Speakers
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euan thomsonCo-Founder, Each + Every / EO, Raft Brew LabsWith his background in microbiology and biotechnology, Dr. Euan Thomson drove new ideas in quality, malting, and distilling at Phillips Brewing & Malting Co. from 2014 to 2019. He has delivered presentations at international brewing conferences and authored publications in the top brewing journals.
He launched Raft Brew Labs in March 2020 in response to a growing need among craft beverage facilities for high-integrity analytical data and insight. This will help them close the gap on quality and consistency so they can continue to reclaim beer revenues to their rightful place: the local market!
He is also the co-founder of Each + Every: Businesses for Harm Reduction, a voluntary collective inclusive and non-partisan and united by s desire to see equity for people who use drugs.
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Ren NavarroOwner/Operator, Beer.Diversity.With more than a decade of experience in the alcohol industry, a passion for encouraging personal and professional growth, and her trademark wit, Ren Navarro is here to educate, enlighten, and engage. Since launching Beer. Diversity. in 2018, Ren has become a known name at breweries, wineries, distilleries, and beyond. She has given talks on diversity and inclusion at several colleges and countless festivals, panels, radio shows, and podcasts across the globe. In addition to being a diversity educator, she is a craft beer consultant for bars and restaurants in Ontario and an educator for countless businesses throughout the country. Beer. Diversity. is more than just a company that educates, it’s a resource built from the passion and love of the industry to do better and be better. Navarro’s experience in public speaking and history in the drinks world alongside her perspective as a queer Black woman makes her an essential voice in the work and outreach involved in creating a welcoming and diverse environment for beverage producers and imbibers of all backgrounds. Taking steps. Wanting change. Having the desire and the tools to put in the work to be an agent of change. That’s what Beer. Diversity. is about.
How Breweries Can Build Mutual Safety with Vulnerable Neighbours
Breweries are often located with unavoidable public health and safety crises on their doorsteps. While governments struggle to find the answers to toxic unregulated drug supplies and housing precarity, small business communities are learning how to build mutual safety with people at risk of drug poisoning or experiencing houselessness. Meanwhile, people with other marginalized identities are increasingly being targeted by hate. Against this backdrop, how can breweries help ensure the safety of their neighbours, customers, operations, and staff?
Key Takeaways
The goal of this presentation is to allow brewers and those who are adjacent to the brewing industry to learn how we can work together to make safer spaces for those who are affected by the drug crisis. It will also help by giving tips, definitions, and things we can do as a community to help those we work with, interact with, and live around. Removing the stigma is the first step in being able to assist, learn and grow. Together.