Apply for the 2025 Annual Conference Scholarships

The ACS 2025 Annual Conference in Sacramento is this summer and ACEF is offering amazing scholarships to get you there! We’re giving away a mix of full scholarships (covering registration, travel, and hotel) and partial scholarships (registration only) for cheesemakers, retailers, chefs, students, and cheese professionals.

Our scholarships are a great opportunity for those who might not be able to afford the conference, where you’ll have access to incredible educational opportunities and industry insights.

Don’t miss out – apply by March 31st and get ready for the ultimate cheese experience!

The Alison Leber Memorial Scholarship

The Alison Leber Memorial Scholarship is sponsored by Beecher’s Handmade Cheese. Open to employees of food retailers who are interested in attending the ACS Annual Conference, the scholarship covers costs for one person to attend the ACS Annual Conference, including conference registration fees, hotel room, and travel to and from the conference.

*NEW THIS YEAR* California Milk Advisory Board Scholarship for Cheesemongers

There will be 3 recipients for this full conference scholarship: 1 independent cheesemonger, 1 retail cheesemonger, 1 BIPOC/LGBTQIA+ cheesemonger. The California Milk Advisory Board Scholarship for Cheesemongers is focused on promoting education and providing opportunities for mongers from all walks of life. California is a melting pot of diversity – from its population and landscape, to dairy farming styles and cheesemaker offerings. Regardless of where mongers live today, CMAB is committed to fostering education, promoting artisan cheesemakers, and empowering mongers. This scholarship covers costs for three people to attend the ACS Annual Conference, including conference registration fees, hotel room, and travel to and from the conference.

Applicants must submit a short letter explaining how they first got into cheese, what they love about it, and how they are making an impact in the cheese community in the optional field on the application.

The Certified in Cheese Scholarship

The Certified in Cheese Scholarship was started by the industry to improve access to the ACS certification exams. This fund gives a cheese professional with certification ambition a boost to reach their goals. Crowdfunding for and by cheese professionals across the industry has paved the way for one certification seeker to elevate their career in the world of cheese. The scholarship will cover costs for one person to attend the ACS conference, including conference registration fees, hotel, and travel, as well as the exam fee for either the ACS CCP® exam or T.A.S.T.E. Test®.

*NEW THIS YEAR* The Cielo Peralta Scholarship

Rob and Nina Kaufelt are pleased to present this new scholarship for 2025 in honor of the great cheesemonger Cielo Peralta.  Cielo Peralta, during his many years behind the cheese counter at Murray’s Cheese flagship store, on Bleecker Street in New York’s  Greenwich Village, was perhaps the finest cheesemonger in America. His clients were known to wait for him exclusively to help them select the very best cheeses. Among these clients were Justice Sonya Sotamayor, Whoopi Goldberg, and Martha Stewart. He was a trained cheesemaker, too, and served on the first American team to compete in the World Cheesemonger Contest in Lyon, France. Cielo, a proud American citizen, retired to his country of origin, the Dominican Republic.

Open to any cheesemonger attending the ACS Annual Conference, the scholarship will cover costs for one person to attend the ACS conference, including conference registration fees, hotel, and travel.

The Comté Association Conference Fund

The Comté Association Conference Fund is open to all applicants who have been accepted for this year’s Certified Cheese Professional® (CCP) exam and seek to attend the ACS annual conference. The Comté Association Conference Fund will cover the cost of one full conference registration per recipient.

The Forever Cheese Scholarship for Cheesemongers

The Forever Cheese Scholarship for Cheesemongers is open to cheesemongers who wish to attend the ACS annual conference. The scholarship is open to all those employed as a cheesemonger at the time of application and whose employer must not be providing financial support for them to attend the conference. This scholarship will cover costs for one person to attend the ACS conference, including registration fees, hotel, and travel. It will also cover the cost of the ACS CCP™ exam or T.A.S.T.E. Test®, if applicable.

To apply, applicants should submit a short letter explaining how they are making an impact in the cheese community in the optional field on the ACS & ACEF Scholarship application.

The Isigny Sainte Mère Scholarship

The Isigny Sainte Mère Scholarship was created with the hopes of promoting education and opportunities in cheese. It is open to anyone interested in attending the ACS Annual Conference. The scholarship will cover costs for one person to attend the ACS conference, including conference registration fees, hotel, and travel.

The Kiri Fisher Memorial Scholarship

Kiri Fisher, owner of the Cheese School of San Francisco and Fisher’s Cheese + Wine, passed away April 26, 2024 from complications from pancreatic cancer. Kiri’s entrepreneurial spirit, grit and keen eye for aesthetics are honored through the Kiri Fisher Memorial Scholarship which will sponsor an individual to attend the ACS annual conference, including conference registration, hotel, and travel. This scholarship is new to 2024.

The Peterson Company Scholarship for BIPOC Advancement
ACEF is continuing The Peterson Company Scholarship for BIPOC Advancement to fund an Individual membership with ACS for the year, attendance to this year’s ACS Conference, including registration fees, hotel, and travel, and the fee to take this year’s Certified Cheese Professional® Exam. Applicants must identify as a Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color and have been accepted to take this year’s ACS CCP® exam.

APPLY NOW