The Board of Directors manages the daily business operations of the brewpub, and are elected to three-year terms on a staggered basis. This ensures a constant flow of new ideas into the Board room while maintaining a continuity of leadership. The Board employs the Policy Governance™ model — a leadership model designed specifically for Boards of Directors that allows them to focus on big issues while effectively delegating operational decisions to the Workers’ Assembly. In addition, we have slightly modified the Policy Governance™ model to include the Members’ Assembly in setting the Co-op’s Ends policies.

Mark has been a member of the co-op since 2006, has been on the board since 2008 and is currently the President of the Board of Directors. He originally supported the co-op due to what he considered to be a dearth of brewpubs in such a young and vibrant city such as Austin. He works as a research scientist in acoustics at the University of Texas at Austin and works on theoretical, computational, and experimental aspects of sound propagation. Currently he is studying the response of the human body to intense underwater sound and the effect of large bubble clouds in underwater sound propagation. He received his BA in Physics from Vassar College in 2001 and his PhD in acoustics in 2006 from Penn State. He is also an experienced home brewer and cook with an interest in producing all varieties of food and beer. He also performs in the city of Austin on the trumpet and bass guitar with the singer/songwriter Vanessa Lively.

Term Expires: 2011

Donald Jackson is currently a graduate student at the University of Texas-Austin, where he studies Community and Regional Planning in the School of Architecture. He has been involved with Black Star for over two years. He is a former Americorps member and union organizer. Donald is a die-hard believer in the power of cooperative ownership and democratic management to save the world.

Jake Carter is an Austin, TX entrepreneur who is active in the fields of technology, business and sustainable living. His current venture is Warning, Inc. a weather technology company focused on informing and saving lives. Jake grew up on a farm in Fannett, TX where he developed a love for environmental stewardship and non-traditional business practices both of which influence him to this day. At the age of 13 Jake founded Earth Force, his first environmental non-profit, which was focused on helping teachers and community leaders engage young people to protect the planet’s natural resources. In high school, Jake started his first tech company while earning his Eagle Scout Badge. He then moved to Austin to attend the University of Texas while still supporting his company and it’s product development. Jake was first introduced to Black Star Co-op by a friend who was a founding board member and who encouraged him to take an interest and volunteer. He took the challenge, becoming an active volunteer at events until being asked to fill a Board vacancy. Jake is honored to serve on Black Star’s Board of Directors and looks forward to seeing you at the pub!

Term Expires: 2010

Colin Clark is a native Austinite who does environmental advocacy work for Save Our Springs Alliance, a local non-profit working to protect Barton Springs and the Edwards Aquifer. He became interested in the Black Star Co-op after founder Steven Yarak provided some beer for a fundraiser and has been on the board of directors for one year.

Term Expires: 2011

Andy was born in the north of England and grew up in Rochdale, the birthplace of the Cooperative movement. He is a great believer in the cooperative movement and the principles by which it stands. He has homebrewed since he was 16 as his parents thought it a great science project and he continues to brew at his house out in Dripping Springs. He has lived in the USA for almost 12 years now, having moved over from the UK via Switzerland where he lived 7 years. He has traveled extensively throughout the world looking for the perfect beer and expects it to appear at the brewpub in the next year or so – no pressure on Jeff.

A native of Maryland, Lisa Jones moved to Austin from Baltimore in January 2009 and had the good fortune of moving in next to Jeff Young, the head brewer of Black Star Co-op. She joined the Co-op as quickly as she could and began attending the regular beer socials. While volunteering at the socials became friends with some of the Board members and learned more about the organization’s mission and operations. Asked to consider running for the board, she leapt at the chance, and was elected to the board in October 2009. Outside of Black Star, Lisa recently began graduate school at Texas State University studying Population & Conservation Biology with the goal of applying her research to solve environmental problems. Her interest in cooperative models stems from her strong commitment to the values of social justice, including support for living wages, worker control, and people’s democracy. She is also a beer (and wine) enthusiast who loves trying new flavors of these delicious fermented beverages. In her spare time she enjoys hiking, camping, yoga, cooking, and fostering cats.

Term Ends: 2012

Jessica Cassidy is filling a Board vacancy through Fall 2010. Jessica
heads the economic justice initiative for a small legal non-profit
that advocates for survivors of domestic violence. Her B.A., M.P.Aff.
and J.D. hail from the scintillating University of Texas at Austin.
She strongly supports the cooperative model of enterprise and
generally tries to leave things better than she finds them.
Specifically, Jessica commutes by bike to work; she eats vegetables;
she shops fair-trade or union-made; she drinks local beer.

Term Ends: 2010

Bio & Pic Coming Soon

As an avid home-brewer since 1992, wants to help ignite a brewpub explosion, making Austin, TX the new brewpub capital of the U.S. Steve’s love of craft beer began while living in Georgia, where alcohol regulation favored mass-produced commercial beers. Seeking more variety and flavor, he began home brewing and continues to do so, even after moving to Central Texas 10 years ago. Steve has been an IT professional for almost 25 years, holds a B.A. in Business Science, and he also serves on the board of the Charity Craft Volunteer Network.

Term Ends: 2010