CJ Knowles

CJ Knowles has worked in the food and beverage industry since 2004. In 2004, they worked as a Bottling Line Operator, Tour Guide, and Retailer at Cooperstown Brewing Company. In 2005, they worked in a similar capacity at Ithaca Beer Co. In 2006, they were an Management Information Systems Intern at Jones MediaAmerica, where they developed a SQL solution to collect data that was otherwise collected by cold-calling. In 2008, they worked at PromoSuite as a Director of Business Development, Business Development Manager, and Digital Brand Strategist. In 2020, they worked as a Sales Manager at Ark Foods, where they implemented Salesforce Sales Cloud, along with custom programming and Tableau integration. Currently, they are the Director of QA & Operations at Raaka Chocolate, where they oversee Production, sourcing, food safety and facilities for bean-to-bar chocolate company, and manage Organic, Kosher, Non-GMO and SQF certifications + FDA/FSMA compliance.

CJ Knowles obtained a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Integrated Marketing Communications from Ithaca College between 2004 and 2008. In 2022, Knowles obtained several certifications, including Mastering SQF, Edition 9, SQF Edition 9 Complete Package for the Practitioner, SQF Internal Auditor, HACCP Training for Processors, and Preventive Controls for Human Food from Registrar Corp Online Food Safety Training, NSF International, and the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance (FSPCA).