Meet Dr. J

Let’s Explore the Magical World of Beer

Dr. J Jackson-Beckham is a craft beer industry veteran, a Certified Cicerone® , an avid homebrewer, and former professor of Communication and Cultural Studies who dedicated her academic career to the study of American beer. Her work on the cultural dynamics of beer and brewing has been published as social commentary, journal articles, and academic book chapters, and a 12-episode streaming educational series for Wondrium.

She is an accomplished international speaker and a vocal advocate for the craft beverage community who has delivered dozens of keynote addresses and guest lectures in a wide variety of settings. She regularly provides expertise as a guest for television, radio, podcasts, and news and entertainment media. She has been featured by The New York Times, VICE, USA Today, and the James Beard Foundation. In 2020, she was named Imbibe Magazine’s Beer Person of the Year.

Today, she helps craft beverage organizations develop inclusive, equitable, and just practices that drive success, build communities, and empower individuals as the Director of Social Impact for the Brewers Association. Dr. J is the founder and Executive Director of Craft x EDU (pronounced “craft by E-D-U”), a nonprofit whose mission is to champion equity, inclusion, and justice in the craft brewing community through education and professional development. She also serves as a member of the board of directors for the Michael Jackson Foundation for Brewing and Distilling and the National Black Brewers Association.

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The World of Beer: Tastes of History, Science, and Culture

What can beer teach us about the great wide world? In The World of Beer: Tastes of History, Science, and Culture–a 12 episode edutainment series on Wondrium— Dr. J Jackson-Beckham has crafted an engaging, highly interactive series that looks at—and invites you to taste—beer through the lens of history, mythology, botany, marketing, and more.