I have had the chance to work in small town brewpubs, a production brewery, a global corporation (as the only brewer in a company of over 300,000 employees), and now as a brewer and professor on the college level. That coupled with my time on the board of the NYSBA have given me a lot of experience bringing together different interests (people, departments, and corporations) to unite behind common goals and promote the brewing industry.

In my 9 years on the board of the NYSBA I’m incredibly proud of the growth we’ve undergone. I have been involved with creating our own NY craft beer competition which has grown to over 1400 entries annually, our successful NYS Brewers Conference, advocating for legislation to protect and promote NY beer, and most recently the implementation of a strategic plan with financial, legislative, and marketing goals to guide the NYSBA into the future.

The BA can be a valuable resource by continuing to provide guidance and resources to its members and state guilds. The BA is uniquely positioned to provide access to information and expertise that most breweries would not be able to get for themselves while also continuing to advocate for brewery friendly national legislation and support efforts at the state level.

We are unique place as an industry given our past growth and success. I feel there is clear opportunity to grow our community by diversifying to reach new customers while also focusing on the things that made craft beer successful in the first place! That might mean n/a, low-alc or non-beer products, but I also believe we need to embrace helping customers learn about beer and the wide range of flavors that craft beer represents.

I am committed to representing all breweries, especially the smallest—the heart and majority of BA membership. As a very small brewery owner, I understand the unique challenges we face, from limited resources to distribution hurdles. I bring our voices forward to ensure policies, programs, and advocacy reflect our needs. My goal is to protect independence, promote sustainability, and build a stronger, more inclusive craft beer community where all breweries can thrive, grow, and be heard.

In my years as Taprooms Director on the BA Board, I’m most proud of helping create the Taproom Resource Guide—a comprehensive, searchable collection of curated playlists designed to support taproom breweries at every stage. From opening a new location to improving operations, this guide offers practical, accessible information tailored to our needs. It’s a meaningful achievement that empowers the largest segment of BA membership, helping small, independent breweries thrive in an evolving and competitive market.

The Brewers Association supports members with business resources, operational guidance, and market insights. Through national lobbying, the BA advocates for fair regulations that benefit small, independent brewers. In a rapidly evolving industry, it helps members explore inclusive beverage options like non-alcoholic or beyond-beer offerings. BA events foster education, camaraderie, and inspiration—helping brewery owners strengthen their businesses, connect with peers, and feel supported within a vibrant, collaborative community of craft beer professionals.

The biggest opportunities for small and independent craft brewers lie in deepening local connections, embracing direct-to-consumer models, and innovating with inclusive beverage options like non-alcoholic or alternative brews. By focusing on authenticity, community engagement, and unique taproom experiences, small brewers can build strong, loyal followings. Additionally, expanding education, sustainability practices, and collaboration within the craft community offers long-term growth and resilience in a rapidly evolving marketplace.

I’ve led successful teams in aerospace, healthcare technology, and the defense industries, ranging from 10 to 300 engineers. I’m a mechanical engineer turned global executive, who grew tired of corporate culture and pursued my passion in craft beer. The training and skills I developed in my previous career have proven invaluable when running a small business, especially when coupled with my ability to fix just about anything electro-mechanical in the cellar!

I believe my experiences leading in technical, regulated, and financially challenging industries provides the acumen needed to represent taproom brewers on the board. I’ve led teams on multi-year product developments that were released on time, despite numerous regulatory challenges, manufacturing setbacks, and budget constraints. The challenges my state guild seeks to address have not aligned with my vision for taproom-focused brewers, and I feel my past experience is better applied at the national level.

We need to look at a multi-year strategic roadmap (not unlike a tech startup) as the industry matures and resizes. Start with focus groups in targeted demographics that aren’t currently consuming craft beer. Translate this to multi-year strategies for the industry – create tools, develop seminars, facilitate networking, and lead coaching for individual brewers. Much of the content and programming today at the state and national levels are tailored to making things other than beer, or to larger distribution-focused breweries.

There’s an entire generation that is at risk of never embracing craft beer. These potential consumers are largely uninterested in the regionally produced craft beer that permeates every bar, restaurant, liquor store, stadium, and festival. Smaller taproom brewers have the flexibility, innovation, cost structure, and unique social spaces to grab the attention of this generation before they are forever lost to THC and RTDs, and prevent further erosion of our market share down the road.

Before brewing, I was in automotive manufacturing engineering, and plant leadership for 33 years. So despite only having a few employees and small mfg operation here for brewing, I’ve been in charge of hundreds of employees, multiple departments, and helped to set strategic direction for a $100M company. I was regularly applying advanced decision making, problem solving and planning tools, budget responsibilities, etc…

Our input this year at the technical summit, we focused our strategic planning and targeted whether items were advantageous for small breweries. Being the only small brewer in the room, I was consulted on almost every topic on whether or not it was specially relevant for small breweries or not. I was very engaged and it was an incredible opportunity to represent all my small brewery brethren.

Listen. Educate. Help. From the small brewers standpoint, you typically have an owner or very small staff, where they’re wearing a lot of hats, and are not necessarily masters at many of them. Business acumen is typically low, they’ve gotten in for the love of beer / brewing, and are typically over their head in many areas. When it’s possible to catch their time, make the training poignant and efficient.

Understanding where their growth potential is and how to navigate or capitalize on it. How to capitalize on “beyond beer” items and food in their taprooms if possible. Having a better understanding of modern day advertising/ media, optimizing their manufacturing / brewing practices from a process and recipe design standpoint. Leverage your small, personal, community focused location. Weed through trends, incorporating as necessary without losing sight of quality beer.