NEW from Pink Boots Society! Webinars will be available as an educational membership benefit and can be accessed On-Demand after the fact.

Upcoming Webinars

Discover the Impelling Benefits of Alternative Funding
Broadcast Date: December 12, 2023| 6:00 PM Central

Register Now!

Join us in this insightful webinar as we delve into these key points, providing practical insights and strategies to help small businesses and entrepreneurs thrive through alternative funding avenues.

What Attendees Will Take Away

Diversifying Funding Streams
Discover the importance of diversification in funding to mitigate risks and explore various alternative sources beyond traditional loans.

Crowdfunding Strategies
Learn effective crowdfunding techniques to engage communities and secure financial support for your business or entrepreneurial ventures.

Grants and Competitions
Explore opportunities in grants and competitions, understanding the application process and leveraging these avenues to fuel your business growth.

Strategic Partnerships
Uncover the power of strategic partnerships and collaborations as a means of acquiring resources and funding, fostering mutually beneficial relationships for sustained success.

 

Panelists

Tranice L. Watts		 Tranice L. Watts is the first Black woman to co-own and operate a craft brewery in the state of Maryland. Her former brewery, Patuxent Brewing Company was also the first craft brewery within Charles County and the only 100% Black-owned brewery taproom in the state of Maryland. Additionally, Ms. Watts is a member of the Brewers Association’s Mentorship & Professional Development subcommittee and the Craft Brewers Conference’s Seminar Subcommittee. In 2020, she was appointed as a co-chair for Charles County, Maryland’s Economic Development Business Outreach Committee where she served her term until moving back to Prince George’s County, MD. Ms. Watts, as a cofounder of Lifting Lucy, was a 2022 recipient of the Baltimore Smart Business Dealmakers of the Year Award for Community Impact. Tranice’s prior history includes a decade as special assistant to Nobel Laureate and environmental scientist, Dr. Robert W. Corell.

Ivonne Simms		 Ivonne Simms has over 18 years of comprehensive experience developing strong programs and relationships to expand educational access. In addition, she has a talent for teaching that has translated successfully from middle school math to adult GED classes, to freshman seminar at a community college.

After relocating to Atlanta, Ivonne took a regional manager role with an educational non-profit. The organization enjoyed tremendous growth under her leadership as she set the tone for their work with over 30 independent schools, numerous organizations, and over 500 families annually.

Ivonne is excited to use her natural gift for connecting with people to train nonprofit leaders with Candid as a Network Engagement Manager. She is particularly interested in creating equitable practices that will help under resourced organizations doing impactful work as a part of the Equitable Access team. Making the world better has always been a motivation in her work.

Ivonne holds degrees from Boston University and Baruch College. When she isn’t exploring new restaurants, singing, or hanging out with her family, you are sure to find her on the tennis court.

 

On-Demand Webinars

Carbon Capture in Fermentation – Case Studies
Broadcast Date: November 28 | 6PM Central

This webinar will be hosted by Amy George, President, Earthly Labs, A Chart Industries Company, and will feature case studies from various sectors, including breweries, wineries, and distilleries. Topics will include:

  • CO2 Usage, Pricing, and Capture Trends
  • New CO2 Capture incentives, rebates, and opportunities
  • CO2 Capture Case Studies in brewing, wineries and distilleries
  • Hardware and software solutions available
  • Best practices

 

Distillers Redefining the Industry
Broadcast Date: October 17, 2023 | 5:30PM Central

 

We have a panel of guests that will share their experiences and insights about being a woman and non-binary women in the distilling industry. Pink Boots Society continues fully supporting our initiative in promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in all fermentables. It is essential to highlight the day-to-day operations and challenges women and non-binary individuals face in this male-dominated industry. We will get to hear about their successes and challenges. This insight and advice could be helpful to others.

According to a 2021 study by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, women make up 27% of the workforce in the spirits industry. This is up from 22% in 2017. The study also found that women are increasingly taking on leadership roles in the industry, with 30% of distilleries now led by women. This session will introduce influential individuals in the Distilling industry who are making an impact to redefine the Spirits market. We will have a dynamic panel that will include Roxanna Tiburolobo Production Lead for Corning and Company, Rikki Kelly, Owner of Ego Tequila, and Heather Bean, Owner of Syntax Distillery.

Attendees will be aware of the following:

  • Increasing the number of women and nonbinary individuals in leadership positions in the distilling industry
  • Creating a more inclusive and welcoming environment for women and nonbinary individuals in the distilling industry
  • Supporting the development of  women and nonbinary entrepreneurs in the distilling industry

At the end of the session, attendees have the ability to effectively apply:

  • Create resolution to challenges learned by being in a male dominated distilling industry
  • Positive correction to stereotypes when speaking to peers in the industry
  • How to effectively advocate for yourself with vendors and suppliers

 

About the Presenters
Natasha DeHart oversees business development, revenue and customer operations, as well as all blending and barrel selection at BENDT Distilling Co. She brings over 25 years of sales and leadership experience with a proven track record of success and “thinking out of the box” solutions.

Prior to BENDT, Natasha spent over seven years in Munich, Germany, holding multiple management and director-level positions at tyntec GmbH, while falling in love with the country and arguably the best beers the world has to offer. When returning to the U.S, her love of hand-crafted beverages quickly grew into an expensive brewing hobby, and later a profession.

Natasha lives with her husband, 3 wild children and former street dog, Coco, in Lewisville, Texas. She’s a Florida State grad and a special needs mom who loves cooking, blending, camping/traveling and of course, whiskey.
At a young age, Rikki Kelly knew that her journey would include entrepreneurship, and in 2017 she began working on Ego Tequila to build a brand centered around quality, consistency and excellence.

As a black business owner in a traditionally-underrepresented industry, it’s important to me that Ego Tequila opens the doors for further representation across the spirits landscape.

In order to do so, Rikki left no stone unturned to launch Ego. We are proud to work with one of the most awarded distillery in Jalisco, Mexico to produce a high-quality 100% agave spirit that allows our customers to explore their preferred flavor profiles, and proudly become loyalists who bring Ego with them for every celebration.
Roxanne Fernandez Tiburolobo is an award winning brewer and distiller of Chiricahua Apache Nde and Rarámuri descent. He has spent the past ten years in the craft beer and spirits production industry and, these days, predominantly specializes in whiskey and grain spirits production at his current role as a production lead/distiller for Corning & Company Distillers/Sonoma Distilling Company in Rohnert Park, CA. He has also done work trying to advocate for greater inclusion and understanding in production spaces for BIPOC, particularly greater Indigenous visibility and inclusion within an industry that has historically had a contentious relationship with, and denied access to Native people. He was a speaker on the first Indigenous-led panel in Tales of the Cocktail history, was a 2022 recipient of the Michael James Jackson Foundation Nearest Green Award for Distilling, and was recently featured as one of the 2023 Imbibe 75.
Heather Bean Bean is the owner and Still Mistress of Syntax Distillery and Cocktail bar, which means that she gets to have all of the fun from making hooch and cocktails to doing construction and cleaning toilets. She started the distillery with her partner Jeff in 2010 after a 15 year mechanical/chemical/software engineering career at a Fortune 100 company (which friends say may have led her to have a fondness for alcohol). Prior to that, Heather completed her K-12 schooling as quickly as possible, from 1980-89, graduating high school at 14 and making her possibly the most 80’s person on the planet. Her hair is still favorably compared to that of the iconic Boy George. Current projects include renovating a 100 year old grain elevator and recommissioning a sexy, copper German column still to replace the original distilling equipment that she built herself.

 

Demystifying Whiskey
Broadcast Date: September 26, 2023 | 6PM Central

Join us for an informative webinar as we learn some of the basics of whiskey from Mary Gonzales, South Texas Market Manager of Uncle Nearest.

Questions to be Addressed Include:

  • What is Whiskey?
  • Why is it sometimes spelled whisky instead of whiskey?
  • What is the distillation process, and key ingredients
  • What distinguishes single malt whisky?
  • Can bourbon be made outside of Kentucky?
  • What is the difference between bourbon, American whiskey, and Tennessee whiskey?

We’ll also hear how Uncle Nearest reflects the diversity of real life with their brand – from their products to the leadership team. Bring your questions as well for an engaging dialogue with our guest speakers, who represents the “Most Awarded Bourbon and American Whiskey of 2019, 2020, and 2021”!

Courageous Conversations:  How to navigate that uncomfortable discussion
Broadcast Date: Saturday July 15, 2023 | 3PM Central

 

You’re not being heard. The Workplace is challenging you on all sides and a dilemma has occurred. Do you just ignore it in hopes that it will go away? Is it even worth talking about it to a peer or staff? In our personal lives, do we have the ability to address an issue? Is turning a blind eye more comfortable?

Our Pink Boots DEIJ committee will discuss and provide insight into having those challenging discussions.

The  webinar will include:

  • An overview of what is a courageous conversation
  • How avoiding the conversation impacts you
  • How to initiate a conversation with a known adversary
  • Be open vulnerability
  • How to proceed after the courageous exchange has occurred
  • Ways to reset if the conversation didn’t yield a positive impact

This will have you encouraged to:

  • Speak your authentic truth
  • Be clear on why the discussion should happen
  • Write it down and make it plain
  • Get Support/Sounding board the subject matter may invoke emotions
  • Learning to see your vulnerability is a courageous action
  • Ensure productive results by the build on for the future

 

A Journey into Yeast Selection and Management for Exceptional Brewing
Broadcast Date: Tuesday, June 27, 2023 | 3PM Central

Join us on Tuesday, June 27, at 3pm Central Time for a presentation on yeast selection, management and more from Mara Young, Co-Owner and Founder of Community Cultures Yeast Lab (“CCYL”).

This educational session will address various topics that came up during our recent Microbes 101 Member Roundtable that are covered in CCYL’s education, including:

  • Buying the yeast strains
  • Selecting pitch rates
  • Harvesting the yeast from the fermenter
  • How to store, manage, check, feed, count, and re-pitch the yeast

This session will also cover multiple generations, when to throw the yeast away, and how to build yourself a small lab to check for viability, cell count, and bacteria.

About the Presenter

In 2016, Mara Young and Rob Green started Texas Cultures Laboratories, now named Community Cultures Yeast Lab. Prior to that, Mara worked for about 15 years in higher education. She was the Director of Biology at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, advising for the School of Math, Science, and Engineering.

Her current role as a Managing Member of Community Cultures Yeast Lab consists of everything on the business side, from the website, marketing, responding to and fulfilling yeast orders, inventory, invoicing, shipping, and everyday operations; to the yeast management side, which consists of daily brewing, cleaning the tanks, keeping stock of the yeast bank, sourcing and developing new yeast strains, as well as lab analysis both for their own quality control, and also for brewery clients who send in beer samples for testing or label approval. Mara is also the chief boss lady of mopping, dishes, and bathroom cleaning

Eye to Eye Happy Hour:  How to make your business accessible for the visually impaired and blind community
Broadcast Date: May 23, 2023 | 6:00 PM Central

Make your business more accessible with just a few clicks! Have you ever imagined what it would be like to see your business through someone else’s eyes? Ever wondered how it would feel if that customer’s eyes didn’t work like everyone else’s?

The  webinar will include:

  • An overview of encounters that Mary faces when attending businesses
  • A guided experience to creating a more accessible website, business, and more!
  • The secrets to create a truly inclusive and accessible space

This will have you empowered to:

  • Create a positive and memorable experience and space that can be enjoyed by everyone
  • Make more thoughtful business decisions
  • Build trust and respect within your local community
  • Continue to educate your team about accessibility challenges
About the Presenter:
Mary Kathryn LeMaster, Speaker, Advocate for the Blind, Accessibility + Mindfulness Consultant + Legally Blind Visionary. Mary’s goal is to spread awareness about blindness, break outdated stereotypes and teach businesses how to make their places and spaces accessible for my community and all disability communities. One out of every three people is visually impaired and is looking for more places that are easily accessible.  Let’s make your space one of them beginning with your website, social media, and physical space. She will show you how!

 

Going from Tasting to Evaluating: Sensory Science Basics
Broadcast Date: April 25, 2023 | 3:00 PM Central

 

We all know how to taste beer, but tasting differs from evaluating. In this webinar, you will learn how to become a better beer evaluator, and you’ll be surprised to learn that it has very little to do with your tastebuds! By understanding the basic principles of Sensory Science, brewers and beer lovers can gain the skills required to become knowledgeable sensory panelists and beer evaluators. You’ll learn what goes on behind the scenes in a well-run sensory panel: the proper sensory methods to use for different objectives, how to account for bias, and the type of training required to gain actionable sensory data. Everything we cover will help you professionalize your tastings and gain confidence when sitting on any sensory panel.

About the Speaker:

Lindsay Barr
DraughtLabs Sensory Software		 Lindsay is the CSO and Founding Partner of DraughtLab Sensory Software where she works with food and beverage companies to apply tasting data to inform Product Development and Quality Control. Lindsay got her start at New Belgium Brewing Company as the Sensory and Consumer Research Specialist. For five years she served as the chair of the American Society of Brewing Chemists Sensory Committee where she co-authored seven new globally adopted sensory evaluation techniques. She holds a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of New Mexico, and a Masters in Food Science and Technology from the University of California, Davis. With DraughtLab, she’s published numerous industry-standard lexicons, including the Beer Flavor Map™, and is continuing to develop tools that make the world a more delicious place.

 

Auto Buying 101 sponsored by  On Tap Credit Union
Broadcast Date: September 20, 2022 | 4:00 PM Central Time

 

When inventory is low, finding the car you want with a good rate can be difficult. Getting pre-approved for financing, doing the necessary research, and negotiating prices are just some of the steps necessary when buying your car. Join the On Tap Credit Union team for tips to guide you on the road to purchasing your next vehicle and what the true cost of ownership really is.

 

Product Lifecycle Management – Building transparency cross-functionally & creating efficiencies with Tia DuHamel of the Cross Flow Group
Broadcast Date: January 17, 2023

 

Tia DuHamel will discuss overseeing the entire life cycle of a product and process of bringing brands to market – from initial concept, to brand registrations, art deadlines, scheduling with production, deadlines of sales assets; all the way to launch in a tap room or shipping to distributor partners. Learn best practices for your business and how to get started introducing new systems into your organization.

This webinar will outline one size in regard to product life cycle does not fill all, and recognize the need for different lead times with each product mix offering.  Attendees will gain a better understanding of their organizations milestones & obstacles, best practices to implement, and introducing new systems to their organizations while garnishing buy in from their teams.

 

The Gravity of Accessibility in our Fermented Beverages Industry Spaces
Broadcast Date: February 21, 2023 | 1:00 PM Central

 

This Webinar is a panel discussion exploring accessibility and how it impacts our society and businesses – in both virtual and brick-and-mortar craft beverage communities. This panel will feature fermented beverage business owners who have made accessibility an integral aspect of their business model.

Attendees will learn the foundation and basics of accessibility, from the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) Accessibility Standards to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (“WCAG”) and Section 508 Standards.

Additional topics to be discussed include:

    • Accessibility challenges in the fermented beverages industry
    • Examples of impactful accommodations and testimonials
    • The basics of an accessibility statement and why your business needs one
    • How universal design can create a more inclusive environment for everyone

Our organization’s Educational Webinar and DEIJ Webinar Series are a vital part of our ongoing commitment and efforts toward providing more educational and DEIJ opportunities to our members and industry featuring topics of interest to our membership.

Cultural Appreciation vs Appropriation: A conversation on honoring our identities the right way
Broadcast Date: March 21, 2023 | 1:00 PM Central

 

We will have a living exposé of people from diverse backgrounds exchanging perspectives –  sharing a true testament of their lifestyle and culture. We will consider Cultural and Lifestyle lexicons that should be considered to be a true reflection of Cultural Appreciation. We will explore the colloquialisms that have been used to gain profit but not empathy for understanding. We will share  practical tips on how to plan and promote an event that celebrates and respects culture in an authentic way. “The beauty of the world lies in the diversity of people”~ Unknown

With a decade of experience in the alcohol industry, a passion for encouraging personal and professional growth, and her trademark wit, Ren Navarro is here to educate, enlighten, and engage. Since launching Beer. Diversity. in 2018, Ren has become a known name at breweries, wineries, distilleries, and beyond. She has given talks on diversity and inclusion at several colleges and countless festivals, panels, radio shows, and podcasts throughout the world. In addition to being a diversity educator, she is a craft beer consultant for bars and restaurants in Ontario and an educator for countless businesses throughout the country.

Beer. Diversity. is more than just a company that educates; it’s a resource built from the passion and love of the industry to do better and be better. Navarro’s experience in public speaking and history in the drinks world, alongside her perspective as a queer Black woman, makes her an essential voice in the work and outreach involved in creating a welcoming and diverse environment for beverage producers and imbibers of all backgrounds.

Taking steps. Wanting change. Having the desire and the tools to put in the work to be an agent of change. That’s what Beer. Diversity. is about. Together we can do better. Together we can be better.

Rachael Engel has been in the brewing industry since 1999, working for breweries up and down the west coast from California to British Columbia. She came out as transgender in 2017 and since then has striven to support women–especially LGBTQIA+ women–in the brewing industry. She had hosted Pink Boots Collab brews annually since 2019 and is a member of both the Pink Boots DEI committee and the Brewers Association DEI education subcommittee. She lives in Poulsbo, Washington with her wife and five cats.

 

 

Angi Thomas a Texan native who has worked in the telecommunications industry for the last 25 years. Her secondary occupation gives focus into the fermentable industry. Her definite passion has been Beer. This happened by sheer accident while helping at a beer festival. Her thirst and curiosity were the two leading factors for her to trying beer. This has flourished her secondary career in Branding.

Angi has been a Brand Ambassador for several organizations. She has been a consultant for sales and marketing for such companies as Bacardi, Maximum Beverage, Pourtastic, Flow Wine Group, Dragon Spirits Marketing, and more. She has been on demand for the last 11 years for companies such as Heineken, Yuengling, Revolver, Constellation, Sugarland, etc.

Angi has had Beer 101 classes for BIWOC who consider themselves “novice” drinkers. This unwavering desire ignited her devotion and continued effort to share knowledge to BIPOC market. Angi has earned her Cicerone Certified Beer Server during the pandemic and currently working toward her BJCP credentials.

Angi is the Moderator for Being Black in Craft. This is a weekly chat on echoes why we must illuminate the need for more BIPOC/BIWOC involvement for all in the Fermentable across the United States and abroad. Angi fulfills roles in the Pink Boot Society Organization as President of Pink Boots North Texas, Pink Boots DEIJ Co-committee Leader, and Pink Boots Volunteer Liaison.

Lindsay Malu Kido founded and runs Beer for Everyone, a media organization that serves to advocate for diversity, inclusion, equity, and justice through education and advocacy. She is a mixed-Indigenous of the Kanaka Maoli and Uchinaanchu nations and part-Japanese. She was born and raised in Hawai’i and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada (unceded lands of the Southern Paiute) in 2014.

Lindsay is in the final semesters of her PhD in Indigenous Education, and my dissertation is entitled: Explorations of Indigenous Body Image & Body Sovereignty: Re-presenting Our Indigenous Selves through Stories and Photography.