greater Lafayette Career Academy where I assist in teaching culinary classes, and I teach cooking classes through the Food Finders Food Bank. I couldn’t make any of this happen without the love and support of my family. It is my mission to create a world where cheese is accessible to all and for no one to go hungry.

Uplands Cheese
Stephanie Moncayo Florez is a Colombian-American anthropologist by training whose early path into cheese unfolded through community food work, cheesemongering with Whole Foods Market and Goose the Market, hands-on experience on bio-intensive farms in California and Indiana, and New American artisanal cheesemaking and affinage, as well as public education with master cheesemaker Fons Smits and sales coordinator Laura Davenport at Tulip Tree Creamery.

In 2017, Stephanie began supporting small rural dairy producers through the United States Agency for International Development, an experience that ultimately led her to live and work in Colombia. Since then, she has developed deep familiarity with rural cheesemaking across diverse Colombian landscapes, primarily within dual-purpose cattle systems in tropical farming contexts marked by high informality and structural limitations. Her work focuses on enhancing quality while preserving the unique regional characteristics of products such as raw milk cheese, butter, and yogurt.

Working across U.S. and Colombian food systems, Stephanie translates raw milk cheesemaking into accessible pathways for emergent makers--especially in rural contexts--connecting artisanal technique with biocultural heritage. Since 2020, she has worked independently in artisanal dairy extension in rural Colombia, providing hands-on support and training to farmers, small producers, and private dairy projects, emphasizing bioregional product development, improved yields, food safety, and sustainable practices.

Her work includes developing a bespoke cultural cheese recipe for Queso de Hoja with an accompanying production guide, optimizing recipes and tracking systems, supporting Good Manufacturing Practices alignment in small-scale facilities, and enhancing yogurt production technology with women-led rural associations.

Stephanie has also served as a cheesemaking instructor across Colombia, leading multi-day workshops in partnership with Corpo Chivor, the United Nations, and Fundación Horizonte Verde in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund; authoring Un Sabor Único, a manual of natural cheesemaking techniques for rural farmers in support of conservation efforts around Serranía de la Macarena; and collaborating with grassroots collectives for local community learning and exchange.

Today, Stephanie continues to support small-scale dairy projects and communities across rural Colombia, facilitating community-based workshops, developing regenerative cheesemaking pathways rooted in land stewardship, experimentation, and long-term relationships with habitat and communities, and helping others find their own voice through food, craft, culture, and care.