We gather with a panel of four Latinx beverage industry leaders who live across the U.S. They will discuss how Latinx identity informs their experience as beverage industry professionals, as well as the cultural principles that inspire their work. The conversation will also aim to demystify how notions of Latinidad can be the sole driver of their work. Combining testimonies of lived experience, professional roadblocks and personal goals, the panel will reveal the common threads and diverse paths that led our panelists to a career in the beverage industry.

Jessica Fierro is the Owner and Head Brewer of Atrevida Beer Company responsible for recipe building, brewing and sales operations, scheduling, allocating/ordering resources, and developing/implementing policies, procedures, and plans. She’s the first Latina Brewery Owner and Head Brewer in Colorado. Prior to owning and brewing at Atrevida, as a homebrewer, Jess was selected and became the winner of the national homebrew competition called BEERLAND which aired on VICELAND (the channel) season one and was featured in the Samantha Brown: Places to Love travel show on PBS. Before diving into the beer biz, Jessica spent over 13 years as a licensed professional with annual participation in the Colorado Department of Regulations Cosmetology testing conference. Jessica lives in Colorado Springs.

Francisco Garcia is the Founder and Distiller at Strivers’ Row Distillery in Philadelphia. Launched in April 2021, Strivers’ produces handcrafted whiskey and rum in tiny batches. The distillery is Francisco’s second business venture after opening an ice cream shop in Brooklyn, NY in 2013. He spent 2020 working on two presidential campaigns and helped elect President Biden and Vice President Harris while serving as the National Operations Manager to the Biden for President campaign. Previous to that he was the Director of Business Development for the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Commerce. Francisco moved to Philadelphia while completing a stint at Goldman Sachs and eventually left the finance sector to pursue a master’s in public administration from the University of Pennsylvania. He received a BA in entrepreneurship from Vanderbilt University. Francisco was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Brooklyn. He lives in Philadelphia.

Oscar Salinas is the co-founder of Los Naturales, a Latinx collective dedicated to building community around natural wines. A creative writer at an advertising and marketing agency by day, Oscar credits a life-changing solo trip to Spain and Portugal in winter 2018 that served to deepen his admiration for natural wines. His goal for Los Naturales is simple, “making people feel welcome because wine can seem intimidating,” all the while trying to build a welcoming environment, somewhere where strangers can come in and leave as family. Oscar lives in Chicago.

Jesse Valenciana (moderator) is an author, writer, beer educator, and marketing director for Against the Grain Brewing. He is the co-author of ManBQue: Essential Recipes for the Modern Man & Eat Street. He has written for Eater.com, TheTakeout.com, Ingrain Magazine, PorchDrinking.com, and other publications. He has also contributed to WGN Radio in Chicago. He’s responsible for over 600 food tattoos (TattooBQue), hosted the first ever complete food & beer pairing dinner at the James Beard House in NYC, and once hosted a beer pairing dinner for almost three thousand diners. He lives in Nashville.