Elizabeth Hurst fell in love with marketing after falling out of love with the music business. She earned a Bachelor of Science in recording industry management from Middle Tennessee State University and a Master of Science in organizational leadership from Columbus State University. She worked in the Nashville music industry for a while, then landed at a PR and advertising agency, where she instantly felt at home helping clients tell their stories.

Essence Riley came to Dairy MAX motivated to create meaningful experiences for dairy consumers and dairy farmers. She attended both Howard University and Northwestern University, earning a BBA in marketing and an MS in integrated marketing communications. She began her career at Discover Card, has served as an account executive at Schafer Condon Carter in Chicago and came to Dairy MAX in February 2016. She currently lives in Frisco, Texas with her husband, Adrian, son Caleb and daughter Skylar. 

Gina Hernandez has a heart for service and a newfound passion for working with dairy farmers. For 20 years, she worked as an executive assistant, serving Academic Partnerships, Baylor Scott & White Health and The Dallas Morning News. She came to Dairy MAX in June 2016 inspired by the leadership she saw, as well as the hard work shown by dairy farmers. Gina currently lives in Grand Prairie, Texas, and has two children, Jennifer and Austin, and grandchildren, Tyler, Peyton and Michael. 

Toby is the founder of Toby Amidor Nutrition, where she provides nutrition and food safety consulting services for individuals, restaurants and food brands. She is a nutrition expert for FoodNetwork.com, writing for their Healthy Eats blog; a regular contributor to U.S. News and World Report’s Eat + Run blog, Shape.com and MensFitness.com; and an adjunct professor at Teachers College, Columbia University. She also has her own “Ask the Expert” column in Today’s Dietitian magazine. Toby trained as a clinical dietitian at New York University.

John Cass grew up in Friona, TX on a stocker steer and dryland farming operation. He earned a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in animal science from Texas Tech before spending 18 years working in sales and finance at companies including Hoffmann-La Roche, Cargill and Toyota. He came to Dairy MAX in 2014 because he missed the agricultural industry. John currently lives in College Station, TX.  John has two children, one in Jr. High and one in college.

Favorite physical activity:
Camp Gladiator Workouts

Holly Stojanik is all about improving the health of future generations. She earned her Bachelor of Science in nutrition from Texas A&M and served as assistant child nutrition director for Brenham ISD before coming to Dairy MAX in 2012. A member of the Texas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the Texas School Nutrition Association, Holly was named the Young Dietitian of the Year by the Texas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in 2011. Holly also serves as a co-chair of the San Antonio Mayor's Fitness Council Healthy School Committee.