John Greeley - Head Judge

Judging Chair Emeritus, Competition and Judging Committee

Maitre Fromager – Guilde des Fromagers

John Greeley was born on the Isle of Jersey (home of the Jersey cow breed). He was educated at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and his career choice of professional radio announcer slowly ended when he first tasted real, hand-made cheese. He operated the Cheese Division of John Dewar Meat Company for ten years and in 1990 founded and operatedSheila Marie Imports, Ltd.- an importer of specialty foods from Europe and New Zealand.

He was instrumental in supporting local cheese makers and helping them reach both independent and major chain retailers in New England and eventually the Northeast.

Gourmet Foods International purchased Sheila Marie Imports in 2007, and John served as Vice President of Northeast Sales for GFI. He retired in 2018.

John holds degrees in cheese grading from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and cheesemaking, from Washington State University, at Pullman.

In 1983 he met ACS founders Dr. Frank Kosikowski and Dr. Dick Kleyne and joined the Society in support of the Judging event. In 1985 he and Ann Dixon brought the first complete ACS Conference to the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston and hosted the first Festival of Cheeses.

Between 1988 and 2007 he served for 15 years as Chairman of the Cheese Judging and Competition Committee.He expanded the cheese categories from 8 to 102 and developed the Aesthetic and Technical two judge concept unique to the ACS. He continues to serve on the Competition and Judging Committee redefining the categories for Competition Committee and developing “American Originals “guidelines for ACS cheesemakers.

John also served on the ACS Board of Directors for 12 years.

John co-chaired the ACS annual conferences in 1987 with Dr. Dick Kleyne at Rutgers University, in 1996 with Ruth Flore at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park NY and again with Ruth in 1999 at Shelburne Farms VT.

He was inducted into the Guilde des Fromagers in 2002 and elevated to Maitre Fromager in 2010.

In 2003 he was recruited by the New Zealand Specialist Cheese Makers Ass. Between 2003 and 2007 John remodeld their national cheese competition and served as the Master Judge of the New Zealand’s Cuisine Champion of Cheese Competition. He developed their cheese classes and categories, awards and rules, and trained their judges. He was a media spokesman for the NZSCM and the national competition in press, radio and TV. He traveled New Zealand conducting trainings and cheese and wine curriculums while championing their local cheeses. John was the keynote speaker at the annual awards ceremony and visited almost all of the New Zealand specialist cheese makers.

He resides in Swampscott MA with his wife Nancy and twin sons William and Walter.

Elizabeth Clarke, Peabody, MA

Liz Clarke is a Supervising Cheesemonger and Instructor at Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge, MA. She is currently earning a Master of Arts degree in Gastronomy at Boston University, scheduled to graduate in 2025. A turophile passionate about showcasing the diversity within her cheese case, Liz avidly connects with New England cheesemakers through farm visits, cheesemaking trainings and philanthropic trade shows. She is proud to call herself a Milkmaid since joining the women’s organization Meeting of the Milkmaids in 2024. Future goals include becoming a domestic and international cheese buyer with Formaggio Kitchen.

Steven Murphy, Freeville, NY
Steve Murphy spent most of his career with the Department of Food Science, Cornell University, retiring in August of 2016 after 36 years of service. Steve began his work with Cornell as a laboratory technician performing research in dairy microbiology, chemistry, and quality. He worked his way up to a Sr. Extension Associate position where he coordinated, developed, and participated in extension-based training and outreach programs that addressed milk and dairy product quality and trouble-shooting; laboratory testing methods and interpretation; product sensory evaluation; dairy processing; and food safety. He has served as a judge for the NY State Fair Dairy Product competition for over 20 years and has been an invited technical judge for the American Cheese Society competition (2016-19, 2022); the Big E Competition (2018-19, 2023); and the PA Farm Show (2022-23). Steve has taught numerous HACCP/Food Safety Plan courses; is a Lead Instructor for the FSMA Preventive Controls for Human Foods curriculum; and routinely assists dairy operations with their food safety programs. Throughout his career he has been involved in writing peer reviewed publications and extension based educational handouts for the dairy industry. After retiring from Cornell, Steve served as the Executive Director of the Dairy Practices Council (DPC), a non-profit organization that develops and disseminates educational guidelines for the dairy industry, from Jan 2017 to Dec 2019. Although mostly retired, he is still active with the Cornell Dairy Foods Extension Program as needed for training and outreach; assists small dairy / food operations with food safety plan development; and is active in a number of committees in various dairy/food associations (i.e., DPC, IAFP, NCIMS NYSAFP). Steve has a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and Master of Professional Studies in Food Science, both from Cornell University.

Cheese/Dairy Product Judging Highlights:

• NY State Fair Dairy Product competition for over 20 years
• American Cheese Society competition 2016-19, 2022, Technical Judge
• The Big E Competition 2018-19, Technical Judge
• PA Farm Show 2022-23, Technical Judge
• Conducted Sensory Evaluation Training at numerous courses, Cornell University

Preferred Product Categories:

• Cheddar and similar varieties; including flavored products
• Gouda
• Fresh products such as Cottage Cheese, Ricotta made from milk, Sour Cream, Yogurt
• Others as needed

Stephanie Skinner, Otis, MA

Stephanie launched culture: the word on cheese in 2008 and sold it in 2019. She chairs the first ever ACS MarComm committee, volunteers on historic preservation, grows potatoes and sufficient greens, beans, and peas to feed the local bunnies, deer, and bears in the Berkshires and even has some left over for family and friends.