Speakers for the 2019 Beer Marketing and Tourism Conference in Boise, Idaho | March 26-28 2019.
Daniel Lemin | Digital Marketing Author & Speaker
Daniel Lemin is an acclaimed global speaker, food technology co-founder, digital marketing veteran and author of Manipurated. He cut his teeth at Google on the global marketing team early in his career, but now mentors and consults with organizations like Hilton Hotels, the United Nations (Food & Agriculture Organization), Dole Foods, P.F. Chang’s, Procter & Gamble and Nestle USA.
Daniel is co-founder and chief marke3ng officer at Selectivor, a food intelligence plaporm startup. He is also a strategist with Jay Baer’s Convince & Convert, a consulting firm that helps prominent companies gain and keep more customers through the smart application of technology, social media, and customer service.
His most recent book, Talk Triggers, was released in Oct. 2018 with co-author Jay Baer (Porpolio/Penguin Books USA). Daniel will deliver the keynote speech at BMTC19.
Kevin York | Kevin York Communications
Kevin York is the president of Kevin York Communications, a Boston-area marketing communications agency that focuses on craft alcohol clients. His team of strategists, designers, and writers help breweries, cideries, and wineries tell their story, sell their product, and connect with drinkers through PR, social media, influencer & ambassador programs, design, and more. Prior to starting KYC, Kevin worked at agencies in San Francisco helping clients such as Disney, PlayStation, HP, and Adobe build and execute communications programs.
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.
Scott Vitale | Spigot Labs
Ryan Evans | Bruz Beers
Ryan is a co-founder of Bruz Beers and is responsible for brewery operations. A Colorado native, Ryan has an MBA from the University of Denver and has extensive business experience – having held executive positions in several industries. Also a homebrewer, Ryan discovered Belgian beer while backpacking through Europe and couldn’t get them out of his mind. He returned from his travels with a thirst for Belgian beer and a love for Belgian culture.
An avid outdoor sports enthusiast, Ryan has climbed nearly all of Colorado’s “fourteeners”, Denali in Alaska three times, and is a lover of hiking, camping and backcountry skiing. Last summer, Ryan climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, adding it to the list of famous mountains he has summited.
Will Race | Alaskan Brewing Co.
Will Race has been a part of the Alaskan Brewing Marketing Team for the last six years. Will has been the Marketing Manger for the last four years focusing on bringing the creative and community messaging to Alaskans fans across the US. He graduated from the University of Montana with a B.A. in Communications. Where he was taught to think differently and challenge the natural path forward. He has had the privilege of working amazing jobs and interacting with celebrities like Morgan Freeman and Ted Danson while traveling all over the State of Alaska for work from Barrow to Ketchikan and seeing all the state has to offer. When he’s not dreaming about beer, you might find him working on personal craft projects or leaving behind the mundane aspects of the daily grind playing in the wilderness surrounding Juneau, AK.
Audra Gaiziunas | Brewed for Her Ledger
Audra Gaiziunas is the CEO of Bhramari Brewing Company and Owner of Brewed For Her Ledger in Asheville, North Carolina. She has worked with 160+ breweries and brewpubs over the past 9 years and has served as Bhramari’s CEO the past two. She also served as Dogfish Head’s Controller from 2009 to 2010 and Mother Earth Brewing’s CFO from 2011 to 2014. She teaches Craft Brewery Accounting and Finance through the University of Vermont and University of North Carolina Charlotte. She has spoken at over a dozen conferences, authored articles for The New Brewer and is a nanobrewing columnist for Brew Your Own Magazine.
Andrew Greeley | Off-Centered Innkeeper, Dogfish INN
Andrew Greeley was born and raised in Golden, Colorado and craft beer and travel are in his blood. How else would he have landed in Delaware!? A former HS English teacher and coach, Andrew has been working at Dogfish Head for 7 years in hospitality wearing many hats from seasonal tour guide to Tour and Tasting Room Manager to Off-Centered INNkeeper at the Dogfish INN located in Lewes, Delaware. Andrew was on the ground floor when the INN launched in 2014. He currently sits on the board of the Lewes Chamber of Commerce and is on the board for Southern Delaware Tourism the local DMO (Destination Marketing Organization).
Barry Hansen | Craft Beverage Tour Operators Association
Barry is a former professional brewer and the current COO of City Brew Tours, a Boston-based Inc. 5000 fastest growing company, serving the craft beer communities of seven different cities through brewery tours. Barry is also an integral member on the committee of the CBTOA, a non-profit organized to support craft beverage tour operators and grow their business opportunities by building bridges between its members and the craft beverage, tourism and allied communities around the world.
Ashley Rose Salvitti | BREWVANA
Ashley Rose Salvitti graduated from UNCG with a degree in Art, minor in Psychology with the hopes of going to grad school for Art Therapy, but she quickly realized that beer therapy was a better choice. After moving to Portland Oregon in 2007 and working in the (beer) service industry, she found herself playing tour guide for friends and family that came to visit. She realized it was an overwhelming task to decide where to go with so many choices and decided to take her passion for beer and Portland to the next level to create a brewery tour experience that highlighted the immense selection in a way that was approachable, educational and fun! Working with the breweries, BREWVANA launched in April of 2011 to showcase the vast selection and as the industry has grown, the company has also grown tremendously over the last 8 years. Today BREWVANA employs 6 beer lovers, runs 4 buses, offering both public and private tours, on foot and by bus, 7 days a week. The company has been featured on Start Up TV, Travel Channel, Delta sky magazine, Oregon Beer Growler and CNN. BREWVANA’s vision is to spread craft beer awareness globally, one tasting at a time! Ashley Rose’s role continues to evolve with her business and when she’s not celebrating craft beer on her tours, she enjoys spending time with husband and their daughter, enjoying the outdoors and doodling with paint, of course while sipping on local hand-crafted beer.
Hal Mooney | LA Beer Hop
Hal Mooney started LA Beer Hop in 2012 by selling his car and buying his first bus (“Sue” – named after his grandma). Now, Hal runs the company with his wife Cindy, managing a small team of six Beer Guides and three buses (“Sue”, “Jules”, and “Big Al”). Hal is also a founding member of the CBTOA and serves on its steering committee as the Treasurer for the 2018/2019 year. Hal and his wife are both Certified Cicerones® and incredibly passionate about sharing what they love about craft beer with everyone who comes on the LA Beer Hop.
Paige Francis | Payette Brewing
Originally from California, Paige Francis enrolled at Boise State University in 2009 and made Idaho her new home. Paige studied Marketing and Graphic Design and graduated with her BFA in Graphic Design. She served on the AIGA Board of Directors in various capacities for four years. AIGA is a national professional organization for graphic designers. In addition to recognizing the importance of quality graphic design, Paige is an avid craft beer aficionado.
With Paige’s passion for marketing, design, and craft beer, she knew working in the beer industry would be her dream career. Paige was named one of the “Women to Watch” in the craft beer industry in 2017.
Paige has worked at Payette Brewing for almost six years alongside her husband, who founded the brewery in 2011. Over the years, she has designed packaging, point of sale, merchandise, branding, event collateral and marketing materials, manages the public relations, social media content and campaigns, upcoming beer launches and marketing strategies, etc. Paige wears many hats at the brewery, which make her job interesting, challenging, and a blast!
Catherine Roux | Passport on Tap
Passionate about local economic development, the beer industry, management and new technologies, Catherine Roux, 25, joined her passions to found PSSPRT inc. (2016) which aims to develop a technology for the discovery of local businesses and self-guided experiences. Passport on Tap is the first product launched by Catherine and her team in the Montreal market. Now, she wants to develop her technology and Passport on Tap around the world to support breweries by bringing innovative ways to promote them and change the beer industry. She wants to develop Passport on Tap’s brand to become the best discovery tool for beer traveler.
Meagen Anderson | Sales Manager at Mill 95, Certified Cicerone, Certified BJCP Judge and Beer Quality Fanatic
Meagen Anderson has been in the beer industry for nearly 12 years, spending a decade with the Boston Beer Company (Brewers of Samuel Adams). It was there that she prepared for and passed the Certified Cicerone® exam in 2012, became a Certified Beer Judge, and shortly after took on the role of Beer Education Manager for the company.
In 2017, Meagen was introduced to Mill 95 in Parma, Idaho — a new hop processing and cold storage facility that was breaking ground in Idaho to provide the country’s second largest hop growing region with much needed processing, cold storage, and logistical support. She was drawn to the founder, Jamie Jo Scott, connecting over the authenticity of collaboration between growers, processors, and brewers. As sales manager, her focus is oriented around providing traceability and transparency of hop growing and processing throughout the supply chain, along with serving an unmet need for beer sensory training and personal service.
Taylor Williamson | Boise CVB
Taylor was born and raised in Reno, NV and attended Boise State University from 2010-2014 receiving a degree in political science and communications. He went on to get my master’s degree in Sport Management from the University of San Francisco where I worked for the US Open (golf), Super Bowl 50, and March Madness.
He moved back to Boise after he graduated from USF where he started working with the Boise CVB as the Sports/Convention Sales Manager. Taylor handles the sports market along with alcohol related meetings and events, fraternal and hobby groups and international tourism. He’s am an avid sports fan which gives him a great passion for what he does here at the CVB.
Monica Frost | BC Craft Brewers Guild / BC Ale Trail
Since her first sip of a cloudy Widmer Hefeweizen back in the late 90s Monica has been a craft beer enthusiast, and it became her mission to build a community around it. Her tool of choice – Social Media. Monica has spent a decade working in Communications and Social Media roles across a variety of industries with a focus primarily on the craft beer industry and events. Since 2012 Monica has been the Communications Director of the prestigious, annual BC Beer Awards, an event created to honour and celebrate the BC craft beer industry.
In October 2017 Monica joined the BC Craft Brewers Guild as Communications Manager, and the BC Ale Trail as Social Media and Community Manager. Having worked in travel previously, this exciting joint initiative brought Monica’s many years of varied experience together in her dream role. Monica is proud to continue her work with supporting the craft beer industry and community, and promoting British Columbia craft beer tourism to craft beer fans all over the world.
Ken Beattie | BC Craft Brewers Guild / BC Ale Trail
Ken’s passion for the beer industry began in British Columbia in 1987 when he was hired as a summer student for a brewery. Ken has now spent nearly 30 years in the beer community in British Columbia in various sales management roles with 2 breweries.
Since July 2013, Ken’s role as the Executive Director of BC Craft Brewers Guild, combines his passion and experience in representing over 140 independently owned and operated craft breweries and brewpubs who are currently shaping BC’s beer culture. Ken also works with as the project lead for the BC Ale Trail,is a faculty member of the Kwantlen Polytechnic University Brewing and Brewing Operations program and sits on the board of the Canadian Craft Brewers Association.
Claudia Schmidt | Penn State
Having grown up in Germany where beer culture is ingrained, Claudia has a deep appreciation for a good brew. After getting her PhD in agricultural economics and working as a senior researcher in Canada, Claudia moved to the U.S.A. to further her career. Now an assistant professor at Penn State, Claudia’s research focuses on small-scale agricultural producers and processors. With the support of a grant from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, Claudia will help folks in the PA craft beer industry to measure the value of beer tourism.
Don Littlefield | Brew Bus Tours
Don Littlefield serves as the General Manager of Brew Bus Tours. He manages new business development, creative tour ideas, and social media and digital marketing for the companies in three New England states. Don is a lover of craft beer and an expert at telling the stories of the people and the companies behind the products. His varied background in retail and restaurant management, technology sales, real estate, and non-profit leadership helps to lead the Brew Bus companies towards growth and expansion in order to connect thirsty guests directly to local craft alcohol entrepreneurs. Don has attained his Cicerone Certified Beer Server and is currently studying for his Level 2 certification. He is a lifelong resident of Portland, Maine, a certified Portland History Docent, and proudly serves as the Vice President of the Portland Chapter of the United States Bartenders’ Guild and also on the Board of Directors for Visit Portland.
Samantha Cuellar | Rockhouse Partners & Etix
Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Samantha currently resides in Raleigh, North Carolina. Samantha is a Marketing Specialist at Etix’s in-house client digital marketing team, Rockhouse Partners. Her love for digital marketing began at The University of Texas at San Antonio where she earned her Bachelor Degree in Marketing in 2014. Samantha served on the Board for the Houston Interactive Marketing Association in 2017 and also manages marketing for her father’s business. Samantha’s favorite beer would have to be Lazy Magnolia’s Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale!
Taras Manzie | Lake of the Woods Brewing Company