A little more about me
Spent the last 3 decades in the food and beverage industry
BA in Marketing from Texas State University at San Marcos
Worked full time and went to college at the same time
Funded my entire undergraduate degree myself
Part of a business competition group in college - Students in Free Enterprise - won national titles for business models
Landed my first sales job with a European beer import company in 2005 because I wouldn’t take no for an answer and kept putting my resume into brewery owner’s hands for over 9 months
Received no formal field sales training, learning the ropes of supplier side sales by the “sink or swim” method
Earned a reputation for myself as a very proactive, brand advocate for my breweries in a male-dominated industry;
Learned how to navigate challenging relationships with beverage wholesalers that underestimated me
Sold imported European beer in a craft heavy market for over 10 years (the epitome of the underdog)
Member of Pink Boots Society since 2013 - Denver Chapter Leader, Chapter Committee Chair, member of the Education Task Force and Membership Task Force
Member of the Brewers Association and the DEI subcommittee; BA Mentor in Leadership, Sales & Distribution, and Marketing & Branding
Certified Crafting A Strategy Consultant
Mother to two boys and a gaggle of pets
Marketing consultant for advertising agencies and state brewery guilds
Member of the American Cider Association
Teaching assistant for the Unversity of Vermont Business of Craft Beer program and Taproom Success Certificate program from Craft Brewery Financial Education
Industry conference speaking engagements include: Craft Beer Professionals, CiderCon, NanoCon, Crafted For Action, Chicago Brewseum Beer Culture Summit, Pink Boots Biennial National Conference, Craft Beverage Expo & Women in Craft, North Carolina Craft Brewers Conference, Colorado Brewers Guild
Member of Women of the Vine & Spirits
Featured on multiple podcasts including Good Beer Matters, Craft Brewery Financial Training, Hop Forward, Fueled by Hops, True Craft Podcast, Lawler Out Loud, Marketing Brewing Co, Built and Brewed
Written work featured in Crafted For All, Craft Brewing Business, The Brewer Magazine, Ekos Craftlab, CODO Beer Branding Trends, and Fintech
Authored 12 digital courses on craft beverage sales, marketing & distribution
Over 60 beverage alcohol companies assisted with an average growth in revenue of 20%
Small business owner and operator for 3 years
One of the founders of the Safe Bars P.A.C.T. Initiative and the Safer Workspaces Initiative
Highly influenced by work from Gino Wickman, Brene Brown, Jim Collins, Jon Acuff, Kelly Diels, C.V. Harquail, andrea maree brown, Gretchen Rubin, and Michael Lewis (yes, the Moneyball guy)