Jesse Bussard has spent over 15 years telling stories and building community around the agriculture, conservation, and craft beverage movements. As the founder of Cowpunch Creative, Jesse leverages their marketing, communications, and public relations expertise to amplify the missions of purpose-driven agricultural businesses and artisanal food and drink brands.

This marks a return to entrepreneurship for Jesse, who operated Cowpunch up until 2019 before accepting the executive director role at the Craft Maltsters Guild, representing the artisanal malt producer community. By leading membership and outreach initiatives for small-batch malthouses across North America and abroad, Jesse expanded their thought leadership into the world of craft malt production.

That spirit of community cultivation also defined Jesse’s earlier work as an independent writer and event organizer based in Montana. There, through Fermentana, Jesse co-founded and produced renowned gatherings like Bozeman Craft Beer Week, Beer Maven: A Women’s Beer Education Series, the Montana Brewers Conference, and Montana Funk Fest—the first-ever sour beer and kombucha festival held in the state.

These days when not working with clients, you can find Jesse cultivating mushrooms or with their nose in a good book. As a member of the North American Guild of Beer Writers since 2016, they continue informing today’s most pressing conversations from the nexus of agriculture and craft beverage. Jesse currently resides in the traditional lands and territories of the Susquehannock people in central Pennsylvania.