“Alexa, play ‘It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday’ by Boyz II Men.”
When I began assembling the intrepid little team at Crafted For All, I did so knowing that I wanted to invite the people I brought on to engage in professional development along with me. As a solopreneur, I had way too much on my plate but too few resources in the bank to take on a full-time workforce. So, I made the commitment to make working for Crafted For All as valuable an experience as I could for those who joined the team. That commitment is a double-edged sword—as the time I’ve spent mentoring and being mentored by my team has been a time of growth for all of us. It also inevitably gets us closer to the time when my team members are ready for their next opportunities.
Alana, I have known for quite some time, has been long overdue for her next opportunity.
Thus, it was with excitement that I dropped the link to the job announcement for the Program Manager opening at the National Black Brewers Association in a Google chat with Alana (assuming she’d already seen it because she is that on top of things). And it was with joy that I wrote and submitted an unsolicited letter of recommendation (parts of which, I’m sharing below). And it was with unchecked pride that I celebrated the news that Alana was going to become my first “former employee.”
“Project Coordinator” doesn’t really begin to describe the role that Alana played in supporting Crafted For All. She was an integral part of the work we accomplish with all of our clients and partners, most notably the Brewers Association. Alana served as the director of two programs through our partnership with the BA—the BA Mentorship Program and DEI Mini-Grants program. These are both robust, public facing programs that have a tremendous number of moving parts, communication and collaboration requirements, impact goals, assessment needs, and daily administrative tasks—all of which she managed with minimal direction and a clockwork-like efficiency. Alana assisted me with all of the daily tasks that no one thinks about when they think of entrepreneurship–the inglorious murk of keeping the lights on–and accompanied me to events, speaking engagements, and the Craft Brewers Conference to execute initiatives on the ground. In short, she was not just my right hand, she was my left hand and both of my feet too.
As a former bartender (think of that one bartender that suffers no fools, runs a tight ship, and still garners the love and affection of her coworkers) and contributor to a small family brewery, Alana has a no-nonsense, “get sh*t done” approach to work. She is a feverish multitasker and a wonder with details. Her spreadsheets are awe inspiring. It’s not an exaggeration to say that she anticipated well over half of my requests and frequently had things completed before I’d had a chance to ask her to do them.
But in addition to having lengthy experience in the beverage alcohol space, Alana is passionate about DEI and HR. She holds a degree in African and African-American studies and nurtures a prodigious passion for social justice work. She is certified by the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and pairs that knowledge of best practices with a gift for collaborating with people. She is a capable trainer and educator, having served as a TIPS trainer for years and more recently as a trainer for Safe Bars. In short, she is perfectly positioned to help put a start-up professional trade association on its feet and thrive.
“Alexa, turn up the volume.”
Alana, I genuinely cannot imagine what I would have done without you for the past two years. Among those who have had the pleasure of working with you, your name is synonymous with “competence.” Certainly, I have been the beneficiary of your prodigious talent. But it is your warmth, empathy, and compassion that has meant the most to me personally. You have been my sounding board and my rescuer, a friend and coconspirator, and (though it feels grandiose to say it) you are the legacy I hope I am leaving in the industry.
I know you will do incredible things for the Black brewing community, strengthening the craft beer space as a whole in the process. I would say that I am going to miss you, but as long as there are Slack channels that we both belong to, I will be regularly bothering you. And soon enough, I will meet you in a hotel lobby somewhere with a Negroni in one and a Boulevardier in the other, and we will catch up on all the marvelous things you’ll have accomplished.
Until then,
#TeamHyphen4Ever