Jennifer Breckner is director of programs and special projects for the strategic initiatives group at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA). In this role, Jennifer oversees a portfolio of conferences, collaboratives, and other thought leadership initiatives centered on foodservice operator education, sustainability, culinary innovation, and global cultural food connections. Through her work in writing, communications, education, and event production, she has promoted everything from architecture, design, and art, to sustainable farming, agrobiodiversity, and craft beer and malt. Desiring a place where both food and art could co-mingle in the cultural realm, she obtained a master’s degree in arts administration and policy, and a master’s degree in art history, theory, and criticism, both from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where her research focused on meals constructed by artists as art. A Cicerone certified beer server, Jennifer conducted beer education classes and brand engagement on behalf of Brooklyn Brewery in the Chicago market and has served as a long time volunteer with Slow Food, co-founding Slow Beer, and producing events in the U.S. and Italy. Jennifer has worked to elevate small grains within the context of local food systems as communications and outreach manager for Artisan Grain Collaborative in the Midwest, and as marketing and communications associate with The North American Craft Maltsters Guild. A life-long Midwesterner, Jennifer finally escaped the Chicago winter by packing up a mini-van in March 2021 and driving across the country to Northern California to start a new life in the sunshine. @jenniferbreckner