BUSINESS BRIEFS
Mad River Brewery honors women with new ale
Women-led Mad River Brewery is tapping a special craft beer this month — a smoked American amber ale brewed exclusively by women at the Yurok Tribe-owned craft brewery in honor of Women’s History Month.
Ana Kolpin, who wears many hats at the brewery, was involved in the production, packaging, and working in the cellar.
“It was my first time using the brewery’s pilot system, and it was also the first time I developed a beer recipe from scratch,” she said in a prepared statement. “When I homebrew, I typically find a recipe that I am interested in and adjust it to make it my own, so it was different to start with a beer style and figure out the details from there.”
The result is a slightly smoky ale that is available in the Blue Lake tap room.
“It’s important for us to make room and provide opportunities for skill sets to be gained and grow,” Mad River CEO Linda Cooley said. “We know firsthand how hard it can be for women to feel welcome into all areas of this industry, and we hope to close the gap even more by doing brews like this one. I can’t wait to share this amazing, women-crafted ale with our community.”
25 leaders come together to focus on skills
On March 2, 25 crosssector leaders from across the region came together over dinner at Café Marina as the inaugural class of Leadership Redwood Coast. They spent the following two days considering topics designed to build their personal leadership skills and prepare them to explore the region’s biggest challenges, opportunities and assets.
A program of AEDC in partnership with Illuminated Marketing and the Greater Eureka Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Redwood Coast is a fivemonth program centered on empowering diverse individuals throughout Humboldt, Del Norte, and tribal lands with the tools, connections, and insights they need to effect equitable and innovative change in their communities and across the region.
“Over the past year, our team has been working closely with our advisory board and literally dozens of leaders across the region to curate a masterslevel class on all things Redwood Coast — from building a more equitable economy to protecting our environment to strengthening our infrastructure, and much, much more,” said Susan Seaman, program director at AEDC, in a prepared statement. “Coupling this with leading edge leadership development, over the coming five months we will prepare emerging and established leaders to go deeper with their commitment to our region’s — and their own — success.”
The Leadership Redwood Coast Class of 2023 includes:
• Alec Dompka, University of California Cooperative Extension, Del Norte
• Alia Dunphy, College of the Redwoods
• Amanda Kruschke, city of Eureka
• Ashley Vellis, Ashley’s Seafood
• Brian Gonzalez, Redwood Capital Bank
• Bridget Lacey, city of Crescent City
• Crystal Morse, College of the Redwoods
• Erin Dunn, field office of Assemblymember Jim Wood
• Genevieve Marchand, Cal Poly Humboldt
• George Schmidbauer, Schmidbauer Lumber
• Hannah Joy, Arcata Economic Development Corporation
• Jade Hoff, Arcata Economic Development Corporation
• Jason Daniel “J.D.” Garza, Cal Poly Humboldt
• Jose Serrano, College of the Redwoods
• Josh Mohland, Bathrobe Dynamics and Flow Digital
• Juan Pablo Cervantes, Humboldt County Clerk, Recorder and Registrar of Voters
• Kayla Corder, Eddy Alexander
• Lisa Gaetje, College of the Redwoods
• Loren Collins, Cal Poly Humboldt
• Maria Durazo, Open Door Health Centers
• Megan Kenney, North Coast Growers Association
• Santiago Menjivar, Cal Poly Humboldt
• Sara Barbour, Yurok Economic Development Corporation
• Sarah West, city of Eureka
• Stevie Luther, Humboldt County Association of Governments Anyone interested in participating in the Leadership Redwood Coast Class of 2024can send an inquiry to Allie@LeadershipRC.org.
CASA gala sponsored by credit union
Blooms Here Gala is an elegant night of fun to support advocacy work for local children living in foster care. On May 13, guests are invited to the Sapphire Palace at Blue Lake Casino for an evening of hope. The night starts at 6 p.m. with cocktails and a silent auction followed by a dinner and a live auction.
Money raised during this evening supports CA