The Daphne Zepos Teaching Endowment
The DZTE started in 2012 funding the Daphne Zepos Teaching Award, as a scholarship to grow a squad of cheese professionals who teach about the history, culture, and techniques in making, aging, and selling cheese.
Each year two scholarship recipients go forth to learn about cheese. The scholarships fund expenses related to their research including, travel, living expenses, and more. The recipients will share their learning with industry peers at events like the annual American Cheese Society conference and beyond.The scholarships are funded by the Daphne Zepos Endowment, a 501(c)(3) non-profit.
By donating to this endowment we ensure that 100% of your money goes to the endowment (minus credit card and site fees). The endowment is managed by two co-presidents, a board of directors, and administrators. No funds from the endowment go to pay them. The endowment’s funds are safely invested and their annual returns fund the scholarships. With careful management, we hope the scholarships will be offered in perpetuity.
Our Inspiration
Daphne Zepos was one of the most outspoken, insightful, and dynamic advocates for the cause of traditional cheese here in the U.S. and around the world. Over the last twenty years, Daphne played a prominent role in nearly every major cheese event in the U.S. and Europe. She taught thousands of students, both professional and vocational, at Slow Food's bi-annual Cheese Festival in Bra, Italy, at the College of Marin, the Cheese School of San Francisco, Neal's Yard Dairy in London, and Zingerman's in Ann Arbor. And in the process, helped significantly improve the quality of cheese and the knowledge and understanding of cheese mongering.
From 2002 to 2005, she was a leader in selecting and maturing more than 300 cheeses in Artisanal Premium Cheese Center's pioneering affinage cheese caves in Manhattan, established Artisanal’s Affinage Internship Program, and contributed to creating and running Artisanal’s Cheese Master Class program.
In 2006, Daphne founded the Essex Street Cheese, which imports a small selection of hand-selected cheeses from Europe. Together with her business partner, Kiri Fisher, Zepos and her husband Brad purchased The Cheese School of San Francisco in 2011. It continues to be the only independent institution of its kind in the U.S. dedicated to helping people maximize their enjoyment and appreciation of cheese through education and tasting events.
Daphne served as a board member of the American Cheese Society and did formative work for many years as the Chairperson of the organization's Annual Judging. She was a co-founder of the Cheese of Choice Coalition, an advocacy group dedicated to the preservation of raw milk and artisan cheeses. Daphne was the recipient of the 2012 American Cheese Society's Lifetime Achievement Award.
Daphne’s Legacy
“Daphne’s work to educate retailers, chefs, cheesemongers and cheese makers has contributed enormously to a huge improvement in the quality of the cheese on counters across the country. Her passion, the poetry of her cheese descriptions, her never ending drive for better flavor, for teaching people what makes good cheese good, and for making already-good cheese even better is truly unrivaled.'" Ari Weinzweig, co-founder and CEO of Zingerman’s Community of Businesses in Ann Arbor.
Daphne passed away in San Francisco in the summer of 2012.
Board of Directors & Administrators
Alex Brown
Cheesemonger & Educator
Laura Downey
Owner & Cheesemonger
Felice Thorpe
Consulting Sales Director
Joe Salonia
Sales & Marketing USA
Tyler Hawes
Chief Executive Officer
Aditaya Raghavan
Owner and Head Cheesemaker
Mo Frechette (Treasurer)
Owner
Tess McNamara
Head of Salumi & Formaggi
Josh Windsor
Senior Caves Manager
Administration
Rachel Juhl (Board of Directors - Secretary)
Executive Director
Thomas Perry
Operations Manager
Lauren Collier
Marketing Administrator
Curious about joining the board? You can email us at admin@dzte.org for details.
Advisory Committee
Writing a vision is not the easiest thing, especially one that will have a lasting impact on your life and the greater industry. We know this and we want to help!
Past members of the DZTE Board of Directors and recipients of our awards have volunteered to be available to talk through your ideas, read drafts, and offer constructive feedback to make sure that your application is set up for success. Fill out the form below to have one of our administrators put you in touch with the committee member(s) best suited for your project. Feel free to suggest any specific areas of expertise that you would appreciate guidance with so that we can find you the best support.
