When we work, we spend a lot of time working. It seems to be a never-ending, ongoing wheel of shifts and events, and it's something a lot of individuals working in hospitality are drawn to. But our brains can't really differentiate between when we're at work and not, so what is happening to our behavioral patterns in the times we're working? How does our working life affect our lives and relationships outside of work?
In this seminar, we'll explore how the culture of the hospitality and adjacent industries impacts our personal lives in ways that are both helpful and harmful.
Alex Jump
(she/her)
Founder, Focus on Health
Head Bartender, Death & Co. Denver
Alex Jump originally hails from Chattanooga, TN, where she grew up breathing Southern hospitality. A BAR-5 Day graduate, Alex honed her skills by working behind and running bar programs at multiple James Beard nominated restaurants. She has competed in multiple national competitions including Speed Rack, Lustau Solera Standout, Heaven Hill Bartender of the Year, & Bombay Sapphire Most Imaginative Bartender. A year after moving Denver Alex joined the opening team of Death & Co Dener in 2018 as the Head Bartender. She was one of Punch’s Bartenders in Residence in 2019 and most recently she was nominated for Bartender of the Year at the 2020 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards.
In early 2020 after competing in Bombay Sapphire’s Most Imaginative Bartender and forming the idea for Focus on Health, an initiative dedicated to bringing health & wellness to the forefront of the hospitality world, Alex joined forces with Lauren Paylor to bring this idea to life. Together they are working towards creating better lives for those who work in the food & beverage industry. Outside of work, Alex enjoys practicing yoga, doting on her dog, Julep, and riding motorcycles with her friends.
DJ Watson, LMFT
(he/him)
Education Director, Support Staff
Therapist, Pinnacle Counseling Chicago
DJ Watson is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) whose clinical work includes couples/family conflict, social and cultural stressors, anxiety, depression, trauma, and meaning making. He works with families and individuals from diverse sexual orientations, ethnicities, cultures, and religious backgrounds. DJ is also the Education Director for Support Staff. He received his B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Central Arkansas, and earned his M.A. (with honors) in Marriage and Family Therapy from Northeastern Illinois University. He also has six years experience as a bartender in Chicago, and has worked as a college student advisor.
Instagram: @dj_the_therapist
Jessica Pomerantz, MA
(she/her)
Doctoral Candidate, University of South Carolina
Jessica Pomerantz is a bartender and mental health professional. She has a masters in Forensic Mental Health Counseling from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, with a focus on gender-based violence and psychological coercion. Clinically, she has experience working with victims and survivors of interpersonal violence, with specific expertise in sex trafficking and domestic violence. Concurrently, Jessica has about 10 years of bartending experience within a wide range of different restaurants and bars. She also has education and training experience working with Outsmart NYC, an organization dedicated to the preventing and ending sexual violence in bars, restaurants, and nightclubs.
Most recently, Jessica has relocated to Columbia, South Carolina to pursue her PhD in Clinical-Community Psychology, with both clinical and research focuses on interpersonal violence and coercion with the goal to apply these interventions to the hospitality settings.
Instagram: @jesspomerantz
Kristina Magro
(she/her)
Founding Member, Support Staff
Kristina Magro found a home in the food and beverage industry at the age of 16. After being born in Chicago, she moved around a lot as a child before eventually coming back to the city she loved and telling her mother she wanted to be “the best bartender in Chicago.” Needless to say, she actively pursued her goal, forgoing attending college to expand her love of hospitality, service and management. Landing at Heisler Hospitality for the majority of her career, she has been a part of the teams of Pub Royale, Estereo and Sportsman's Club before going on to become the Beverage Manager of critically acclaimed venues such as Prairie School and Lone Wolf in the West Loop. Over time her ambitions have changed, and after losing a member of her hospitality family to suicide, she focused her efforts on starting Support Staff to provide the resources she and her friends were desperately seeking to cope with their grief and loss. She believes mental health initiatives for the food and beverage industry are paramount because as a service worker, things like dehumanization and abuse are heightened and often normalized as “part of the job.” She wants her industry to be better advocates for themselves, their rights, and their needs which has led her to create the Please Hustle Responsibly Podcast as part of Support Staff’s programming and continues to champion workers rights for the industry in which she found her passion.
Instagram: @magsology @pleasehustleresponsibly