About

Jacob is a Cajun from Southwest Louisiana who developed a passion for craft beer while living in Europe during college. He worked in education, first as a teacher and later in management where he oversaw strategy for Louisiana's largest school district. Jacob holds undergraduate degrees from Louisiana State University and an MBA from Tulane University.

Kyle brings 10 years of experience in beer distribution, most recently as the founder of the Louisiana Craft Beer team at Southern Eagle – a unit focused on building the craft beer portfolio for the distributor. Huling is a lifelong New Orleanian with a degree from Louisiana State University and an MBA from Loyola University.

Courtney is from South Carolina and graduated with a Political Science degree from Furman University and a Masters in Teaching from the University of Hawaii. She worked with Teach For America for five years and then spent seven years with the ReNEW Charter Schools network in New Orleans overseeing literacy programs and building six school libraries. as mom to four New Orleans-born children, she’s an advocate for child friendly breweries!

Debbie is a New Orleans native who received her bachelor's degree in Kinesiology from Southeastern Louisiana University. She has over 15 years of experience in office administration and bookkeeping primarily in the medical field. She is a mother of three adorable children, one of the lead choreographers for a local Mardi Gras dance group, teaches several adult and child dance classes in the New Orleans metro area, and is a licensed massage therapist.

Born and raised in Orlando, Florida. Amanda moved to Birmingham, Alabama in 2012 where she attended Samford University and obtained her Bachelor's degree in English. Not only did she gain administrative experience in Birmingham, but she also discovered her love for breweries and good beer. She is new to New Orleans, but already loving the incredible food and music. Outside of work, she enjoys attending concerts, learning to cook, and traveling to National Parks.

Bubby was born and raised in New Orleans. Before Urban South, he operated facilities for a chain of 13 Sprint and Boost Mobile stores and then spent 8 ½ years fixing cars, most recently 5 ½ years as the supervisor of a fleet of police cars. He and his wife love traveling in their free time, especially to music festivals. They also love going on hikes with their two dogs! Bubby is a big video gamer, Go LA Thieves! He's a major New Orleans Pelicans and Penn St. Wrestling fan. He loves to hang out on Bayou St. John, do tourist days in the French Quarter, and see local comedians at Comedy House NOLA.

Alex is a New Orleans native, after attending LSU he moved to San Diego, CA to pursue a career in craft beer. He brewed at Manzanita Brewing and Mission Brewery before moving back to New Orleans in 2014. He was the Director of Funk at NOLA Brewing and earned a silver medal in the Brett beer category at the World Beer Cup in 2016. He completed the SDSU Professional Certificate in the Business of Craft Beer and the Siebel Institute Concise Course in Brewing Technology. Alex enjoys running and has a love hate relationship with the Saints!

Tyler was born in Metairie, LA but spent most of his childhood in Mississippi. Tyler comes to Urban South with 10 years of collective brewery experience from Great River Brewing, Southern Prohibition, All Relation, and Other Half Brewing DC. His true brewing passion is to produce beers that excite the masses, whether it be a huge pastry stout, a hazy absolutely overloaded with hops, or a fruit smoothie flowing over with punchy flavors. His unique and innovative beer offerings are what make Urban South the creative mecha that it is today.

Kevin was raised in rural Ohio and lived a few years in North Carolina as well as Colorado. He moved to New Orleans in 2005 as an arborist and studied music theory at UNO. Around 2010, he got into homebrewing and began his first brewery job at NOLA Brewing in 2015. More recently, he worked at Second Line Brewing. Outside of work, he enjoys hiking, camping, and woodworking.

KJ Hebert grew up in Cut Off, LA. He went to Northwestern State University in Natchitoches and graduated with a Computer Information Systems and Business Administration degree. He started working in restaurants in college and has been there ever since, with twelve of those years at Chilis. He is a homebrewer and huge craft beer supporter. He has participated in obstacle course racing for the last five years and is about to finish building a forge. KJ and his wife have four kids. As a family, they like camping, board games, movies and music.

Indy is originally from Indiana, but has lived all over. He started home brewing while living in Seattle. In Mobile, AL, he worked at The Cannon Brew Pub as a bar manager/assistant brewer. He has worked at NOLA Brewing in the cellar. He returned to Indianapolis and worked at Fountain Square Brewing Co and was promoted to Head Brewer, taking over operations at New Day Craft Mead & Cider as well. Indy has completed the WBA Concise Course in Brewing Technology. He is happily married to his fantastic wife, Traci and has two spectacular step kids, as well as a dog & two cats. When not brewing, Indy loves cooking, smoking BBQ, & fishing if I wake up early enough.

Shalanda is from North Brunswick, NJ. She's Jersey born and raised! She attended Westminster Choir College of Rider University which was in Princeton, NJ. Shalanda has an undergraduate degree in Music Education for kindergarten through 12th grade. She also has a brewing science certification from St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, PA. Her brewing career began in 2019 at Triumph Brewing Company in Princeton, NJ. Later she worked at Village Brewing Company in Somerville, NJ till April 2023 when she moved to New Orleans and started at Urban South. Shalanda loves singing, beating all of her friends and family in air hockey, and traveling

From Funroe, Louisiana, Jake graduated from LSU with an English degree before finding a home in the local music and gastropub scenes in Baton Rouge. Moving to New Orleans in 2019, you can find Jake tending his backyard garden, playing guitar at a show with his band Wumbo, or watching a Chelsea game at home with his cat, Drogba.

Sonny was born and raised in Metairie. He started homebrewing in 1987. Sonny has worked at many local breweries, including Dixie, Abita, Gordon Biersch, Urban South (first time), Bywater Brewpub, and now back at Urban South. He opened his own brewery, Day Brewing Co., in Marrero in 1999. His interests include his love of custom and classic cars, boats, and of course, brewing and beer history. Sonny loves to watch the Saints, visit local breweries, and go to beer festivals.

Julie is a New Orleans native who graduated from UNO. She started in the brewing industry at Abita as a trainee and worked her way up to head brewer. She recently was part of the NOLA Brewing team, working as a brewer and lead cellar. In 2018, she won a trip to Germany and was able to fulfill a dream of going to Octoberfest in Munich. Julie loves spending time on the water and cheering on the Tigers and Saints with her partner Marisa and their two dogs, Nola and Beaux.

Kristin is from Baton Rouge, and has lived in New Orleans since 2018. She earned her Digital Advertising degree from LSU where she got her start working as the Creative Director for LSU's Legacy Magazine (RIP). After a career as a creative team lead for an exhibit design company and a short stint running her own design freelance business, she landed at Urban South in 2020. When she's not drinking her favorite beer, Lime Cucumber Gose, you can find Kristin starting (but never finishing) new crafts, and working at the local Renaissance Faire.

A native of Hattiesburg, MS and a graduate of The University of Southern Mississippi, Abigail moved to New Orleans in the fall of 2024. She has years of photography and social media experience through various jobs, but most of her experience comes from owning and operating her photography business for the last 10 years. In her free time, Abigail loves to travel with her fiance and they love to visit local coffee shops, breweries, and wineries.

Brittany Huling was born and raised in the greater New Orleans area and went to LSU (where she met Kyle) and graduated with a degree in Interior Design. She worked as an interior designer for 6 years before becoming a stay-at-home mom of twin girls. In 2013 she began an invitation and stationery business on Etsy, which gradually expanded into logo design and graphic design work for a variety of different types of businesses, including Urban South. She now designs craft beer packaging and marketing materials.

Born and raised in South Florida, Kat moved to New Orleans in 2018 where she studied graphic design and art history at Loyola University. Kat's career began as an intern at Urban South where she quickly established herself as a top-notch designer and a full-time member of the marketing team. Kat enjoys making jewelry, keeping the office up to date on pop culture, watching new movies, and visiting her mom and dog, Dolly, in the mountains of North Carolina!

Midge Howe is a proud Gamecock Alumni. After graduating from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Sport and Entertainment Management, she couldn’t stay away from her two loves, beer and New Orleans. When Midge is not working she loves spending time with her rescue dogs and exploring all New Orleans has to offer.

Josh is from Tampa, FL but has had the opportunity to call many cities home. He holds a Theater degree from NYU, a Masters of Historic Preservation from the University of Florida, and a passion for beer in his gut. After a 3 year adventure back in Tampa, Josh has returned to NOLA where he was previously the craft brand manager at Southern Eagle and one of the first taproom bartenders at Urban South. When not consuming beer and food with friends and family, he can often be found (much to the chagrin of his wife) chatting up strangers about literally anything and everything.

Shane Stouder is from New Orleans, having grown up in the Kenner/ Metairie area. He has a BA in English from UNO. Shane has extensive experience in wholesaler distribution having worked for our largest distributor, Southern Eagle for the past 11 years. He held multiple positions specializing in both On and Off Premise Sales, Category Management, Craft brand development and Key Account Chain Management. He is married to Mary and father to 3 year old Luke and 1 year old Scarlett.

Glynn was born and raised in the New Orleans metro area. After studying at the University of New Orleans, he discovered his true calling in a local dive bar – craft beer. Glynn then spent the next 10 years working at the wholesaler level in special events, sales, and brand development. In his free time he enjoys traveling, live music, and the great outdoors.

Jordan is a proud resident of St. Bernard Parish. He is an Alumni of Holy Cross High School and The University of Southern Mississippi. He brings over 10 years of sales experience to the team from the wholesaler level. Jordan and his wife have two sons and a dog that they adore. His hobbies include cooking and spending time on his back patio with his family & friends.

Stacy brings years of hands-on experience in craft beer sales, hospitality, and connecting with people across the Southeast. A proud dad to Parker, Rosie, and Jackson, he’s passionate about local music, great tacos, and building genuine relationships everywhere he goes. Stacy’s all about making beer approachable, whether he’s partnering with retailers or sharing a pint and a story.

Mark was born and raised in the northwest suburbs of Chicago where he started his beer career as a helper on a delivery truck. He attended Southern Illinois University to become a pilot but things changed and beer became his life. Mark has 20+ years of distributor experience between Chicago, Key West and Tampa with brand manager, chain and key account experience. Additionally, he has 8+ years of craft supplier experience in the southeast with distributor management and chain account experience. He has two great sons, Trevor and Peyton. Mark loves sports and in his free time you can usually find him on a golf course.

Rob was born in Denver, Colorado. He studied biochemistry at the University of Montana but left to pursue a career in music as a drummer in Austin, TX. He honed his skills and passion for craft brewing at Austin Beerworks as a packager, cellarman, and brewer. He moved to Louisiana to take a brewer position at Abita Brewing until he discovered Urban South. Outside of the brewery he enjoys being a father, traveling, cooking, and wood working.

Phil Guffa was born in Elmhurst, IL and grew up in the Chicago area. He is a Retired Air Force Veteran, and spent most of his years of service in Europe and overseas. His wife, Kris, is from Louisiana. They have 3 kids, 1 grandchild, and many pets (2 dogs, 3 cats & a snake). After traveling the world, they always knew they wanted to live in New Orleans, and 3 years ago they finally made that move. In the Air Force, Phil worked in AMMO (Munitions Handler) and later as a Recruiter. His experience has allowed him to do lots of different jobs, from equipment operator to financial advisor. As a longtime craft beer fan, he's excited for this chance to work in the industry.

Mark is a John F. Kennedy High proud graduate and a Saints lover. He has an 18 year old son and lives in the Marigny.

Patrick is originally from the SF Bay Area. He lived in Santa Cruz, CA for thirteen years where hestudied art at Cabrillo College in Aptos. After college, Patrick spent many years in the building trades before moving to NOLA in 2013. He spent his first 8 years in New Orleans as a bench jeweler at Adorn & Conquer before packaging for NOLA Brewing. He likes to spend his free time hanging with his pup Petey, going to see music, camping, and riding bikes.

Jen Bordenave was born in New Orleans and grew up on the Northshore. She attended UNO and graduated with her Bachelors degree in HRT. Working in the event industry for years eventually led her to Live Nation at House of Blues New Orleans on the logistics team in the Special Events Department. This is where she met her partner Justin and soon after they adopted an adorable rescue French Bulldog named Snax! She loves spending her free time exploring the city with Justin and snuggling with Snax.

Mike was born and raised on the Westbank. Mike comes to us with cooking and restaurant experience. He is a die hard Pels and Saints fan. Some of his hobbies include family time, poker, and of course cooking. He is Vietnamese and can speak the language fluently.

A native of South Texas and New Orleans, Don brought nearly 20 years of beer distribution and brewery sales experience. As an avid runner, he hoped to start up the Urban South Brewery's Social Running Club. Besides running, selling, and consuming craft beer, Don enjoyed spending time cooking and watching the Saints kick butt!