Pictured: Kayla Stinnett (upper left), Tiffany J. Pilson (lower left), Caitlyn Jordan (upper center), LaShanda Poteat (lower center), Aline Duarte Correa de Brito (upper right), Elia Gomez Smith (lower right)
In line with its commitment to provide equitable access to education and opportunities in the craft malting industry, the Craft Maltsters Guild has awarded six individuals with scholarships to attend the 2023 Craft Malt Conference in person and online.
Now in its second year, the Guild’s scholarship program is intended to provide educational opportunities to individuals from historically excluded racial and ethnic backgrounds, gender identities and expressions, sexual orientations, and disabilities.
The recipients of the in-person scholarships are Elia Gomez Smith and Kayla Stinnett. Smith is a student in the University of California San Diego Extended Studies brewing program who is fascinated by the process of malting grain at a large scale. She has a Bachelor’s degree in chemistry, and she’s currently working as an educator for the San Diego Mycological Society.
Stinnett is a craft beer marketing professional who has helped spearhead the “Pour Us Another: Celebrating Women and Craft Beer” event through her work with Cahaba Brewing in Birmingham, Alabama. She’s a member of Fermenta and the Pink Boots Society who’s working towards her level II Cicerone® certification while developing her business plan for her own brewpub, Stargazer Brewing Company.
The recipients of the virtual scholarships are Tiffany J. Pilson, a farmer at Red Flower Growers in Detroit, Michigan; Aline Duarte Correa de Brito of Brazil who is studying koji in her Ph.D. program and has attended a Mastering Malt course (Mestre Malteiro) at ESCM (Blumenau – Brazil); LaShanda Poteat, a Pink Boots Society member and entrepreneur based in Graham, North Carolina; and Caitlyn Jordan a Fermenta member and Brewers Association mentee who lives in Birmingham, Alabama.
In addition to conference participation, all scholarship recipients will also receive a complimentary one-year Individual Membership with the Guild. With this membership, recipients will be able to continue their craft malt education throughout the year by accessing our extensive video and webinar archive, as well as attending upcoming educational webinars and joining in discussions on Guild member forums about craft malt-related topics.
“It’s so great to see all these scholarships going to women, and even more so, that many of them are Black women,” says Guild Executive Director Jesse Bussard. “This year’s cohort of scholars is actively engaged in the beer and malt industries, and we’re proud to support them in their pursuit of further education.”
Meet the 2022 scholarship recipients: Jessi Flynn, Jen Ireland, and Maany Ramanan.