In what could be filed under belated, the Brewers Association has hired Dr. J. Nikol Jackson-Beckham to be the first diversity ambassador.
Per the press release, “Jackson-Beckham, an assistant professor of communication studies at Randolph College in Lynchburg, Virginia, will work closely with the BA’s Diversity Committee, which was established during last year’s Craft Brewers Conference in Washington, D.C.”
Jackson-Beckham has written a book about this very topic: Untapped: Exploring the Cultural Dimensions of Craft Beer which should help her as she travels the country talking to member breweries and brewers guilds. Another plus is that she is an avid homebrewer as well.
I will certainly be on the look-out for her work and I hope to be in attendance when she next speaks in Los Angeles. Hopefully this will herald a change that will be beneficial long term.
You can read more HERE.