Lia Garcia’s introduction to craft beer came in 2004 when she was working at Yard House while attending CSU Long Beach. Though she didn’t drink beer at the time, she ended up learning a lot about it. That education continued after she moved home to North County San Diego, where she and her fiancé, Frank Quinn, made a hobby of visiting the area’s breweries, including Stone Brewing, The Lost Abbey and Pizza Port. Before she knew it, she was hooked, but was forced to bid adieu to the good stuff, instead subsisting on cheap macro-lagers while she and Quinn spent three years living in South Korea and an additional year backpacking through Asia. When they returned in 2013, much to Garcia’s delight, San Diego’s brewing scene had exploded. It was then she knew she had to be a part of it, so she registered for San Diego State University’s Business of Craft Beer certificate program and volunteered to work beer-centric events. During one of those fermentation fetes, she met chef and entrepreneur Alex Carballo, who took her under his wing and later brought her on board as a brewery administrator and events coordinator when he and partners from URBN Coal-Fired Pizza opened URBN St. Brewery in El Cajon in 2014. Since then, she has gone on to work for ChuckAlek Independent Brewers, Societe Brewing and The Roadies Brewing, where she currently serves as venue manager and brand developer. That decade of experience has been key to the meaningful contributions she’s made as a member of the San Diego chapter of the Pink Boots Society (PBS), a non-profit volunteer organization devoted to educating and advocating for women and non-binary individuals in the fermented beverage industry. Over the past three years she has been a co-chapter leader, a role that’s earned her the respect of her peers, not just locally, but throughout the country. Recently, when PBS put out a call for nominees for its 2025 national Board of Directors, Garcia was nominated by current Asheville, North Carolina-based Board member and PBS Treasurer Leah Rainis. Once the votes were tallied, Garcia was welcomed to serve a three-year Board term from 2025 to 2027, allowing her the opportunity to help advance the organization and have a literal seat at the table to affect positive change, policy-making and more. We caught up with her as she prepares to serve in this vital new capacity and works to hand over her local co-chapter leader responsibilities.
What did it feel like to find out you had been voted onto the Board?
Had I paid attention to my incoming emails on the evening of Friday, October 25, I would have seen my “welcome” email, however, by then I was well on my way to celebrate my birthday in Palm Springs. I didn’t see my phone’s notification until the next day while sipping margaritas under misters in 93-degree heat. I read the subject line, opened it, and read in silence as a huge grin spread across my face and tears of joy rolled down my cheeks. To know someone thought enough of me to nominate me for a Board of Directors position brought on a surge of happiness and excitement…and an initial sense of disbelief. The nomination was a total surprise and the realization that others believed in my capabilities and potential filled me with a deep sense of validation and pride. My happiness comes not just from the honor itself, but also from the sense of responsibility and opportunity that comes with the role, and imagining the impact I can make on the organization. I feel like I am stepping into a new chapter of my career and life where I can influence key decisions and help shape the direction of something bigger than myself.
How did you first get involved in PBS’ San Diego chapter and how has your role within the organization evolved?
I learned of PBS from my friend and roommate, Kyle Wiskerchen. He was newly involved in the San Diego beer scene, but had learned of the organization some time before. He shared what PBS is all about, that there was a local chapter and that the organization’s leader, Laura Ulrich from Stone Brewing, was local to San Diego, as well. Learning that there were few females in my Business of Craft Beer classes, I wanted to become educated and connected to as many local industry women as possible. I am a firm believer of the power of networking and collaboration, and PBS provides great opportunities for both. I am approaching the end of my third year as PBS San Diego co-chapter leader. Over that span, that position has changed from taking a primary position the first two years to transitioning into a supporting leadership role in 2024.
What do you consider your greatest accomplishments as a member of PBS?
I’d say getting involved and staying involved. As an adult, being a member of a group or an organization takes dedication. You have to want to be involved and attend meetings, but it’s about more than that to me. It is actively choosing to support the women and now non-binary individuals, the misrepresented or underrepresented populations, and give back to those that have helped me throughout my career. I would not have had the courage and confidence to take on some of the career roles I’ve had were it not for someone else believing and supporting me. Becoming a chapter leader was not on my agenda in 2022, but I stepped up to the plate in a big way, helping take over in a post-COVID era when morale was not at its highest, yet our members were craving in-person interactions and emotional connections in order to ease their way back into the industry. I am grateful that I could be a leader for 100-plus local chapter members and that someone who lives on the other side of the country saw something in me that would benefit PBS as a whole.
What would you like to accomplish as you prepare to join the Board of Directors?
I would like to smoothly transition out of my position, leaving my fellow co-chapter leader Romi Rossel and her incoming counterpart set up for success moving into 2025. Moving forward, I’d like to spread awareness about PBS, the benefits to its members and the supportive community it fosters. And personally, I plan to continue my education in craft beer by attending conferences and professional development events, and looking for other educational avenues in the fermented-alcohol industry.
For more information on the Pink Boots Society, visit their website