The Pink Boots Society is excited to announce the five Crafting A Strategy national recipients: Shalanda Jackson, Melisa Lizarraga, Liliana Madrid, Josefina Rosario, and Callie Tuschen.
Shalanda Jackson joined the Philadelphia Chapter last summer and immediately started attending as many Pink Boots meetings and activities as possible. She participated in the Yakima Chief Hops Blend 2021 Zoom call, where the hops were selected for the 2021 Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day®. She has now taken on an additional volunteering role within Pink Boots as a member of the Membership Task Force. Shalanda believes that the Crafting A Strategy membership is a great learning opportunity because it is a global online learning platform that will allow her to have more insight into the brewing industry. One of her professional goals is to take her career overseas, and this membership will help make that goal a reality. She is also looking forward to attending the USciences Brewing Science Certification program in the fall of 2021 to further her brewing education.
Melisa Lizarraga began her craft brewing journey in 2015 at Thirsty Monk Brewery, where she achieved her Cicerone Level 1: Certified Beer Server Certificate. Shortly after, she moved to Colorado and joined Cerberus Brewing Company when they first opened their doors. She was responsible for coordinating with the assistant brewer to create an educational program for staff. In the spring of 2020, she moved to Montana, where she is currently an assistant manager at Cranky Sam Public House. Melisa has brought her previous knowledge and experience to help educate staff by providing resources and even created a Beer 101 guide. She recently started to write for a state-wide beer magazine, Montana Craft Beer Connection, where she will coordinate with the editor to create a quarterly piece featuring women and other minorities in the brewing industry. Melisa feels like the Crafting A Strategy membership is not only an investment in herself but also an investment in her community and that the tools she will gain from this opportunity will help her be a better educator.

Liliana Madrid is a first-generation Mexican-American born and raised in California until she moved to Midwest about three years ago. At that time, her new home had only one brewery, and the nearest Pink Boots Chapter was over 100 miles away. Despite the 4+ hour drive, her first interaction with the Chapter was during their Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day®, and she couldn’t wait to share what she had learned as well as their creation with her new brewery when she returned. She is currently a Beertender at Jackson Street Brewery, which is now 1 of 3 (and counting!) breweries in Sioux City, IA. She believes that the Crafting A Strategy membership will help her grow alongside these up-and-coming breweries and help bridge the gaps between gender inequalities and minority representation, not only locally but also within the entire beer industry. She looks forward to working more closely with other women in the brewing field and gaining more knowledge to bring communities together.
Josefina Rosario-Simone grew up in the Dominican Republic, where she learned many life lessons through an islander’s lens. At a young age, she was told that she had physical barriers and was told that any expressive profession would not be worthwhile. Still, the island life taught her to have a positive “can-do attitude” and strive for a way for her to express herself. She studied as an architect to find an “approved” profession where she could express herself through art, but she was left craving more. In 2009, she moved to Spain and learned what life was like off the island. She now has had more opportunities to connect with different regions and to experience different cultures’ perspectives, and she was now able to travel around Europe, particularly in Belgium, where her exchange-student sister lived. Josefina moved to the U.S. and took her first homebrewing class in 2017. With the ability to design her own recipes, she has found new ways to express herself through beer. She truly believes that beer is an art form, an expression, and should not be limited to culture, race, or gender. Josefina aspires to inspire more females in the brewing industry, particularly within Pink Boots and the Latina Community worldwide. She is currently a beertender at Four City Brewery in New Jersey.
Callie Tuschen is co-owner of Buffalo Ridge Brewing Project, a 5-barrel brewery located in Hartford, South Dakota. After being open for only a year, Buffalo Ridge Brewing Project was recognized for its charitable giving and was named Hartford’s Chamber of Commerce: 2020 Business of the Year! They are very community orientated and are both pet and family-friendly. Callie has been called “a mover and a shaker” by local community members, which she believes is due to her passion for putting people first, and stepped into a “community leader” role without even realizing it. The Crafting A Strategy membership stood out to her as an incredible resource to help guide her through the new adventure of owning a brewery. Callie believes that she will gain the confidence and knowledge to help put Buffalo Ridge Brewery on the map for leadership, innovation, and community-focused growth. She also a pioneer by helping start the Pink Boots South Dakota Chapter.
Crafting A Strategy (CAS) is a global online learning platform available to scholarship recipients for one year. Used in universities and breweries worldwide, CAS has over 150 digital content pieces specific to the business needs of brewing entrepreneurs. These include podcasts, webinars, case studies, white papers, instructional videos, blogs, and a professional forum. Scholarship recipients will also receive a weekly CAS newsletter with industry analysis, advice, and links to new content and forums.
