Please see below for a list of speakers for the 2020 Beer Marketing and Tourism Conference in St. Pete/Clearwater, Florida.
Neil Reid, Ph.D. | Professor of Geography and Planning
Dr. Neil Reid is a Professor of Geography and Planning at the University of Toledo. He is an economic geographer, with interests in local economic development. Since 2014, Professor Reid has been researching the growth of the craft brewing industry in the United States and its potential role in helping to revitalize neighborhood economies.
To date he has published over a dozen journal articles and book chapters on the economic geography of craft brewing.
Professor Reid has also delivered invited lectures at conferences in both the United States and other countries. In 2018, he was also an invited speaker at the annual Pint of Science Festival in L’Aquila, Italy. Professor Reid also writes a blog about the beer industry (www.thebeerprofessor.com). This semester he is teaching a graduate seminar titled, ‘The Geography of Beer and Brewing’, at the University of Toledo.
He is currently writing a book titled Agritourism, Wine Tourism, and Craft Beer Tourism: Local Responses to Peripherality Through Tourism Niches.
Dr. Reid will deliver the keynote speech at BMTC20.
Julia Herz | Conference Welcome
Julia is the Craft Beer Program Director for the Brewers Association, co-author of the free CraftBeer.com Beer & Food Course, as well co-author of Beer Pairing (Voyageur Press). She is a life-long homebrewer, BJCP beer judge and Certified Cicerone®. She is also well-known as the dynamic voice of craft beer.
Tim Leffel | Writer, Author, Blogger, Publisher
Tim Leffel is an award-winning writer, author, blogger, and publisher. He runs five travel-related websites and has also written about the intersection of beer and travel for the likes of Imbibe, Global Traveler, Perceptive Travel, Transitions Abroad, USA Today, and the company blogs of Trivago, Viator, and BedandBreakfast.com. He is often invited to speak at travel industry conventions and is the Conference Director for the annual Travel Bloggers Exchange event in North America. He frequently consults with companies on how to work with the media and get more press coverage through cost-effective methods with a high return on investment. See more at TimLeffel.com.
Kenny Gould | Hop Culture Magazine
Kenny Gould is the founder of Hop Culture Magazine and a contributor at Forbes, Thrillist, and Men’s Health. In 2019, he threw 14 craft beer festivals around the country. Follow him online at www.hopculture.com or on Instagram at @hopculturemag.
Eric Kean | Left Hand Brewing
Eric is the Community Outreach and Events Manager for Left Hand Brewing Company and the Executive Director of the Left Hand Brewing Foundation where he oversees the production of 3-4 major beer festivals every year. Prior to his work at Left Hand Brewing Company, Eric worked as the Event Manager for TEDxMileHigh producing the largest ticketed TEDx events in the world, as Operations and Ranch Manager at Planet Bluegrass and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and founded his own concert production and promotion company. Eric also currently serves as the President of the Board of Directors for Visit Longmont and is pursuing his MBA at the University of Colorado Denver.
Rich Owings | Local Is Where It’s At
An Internet marketer since 2005, Rich Owings sold his tech blog in 2014 and now spends his time helping businesses around the world improve their online presence. You can find him online at LocalIsWhereItsAt.com and on Twitter @RichOwings.