Eight industry members are the latest to be awarded scholarships from the Michael James Jackson Foundation for Brewing and Distilling (MJF), a foundation meant to further the careers of Black, Indigenous and people of color in the brewing and distilling industries.
Founded by Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver in 2020, the MJF has awarded scholarships to more than 44 recipients over the past four years, helping further their careers through professional education and mentorship.
MJF offers two scholarships options:
- The Sir Geoff Palmer Scholarship Award for Brewing, offering funding for tuition and course materials for “well-recognized practical courses in brewing science and technology,” according to the MJF website. Recognized programs include, but are not limited to, the Master Brewers Association of the Americas (MBAA), American Brewers Guild, UC Davis, The Siebel Institute of Technology and Heriot-Watt University (Edinburgh);
- And the Nearest Green Scholarship Award for Distilling, named for the first “head stiller” of the Jack Daniel’s Distillery, which funds education in the “science and technology of distillation.”
Scholarship recipients are also assigned an industry mentor who provides “hands-on coaching on professional development and career advancement.”
“It’s incredible to look back on four years and know that with the help of like-minded organizations and individuals, we’ve been able to provide more than 40 scholarship opportunities for BIPOC individuals to further their careers in brewing and distilling,” Oliver said in a press release.
“We certainly couldn’t do it without the help of our funding partners, though,” he continued. “To help contextualize these technical education programs, a single course can cost up to $27,000. It’s an investment into the future of these people, not only to receive the best brewing and distilling education in the world, but to eventually become leaders in their own rights.”
The latest cohort of recipients include:
Ari Ballard, a New Orleans native who is pursuing her distilling license. Ballard is also a member of Turning Tables, a non-profit organization that “advocates for equity in the hospitality industry” and provides “mentorship and educational tools for the Black and Brown communities of New Orleans.”
Harold Dale Jr., a first-generation African/Korean American whose craft beer career started in packaging and distribution at a New Orleans brewery. He began brewing professionally in 2023 as an assistant brewer at Brewery St. X in New Orleans, and is now “responsible for all cellar work and is the in-house brewer.”
Yvette De Luna, a first-generation Mexican American who started her craft beer career as a barback at Art District Brewing in Los Angeles. De Luna is now at Highland Park Brewery, serving as lead brewer for both of its Los Angeles facilities, and an active member of the Pink Boots Society, a non-profit organization supporting women and non-binary people in the industry.
Carlos Fernandez, who started homebrewing after discovering “what beer could be” during a job at a pizza parlor with 16 tap handles. He got his first brewery job “soon after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted” and is hoping to be a professional brewer after furthering his education through the MJF scholarship program.
Erin Lee, a former fashion designer and certified Tea Sommelier born in Toronto, Canada. Lee intends to become a master blender, expanding on the distilling knowledge she already gained as an intern for STEPUP, a foundation providing training and entrepreneurship opportunities to underrepresented professionals in the spirits industry, and as a distiller at FEW Spirits in Chicago.
Greg Mendez, a first-generation Mexican American who has worked in the craft beer industry since 2015 and is now a shift brewer at Brewery X in Anaheim, California. Menedez also noted in a testimonial that “it has been a journey to learn in this industry, especially being autistic and dyslexic, which requires him to approach mastering his role a bit differently.
Jacob Meza, a Chicago native who grew a passion for craft beer from attending small beer festivals and later homebrewing. He started his professional career in the industry as a delivery driver for Lake Effect Brewing and later became an assistant brewer for District Brew Yards.
“My goal is to eventually have a family-owned brewery that is inclusive to people of all backgrounds,” Meza said in a MJF post on Instagram.
Tyler Sadler, a California native and full-time brewer at Shadow Grove Brewing in San Fernando. Sadler started her brewing career as a homebrewer, joining the Social Cerveceros homebrew club in 2019. She has worked at a homebrew supply store, hosted a brewing podcast, and worked her way up in six months from a beertender at Shadow Grove, to now overseeing daily brewing operations.
The first round of MJF scholarships were awarded in April 2021 to five recipients out of more than 100 applicants. At the time, Oliver told Brewbound that scholarship winners not only receive financial help to further their education, but get networking opportunities that can be just as vital to advance in the industry.
“You’re not going to go out on [the job site] Monster or something and see brewing jobs,” Oliver said. “A lot of these things are word of mouth, friends of friends, all these things. And if people are not in these social networks, and in these networks of access, they will never even find out about these jobs in many cases, never mind being able to qualify for them.”
The MJF’s annual budget for tuition is $100,000, with the organization planning to spend the full budget, a spokesperson told Brewbound. The foundation has also launched its third annual matching challenge, a crowdfunding campaign co-run by ProBrewer, to help raise funds for scholarships.
The 2024 matching challenge launched March 21, with Pinhook Bourbon, Athletic Brewing and Lallemand committing to match the first $100,000 in donations made through April 23, the start of the Brewers Association’s (BA) Craft Brewers Conference. That equates to more than $200,000 in additional funding for technical education.
“Fewer than 2% of brewhouse personnel in the United States are people of color,” MJF wrote on its campaign page. “Meanwhile, people of color make up more than 40% of the U.S. population, many of whom are deeply passionate about the brewing and distilling arts.
“A diverse, inclusive and equitable brewing industry is a healthy brewing industry, and it’s what we all want to see.”