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I loved this. It's one of the best investments of time and money that I've chosen in my 14 years of owning a bakery. I can't say enough good about the program, the community we formed, the quality of individuals involved, and the content presented. -Amy Corliss, Little Bird Bakeshop

Learn more about the Bakery Leadership Circle. Join us for an information session on

January 13 at 4 pm ET.

Now accepting applications for our next cohort, beginning early March 2025.

There comes a time at every bakery when the goals you aspire to or the challenges you face are just out of reach.

A time when the questions you’re asking change in tone and scope. When your standard ways of solving problems don’t work any more, or you find yourself grappling with the same problems again and again.

Times when technical problems like sourcing ingredients or scheduling production give way to broader challenges like retaining staff, deciding whether to expand, or having a difficult conversation with a team member.

We call these broader issues adaptive challenges, and they require a different set of tools to overcome. Adaptive challenges are often too big to solve on your own; you benefit from having peers and allies looking at the issue along side you.

The Bakery Leadership Circle is an innovative program designed specifically to help bakery owners and operators work through their most important adaptive challenges and achieve success in your business as you define it.

What is the Bakery Leadership Circle?

A three-month program in which a cohort of bakery owners and operators identify, discuss, and develop plans to address their most important adaptive challenges.
An opportunity to learn tools and techniques to improve your leadership and problem-solving skills, while working on your specific adaptive challenges.
Group discussions and written reflections on key leadership skills
A process grounded in a facilitated peer-consulting framework designed to foster mutual growth and learning.
A platform for cultivating a network of trusted peers to support each other long after the workshop ends.

How does it work?

The Circle will meet weekly on Zoom to develop your leadership skills and to work through a facilitated peer consulting exercise. Within the peer consulting exercises, members will identify real-life bakery challenges and the group will share insights to spark new ideas and solutions.

Outside of the Zoom sessions, Circle members will have access to a private discussion forum, where they can share ideas, dig deeper into challenges and receive feedback.

By the end of the workshop, you will develop one or more actionable goals to implement at your bakery. Plus, the Circle will continue to meet for regular updates, helping you stay accountable to take action at your bakery.

Who should participate?

The Circle is for owners and senior-level operators of all types of bakeries that have been in business for at least 3 years and that employ teams of 5 or more employees.

What will you gain from this program?

Improved business operations and performance
Leadership skills
Effective approaches to team management
Improved job quality
A supportive peer group
Clear business goals and a path to achieve them
Clarity and confidence

Tuition for the program is $795.

Apply Now

Want to learn more? Email Karen Bornarth (karen@bbga.org) to schedule a time to talk.

The program has helped me to commit to specific and measurable goals, while at the same time allowing me to re-look at my role in the company I started and embrace a new way of leading as we grow. -Shelby Kibler, Field & Fire

Our Leaders Include:

Hannah Bjornson, Ceres Bakery
Maria Brennan, Victorian Bakery
Whitney Brien, Fleur Bake Shop
Dulce Calderon, Brick Oven Bakery
Chuck Conway, O Bread Bakery
Amy Corliss, Little Bird Bakeshop
Christopher DiPiazza, Mighty Bread Company
Noah Elbers, Orchard Hill Breadworks
Laura Fessenden, Moxie Bread Co.
Scott France, Macrina Bakery
Jessie Frost, Nightingale Breads
Byron Fry, Frys Bakery
Mark Gavigan, Bread And Flours
Randy George, Red Hen Baking Company
Travis Gerjets, Prairie Sky Breads

Ian Herrington, Leavened Cleveland
Nathan Houge, Brake Bread
Andrew Hutchison, Madison Sourdough Bakery & Cafe
Tim Kastner, The Bread Lab at Patisserie 46
Shelby Kibler, Field & Fire
Katie Kopsick, Bolivar Bread
Angela Kora, Ethos Bakery & Stone Mill
Gonzalo Lanao Tapia, Bread Alone
Erica Leahy, Three Daughters Baking
Viv Lee, Leftie Lee’s
Gillian Lundgren, Black Jet Baking Co.
Nicole Marie, Bakery at Magpie
Nicole Martin, Central Illinois Bakehouse
Kevin Masse, Small State Provisions

Claire Meneely, Dozen Bakery
Amanda Michael, Jane the Bakery
Aaron Quint, Kingston Bread Lab
Dominic Romano, Romano Family Food Services
Lisa Romano, Romano Family Food Services
Carly Rossmeissl, Madison Sourdough
Carlos Ruiz, El Horno de Pane
Holly Showalter, Wild Oats Baking
Kristin Ryall, Bread and Flours
Adam Snow, Beans & Bagels
Matthew Stinson, Stinson Breads
Sarah Stone, Honey and Rye Bakehouse
Tara Tanjasiri, Crema Artisan Bakers
Ben Traore, See and Be Kitchen

My biggest desire/need was a sense of connection with peers, and a sense that I am "on the right track" within the larger industry. The BLC has very much provided those things. -Sarah Stone, Honey and Rye Bakehouse

Program Facilitators:

Mark Dyck is the creator and host of Rise Up! The Baker Podcast featuring conversations with professional bakers and bakery owners from around the world. He is the founder of Bakers4Bakers.org, a global community of bakery owners working together to build successful, sustainable bakeries.

A Guild member since 2008, Mark previously owned Orange Boot Bakery in Regina, Saskatchewan with his wife Cindy. He later ran a ‘secret’ brick oven bakery for a private group of friends and neighbours.

Mark is an experienced facilitator and coach, helping leaders tell better stories and make meaningful change. He has a wealth of experience in building safe, inclusive online spaces that enable participants to be open, vulnerable and build strong peer relationships. Mark was a coach at the altMBA program from 2018 - 2022 and was Head Coach of the Story Skills Workshop for the first eight sessions of the program. In 2018, he was co-founder and Chief Community Advocate of The Right Company, an online community for creative entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Karen Bornarth is Executive Director of the Guild, and has been a member for more than 20 years. In her work, she supports bakery owners and professional bakers to achieve success in their baking practices and businesses through education, training and community-building events.

Before joining the Guild as ED, Karen spent 8 years with Hot Bread Kitchen, a nonprofit in New York City. At HBK she developed an initiative to improve job quality and business performance in small food businesses, and oversaw a team to design and deliver a dynamic workforce development program.

Karen launched her career at Guild member bakery Amy’s Bread where she worked her way up from packer to supervisor while teaching part-time at the Artisan Baking Center. The French Culinary Institute provided her the opportunity to focus her passion for teaching; she spent five years as the lead instructor and coordinator of their bread department, improving the curriculum and creating new classes for both professional and amateur students. She also worked for four years at Le Pain Quotidien, where she managed its Bleecker Street demonstration and teaching bakery, and then transitioned to product development, quality control and training on a national level.

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Questions about membership? Please contact us:

The Bread Bakers Guild of America
P.O. Box 8679
Cranston, RI 02920

T - 707.935.1468
E - info@bbga.org

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