FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Join the CSU College of Business Beverage Business Institute and title sponsor Bell’s Brewery for a live Zoom event to talk with beverage industry professionals taking action to change the industry’s diversity landscape. Panelists will share their perspectives on where we are today in beer and wine as well as what their companies are doing to improve equity and inclusion in the industry. This will be an open discussion with idea sharing and Q&A encouraged.
Grab your favorite beverage, log on and learn how you can implement these practices and share how the practices that you have going on in your business are working!
Featured beverage industry panelists
Jay Maddock
Jay Maddock is the Equity and Inclusion Specialist at Bell’s Brewery. Prior to this role he was the Executive Director for OutFront Kalamazoo, the LGBTQ community center serving Southwest Michigan. Over the last 10 years he has partnered and collaborated with nonprofits, schools, and other agencies on social justice work. Maddock is currently pursuing his master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Western Michigan University.
Maryam Ahmed
Maryam has spent over ten years in the hospitality industry. Maryam owns a collaborative consulting firm, Maryam + Company, that specializes in project management, programs and experiences, and strategic planning for hospitality businesses with a focus on the world of food and wine. Before launching her business, she spent five years as a director and intrapreneur at the Culinary Institute of America. Maryam’s team of thirty created unique educational and experiential programs for the public and the wine trade. Most often, Maryam’s work takes place at the intersection of chefs, sommeliers, activists, sustainability experts, creatives, and organizations focused on equitable access and diversity within their communities. Maryam is a graduate of Cornell’s Hotel School (2011) and the Walla Walla Enology & Viticulture program (2015). She is an active member of the San Francisco Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier, a member of the board of The Symposium for Professional Wine Writers, and the creator of the biannual Diversity in Wine Leadership Forum.
Patrice M. Palmer
Patrice M. Palmer (they/them/theirs pronouns) hails from both the Sea Islands of South Carolina & Detroit, Michigan. They are a doctoral candidate in the School of Education at Baylor University where their work revolves around gender variance, workplace inclusion, intersectional leadership and social responsibility. Patrice is a TEDx speaker, co-author, motivational leadership coach and sought after keynote. Patrice combines cultural storytelling and academic theory with personal narratives to create a new socio-cultural framework for challenging how DEI shows up in the workplace. Patrice is an internationally renowned scholar joining as a United States fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) of London in 2020. Patrice is an adjunct faculty member at Colorado State University and currently serve as the Director of Social and Cultural Inclusion for the College of Business. That position is jointly held with New Belgium Brewing Company’s DEI Specialist role. This partnership marks the first U.S. craft beer position connected with an AACSB accredited business administrator role. Currently Patrice serves as the only DEI Specialist in the U.S. craft beer industry with this joint designation.
Patrice is also a Cicerone Program Certified Beer Server and was recognized in 2020 by Hop Culture Magazine as one of the Most Important Voices in Craft Beer for their contribution to diversity, equity and inclusion within the industry. Patrice has been featured in Imbibe magazine, Good Beer Hunting, 5280 magazine and has sat as an expert diversity panelist for Chicago BREWseum’s Beer Culture Summit “Putting in the Work” as well as the keynote for the 2020 Hop Culture Magazine ‘Beers With(out) Beards’ virtual beer conference. They most recently joined the Board of Advisors for xotv Global, Inc. to assist in building their social media platform through an exclusive lens.
Jennifer Valencia
Jennifer Valencia covers the state of Colorado as the Business Development Manager for the E & J Gallo Winery. Jennifer started her career in 2010 in Dallas, Texas and after 10 years with the Gallo Winery, she has gained experience in both the retail and on-premise channels of the alcohol beverage industry. As an active member and leadership position holder in both Women of the Wine & Spirits and LA CASA employee resource groups, she is active in promoting D & I in the alcohol industry. Jennifer lives outside of Denver with her husband and her two young sons, Knox (5) and Miles (1.5).
APRIL 28 2P PST / 3-4:30 MST / 5P EST ONLINE EVENT
Registration
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— CSU College of Business Beverage Business Institute
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