A former professor of Communication Studies, Dr. J Jackson-Beckham dedicated her academic career to the study of American beer. Today, she helps craft beverage organizations develop inclusive, equitable, and just practices that drive success, build communities, and empower individuals through her consultancy, Crafted For All, LLC. She is also the founder and Executive Director of Craft x EDU (pronounced “craft by E-D-U”), a nonprofit whose mission is to champion equity, inclusion, and justice in the craft brewing community through education and professional development. She is an author, speaker, and vocal advocate for the craft beverage community. In 2018, Dr. J was named the Brewers Association’s first ever Diversity Ambassador. In 2020, she was named Imbibe Magazine’s 2020 Beer Person of the Year.

Garrett Oliver is the brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery and has held that position since 1994. He has been brewing professionally for 31 years. Aside from his brewing work, Garrett is best known as the author of The Brewmaster’s Table and the Editor-in-Chief of The Oxford Companion to Beer, covering more than 1,000 beer-related subjects. For 25 years he was a perennial judge for the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup, and has judged Champion Beer of Britain at the Great British Beer Festival seven times. In 2014 Garrett became the first brewer to win the James Beard Foundation Award as the tops drinks professional in the United States.

A founding board member of Slow Food USA, Garrett went on to work for five years as a governor/counselor of Slow Food International. He currently sits on the board of the Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD) and the upcoming exhibition “African/American: Making The Nation’s Table”, which chronicles the central role of African-Americans in the development of American food culture (including haute cuisine).

In July of 2020, Garrett founded the Michael James Jackson Foundation for Brewing and Distilling, of which he is president/chairman (his single term ends in 2025).