Career Story
After working for two harvests in the lab at Chateau Ste Michelle’s red wine facility (Canoe Ridge), and after a brief (and stinky!) stint in wastewater and drinking water regulatory testing, I joined the craft beer movement in the lab at Bale Breaker Brewing Company in 2016.
At Bale Breaker, I grew our sensory program from an informal round table to a robust and integral tool for quality and consistency at the brewery (and a vital part of product launches and improvements). I implemented formal new product development and food safety practices, grew and refined microbiology tools, and created the award-winning YOXI line of hard seltzers (plus 50+ beer recipes at multiple scales, from 5BBL to 90BBL). I also helped modernize Bale Breaker’s data stack. I’ve put in my time on the brew deck, cleaning tanks, driving forklift, stacking cases, swapping out kegs, pouring at festivals, and smelling every single lot of raw hops that came out of two different hop farms for 5 straight harvests.
In 2023, I founded Charts & Esters Consulting (now Mama of Microbes) in order to bring my expertise to a larger audience and to continue working on the cutting edge of innovation in craft beverages. In my consultancy, I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with amazing colleagues who are working at the forefront of technical innovation in order to help refine their product-market fit and product quality, successfully launch into the beverage space, share their expertise in conferences and technical papers, ideate new products, and generally have a blast enjoying the best that craft beer has to offer.
Formal Education
University of Massachusetts - Amherst, Masters in Business Administration with a Focus in Entrepreneurship
Northwestern University, Bachelor’s in Environmental Sciences
University of Washington, Certificate in Data Visualization
Yakima Valley College, Certificate in Winery Technology
Coursework from University of California - Davis in Sensory & Applied Consumer Sciences
Coursework through Datacamp in SQL, Databricks, PowerBI, Snowflake, and Machine Learning
Awards
Platinum - Best in Show, YOXI Spicy Mango Hard Seltzer, Sip Magazine Best of the Northwest Awards, 2023
Double Gold, YOXI Agave Lime Ranch Water Hard Seltzer, Sip Magazine Best of the Northwest Awards, 2023
Past Speaking Engagements
PANEL: “How Education & Communication Shapes the Future of Beer”, May 2025, Master Brewers (MBAA), District Northwest Spring Conference in Hood River, OR
PANEL: “Beyond Beer”, September 2024, Haas Hops Academy in Yakima, WA
TALK: “Choose Your Own Quality Adventure”, August 2024, Yakima Chief Hops Hop & Brew School in Yakima, WA
TALK: “The Lean Lab: Maximizing Beverage Quality with Less”, June 2024, Pink Boots Society National Conference in Philadelphia, PA
TALK: “Beyond Cell Counts: Off-Flavor Sensory for Aspiring Yeast Whisperers”, April 2024, Brewers Association Craft Brewers Conference in Las Vegas, NV
TALK: “Using Sensory for Innovation and Consistency”, Fall 2019, Washington Craft Beer Summit in Puyallup, WA
TALK: “Leveraging Sensory Analysis: Best Practices for Consistency & Innovation in Hoppy Beers”, Co-presented with Tiffany Pitra, August 2019, Yakima Chief Hops Hop & Brew School in Yakima, WA
TALK: “Biotransformation of Hop Compounds by Brewing Yeast”, Spring 2017, Pink Boots Society – Seattle Chapter Meeting in Seattle, WA
Past Industry Volunteerism
Founding Chapter Leader, Yakima Chapter, Yakima Pink Boots Society (2017-2019)
Beer Judge: Best of Craft Beer Awards: Late Harvest Fresh Hop, October 2023
Beer Judge: Fresh Hop Ale Festival, Commercial Brewery Category, October 2023, October 2025
Industry Certifications
Wine & Spirits Education Trust, Level II Certificate with Distinction (2015)
Personality
Top 5 Clifton Strengths: Arranger, Strategic, Achiever, Ideation, Individualization
Prism: Influencer / Visionary
Described by friends as resilient, compassionate, spiritual, tilthy, and cambium (yes, we are ecology nerds).
Sag ☀️, Cancer🌙, Cap ⬆️