The Judges
OUR FIRST Panel
Judge Suzanne Cunningham (Tennessee)
Hailing from beautiful East Tennessee, Suzanne Cunningham is the Secretary and First Lady of Marble City Whisker Society. She started attending comps in 2012 and has placed 20+ times in Whiskerina Creative. In any spare moment you can find Suzanne, hubby DC, and pups Sweet Tater & Waffle Fry on the lake in the summer, in the mountains thru spring and fall, and dreaming of lake and mountain adventures all winter.
Judge Brian Tyler (Maryland)
Brian is the President of the Maryland & Delaware Chapter of the Mad Viking Beard and Mustache Club and Founder of Bearding for Autism Awareness. He competes frequently in the Mid-Atlantic region and has begun winning and placing since moving from full beard over 12" into the Goatee/Partial category. In his free time he enjoys competing in bearding events for charity and furthering the bearding community.
Judge ALICE Jelley (Great Britain)
Alice is vice president of The Wessex Beardsmen and is also a member of Austin Facial Hair Club. She defended her world champion title of Creative Beard in Antwerp last year and is looking forward to attending more competitions since having a baby, moving house and the pandemic has put everything on hold! In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family and husky Luna. She's also a fan of all thing Star Trek and sci-fi.
Photo credit: Bertrand Vessier & Iain Crockart
Judge Casey Lillibridge (Oregon)
Casey Lillibridge here. President of the Central Oregon Mistache & Beard Society from 2016-Present. Extremely honored to be asked to judge RVA's beard competition in these trying times. We have found a way to adapt and overcome a pandemic by thinking outside the box. Our collective devotion to philanthropy, and charity is more important than it ever has been and I can't express enough gratitude.
My bearding accolades include several fundraisers of my own, co-hosting several others in our community with our local police, and fire departments. I have judged several competitions, including high profile comps such as the Moustache and Beard Social Club of Sacramento. My most recent judging accolade includes the @beardedsinnerwashington's onlinecompetition in partnership with Mad Viking. I have spent the last few years competing in business beard with trophies in Sac, Idaho, and with the Portland Beardsman among others. Today, I wear a mustache for the first time in my life of which I plan on competing with in the near future.
My personal life includes a career in Emergency Medicine as an EMT in our local emergency dept., spending time with my amazing wife of 22 years, and challenging myself, both, mentally and physically.
As for the competitors and what I look for as a judge: what is your grooming regimen, how long did it take to make/style your entry, side profiles, necklines, symmetry, and the like? I promise to judge with integrity, passion, fairness, and an appreciation for all that you do.
Judge Mike Wilson (Minnesota)
Mike is the Vice President of The Minnesota Beard & Moustache Coalition. He is the current US National Champion in Full Beard, Styled Moustache 3”-6”, and current 2nd Place GABMC Champion in Full Beard, Styled Moustache. More importantly, Mike has taken pride in the hundreds of thousands of dollars that this community has been raising for countless charities across the country, including The MBMC’s own Novembeard 3 last year that raised over $16,000 for the Twin Cities American Cancer Society. When Mike isn’t participating in the amazing world of bearding, he’s spending time with his two lovely daughters and girlfriend, collecting vinyl records, and trying not to get bitten by alligators on his nipples. Party on!
OUR SECOND Panel
Judge Taxi Phil Jones (Ohio)
Phil Jones is one of the founding members of the Cincinnati Beard Barons and the current president. The club has hosted eight annual charity competitions.
He has judged numerous competitions as well as the 2018 Great American Beard and Mustache Championship which was a great honor. He has competed in multiple competitions across the country since joining the bearding world 15 years ago. He is known for his iconic handlebar mustache which he has been sporting for over 30 years. His favorite thing about the bearding community is the fact that people from all walks of life and different opinions come together for one great cause and that is to raise money for the charities. This is what makes this community great.
Judge Doug Cameron (North Carolina)
Doug Cameron Is the President of Cape Beard: Follicles of Freedom out of Fayetteville NC. In 2014, he became a member a Cape Beard, a Facial Hair Club that promotes charity work for the local community while celebrating the uniqueness of facial hair. Cape Beard has raised over $165,000 over the years through a variety of events put on by the members of the club.
Doug started competing in Natural Goatee and progressed to Partial Freestyling. He has competed in 47 competitions in a variety of cities in, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky and he has competed in Ohio. Doug also competed in Austin TX twice to include competing there for the 2017 Worlds Beard and Moustache Competition and the 2018 Great American Beard and Moustache Championship where he placed in the top 5 in both comps . For all competitions, he has won: 2-Best-in-Show, 28 First Place Awards, 11 Second Place Awards and 4 Third Place Awards. He has judged a several competitions and enjoys the bearded brotherhood and friendly atmosphere of the Bearding community.
Judge Tisha Clinkenbeard (Texas)
A gal from Texas who loves family and traveling, she picked up the bearding bug from watching competitions her husband has participated in since 2016 and seeing all the talented craft bearders’ creations. Then in February 2019 she decided to test her creative talents and began competing in the craft bearding (aka whiskerina creative) category. A year and a half and many competitions later, (including placing 3rd at the World Beard and Mustache Championships in May 2019) she’s planning more craft beards for future competitions as well as having jumped into the judging chair. She kicked off the Texas Craft Whisker Club in December 2019 to encourage and support craft bearding growth in Texas. Tisha is the current President of the Texas Craft Whisker Club, a member of the Austin Facial Hair Club and a Bearded Villains Queen. Most of all she loves sharing the experience with her husband, raising money for the charities, hanging out with her bearding family and pushing the creative side of her imagination.
Judge Emer Smith (Maine)
A long-time fan of facial hair and spectator of bearding events, Emer Smith finally took the plunge into competing a few years ago after enthusiastic encouragement (and helpful tips) from her fellow Whiskerinas as a member of the Maine Facial Hair Club. Her brief and itchy foray into the realistic beard category (boldly going where no Emer had gone before) nabbed her "Best in Show" at the 2019 7th Annual Facial Hair Face-Off hosted by the Greater Hartford Beard and Mustache Club.
Emer was born in Ireland, raised in the Finger Lakes of upstate New York, and currently lives in Maine with her favorite freestyling Maine man Bryce Royal and a very fluffy photogenic Maine coon cat named Simon. During most of her waking hours, she works for her state health department as an infectious disease field epidemiologist (aka "disease detective") - but enjoys spending her free time exploring the great outdoors, eating delicious foods, and watching far too many cute animal videos.
