What makes the 2026 Bee College such a unique and amazing program, is the quality of our local expert speakers. Check them out, learn their background, and get ready to ask your questions.
Dr. Carroll is a USDA-ARS Research Entomologist at the Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Tucson, Arizona who joined the world of honey bees in 2006. He is interested in how honey bee colonies function under bee stressors (poor nutrition/forage, parasites, pathogens, overwintering/seasonal stress, and chemical treatments), and the development of practical solutions to reduce these effects. Honey bees thrive worldwide under a wide range of changing conditions through considerable flexibility and adaptation. Many stressors reduce colony performance and survival through impacts on key colony functions such as brood rearing, queen maintenance, and colony nutrition. A better understanding of how bees respond to stress, and how we can use bee responses to our advantage, is a path to improved beekeeping. He is particularly focused on improving queens, overwintering productivity and nutrition, and Varroa mite control.
Brandon Bryant is a fifth-generation commercial beekeeper from Wyoming, continuing a family tradition in beekeeping that spans more than 115 years.
He operates Bryant Honey, where he has spent his life working with bees and has more than two decades of hands-on experience in commercial beekeeping and queen production. His operation follows the seasonal flow of the industry, producing honey in Wyoming and moving colonies to California each year for almond pollination.
His work includes queen breeding, colony management, pollination services, splitting and rebuilding hives, and selecting for traits such as hygienic behavior, productivity, and overall colony resilience.
Brandon grew up in a family where beekeeping was not just a business, but a way of life. That upbringing gave him an early understanding of both the challenges and rewards of working with bees at a commercial scale. Over the years, he has combined traditional knowledge passed down through generations with modern practices and ongoing experimentation to improve colony health and performance.
Outside of beekeeping, Brandon values time with family and the rural lifestyle that shaped him. He enjoys the balance between hard work in the bee yards and the quieter moments at home, and he remains deeply connected to the land and community that support his work.
Brandon is passionate about the future of beekeeping and believes strongly in sharing knowledge and experience within the industry. He is committed to helping ensure that commercial beekeeping remains sustainable and viable for future generations, while honoring the legacy of those who came before him.
Shauna Bagley is a Program Assistant with USU Extension in Salt Lake County, where she supports Extension programming and has a special focus on beekeeping. She has been a beekeeper for four years and currently manages five hives.
Shauna has completed the Journeyman Level Beekeeping Course through the University of Montana and enjoys sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for honey bees with others. She especially enjoys helping new beekeepers learn how to care for their hives and become confident beekeepers.
Andree’ Walker Bravo is passionate about helping people discover the fascinating world of beekeeping. As a Utah State University Extension faculty member and beekeeper, she oversees the Thriving Hives Beginning Beekeeping Program, manages research and teaching hives, and works to improve pollinator health through education and applied research. She enjoys connecting people with bees, science, and the important role pollinators play in our food systems and communities. Andree’ holds a MS in Watershed Science and is a certified Master Beekeeper through the University of Montana.
Caty Peck is a Certified Master Beekeeper from Draper, Utah. She serves as a Program Assistant with the Utah State University Salt Lake Extension Office, where she supports both the Thriving Hives Beekeeping Program and the Urban Homestead Program. Caty managed hives of her own as well as university hives, and next season she plans to expand her apiary and begin raising honeybee queens. She is passionate about pollinator education and community outreach, sharing her love of honeybees with children and adults alike.
Keith Fielder has had a strong interest in honey bees since the age of six. He has been an invited educational speaker and guest lecturer on apicultural topics at the state, national and international levels. Keith is a Senior Welsh Honey Judge and a Georgia Master Beekeeper. He has served as President of the Georgia Beekeepers Association and was named GBA’s Beekeeper of the Year in 2009. Keith currently serves as Chair of the Georgia Farm Bureau Honeybee Commodity Group. He is employed by the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension as the County Extension Director for Putnam and Hancock Counties, and is a regional apiculture specialist.
As a career educator, Paul enjoys learning and teaching. Paul has been keeping bees as a hobby in Southeast Wyoming since 2015 and has owned and operated Prairie Wind Bee Supply part time since 2018. Working with breeders/suppliers and selling bee packages, nucs, and equipment throughout the region has provided a lot of learning opportunities for beekeeping in the Rocky Mountain region.
Dr. Shearrer earned her PhD in Nutrition from the University of Texas at Austin after completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Wyoming. Dr. Shearrer specializes in maternal and child nutrition behavior.
In 2014 Ms. Thompson and her colleagues noted that there was little pollinator information that was geared towards Wyoming residents. So in 2017 they authored and published “Promoting Pollinators on Your Place – A Wyoming Guide” http://bit.ly/wypollinators Since that time Ms. Thompson has traveled the state speaking with those interested in promoting pollinators.
Jennifer has been interested in native wildflowers since she was a child roaming the tall grass prairie in the Flint Hills of Kansas. She received her B.S. in Agriculture (Horticulture/Plant Science) from Kansas State University, completed a Master’s Degree at the University of Wisconsin, and worked for 9 years with the University of Arizona before taking a position with the University of Wyoming in 2004.
Her interest in the beautiful but tough plants of the Rocky Mountain region has led to over a decade of experimentation with their use (along with adapted introduced plants) in low-input, regionally appropriate landscapes. Along with her own gardens, which contain over 600 native and introduced plant types, she has helped plan, plant and maintain a variety of community spaces.
Amy Smith is a University of Wyoming Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator. Amy has a B.S. in Agroecology from the University of Wyoming, and a MAS in Agronomy from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. Amy has a special place in her heart for entomology. She is a flower enthusiast and is fascinated by the insects that visit them. Amy also works closely with her husband on the family cattle ranch. She is based in Goshen County and can be contacted at asmit207@uwyo.edu
Scott is the University of Wyoming’s extension entomology specialist based in Laramie. Scott’s background includes three years spent working on a farming and ranching operation in Kansas just after high school. He decided there had to be an easier way to make a living and still be a part of agriculture. Returning to his native Wyoming, he received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in entomology. He then worked as a research associate in the College of Agriculture for nine years, helping to developing economical and less environmentally harmful methods for rangeland grasshopper management that is now used all over the western USA. Starting in 2003, his responsibilities changed to the identification of arthropods submitted through the Extension system to UW and providing management recommendations for arthropod pests of all sorts.
An Idaho native, Joddee L. Jacobsen is the University of Wyoming Community Vitality & Health Educator for Natrona County in Casper, WY and CVH Program Leader. She holds an M.A. in Education from the University of Northern Colorado and a B.A. History from Idaho State University.
She has been awarded a John P. Ellobgen grant in Youth Entrepreneurship, Wyoming Food, Fun & 4-Hfocusing on healthy cooking, nutrition, and bringing families together around the dinner table with collaborating UW 4-H Educators and most recently with collaborating colleagues a new program, Ready, Set, Explore, a program designed to inspire outdoor adventures and help families connect. Awards include the Achievement in Service Award, Distinguished Service Award, and the Creative Excellence Award in UW Extension programming. She’s active in her community, Casper Chamber of Commerce, the Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Collaborative, Phi Delta Kappa and Epsilon Sigma Phi. For fun? World travel, good friends, good books, good music, and watching hockey!
Karla Case is the owner and head chef at Kitchen Social and has spent two decades in Casper, WY. She began her career as a Registered Dietitian at the University of Wyoming Extension Office, where she taught nutrition and cooking classes for 14 years. She developed a curriculum called Real Food, which taught people how to reduce highly processed foods and eat more whole, real foods. This is a passion of Karla’s and led to the creation of Meals-to-Go: to help families eat healthy meals at home and not have to depend on highly processed food or fast food.
