Denizens Brewing Co. - Born and raised in Silver Spring, MD, Julie...

Born and raised in Silver Spring, MD, Julie Verratti is a Founder and the Chief Brand Officer at Denizens Brewing Co. Denizens started in Silver Spring, MD in 2014, and opened its second production facility and taproom in Riverdale Park, MD in the spring of 2019. Julie earned her bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University, where played varsity soccer. After college, she directed and advised on electoral and issue campaigns in various states before earning her law degree from the George Washington University Law School.

Prior to co-founding Denizens Brewing Co. she was a Presidential Management Fellow and Senior Policy Advisor at the U.S. Small Business Administration where she focused on the Affordable Care Act, veteran’s entrepreneurship, women’s business ownership, and local economic development policies. Julie serves on the Board of Directors for the national Brewer’s Association, where she is the Chair of the Diversity Committee and a member of the PAC Committee. Locally, she is the Vice-President of the Board of Directors of the Brewers Association of Maryland and is on the Government Affairs Committee for the Greater Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce.

In 2016, she was named to the Washington Business Journal's "Top 40 Under 40", and in 2019 she was named the Business Advocate of the year by the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce. Julie has testified before the U.S. Senate, U.S. Congress, the Maryland State Legislature, Montgomery County Council and DC Council on matters impacting small businesses, the beer industry, and LGBT rights.

In 2018 she unsuccessfully ran for Lieutenant Governor of Maryland in the Democratic Party primary as the running mate of Tech Entrepreneur, Alec Ross. She has been featured in the Forbes Magazine, Time Magazine, the Washington Post, Washington Business Journal, NPR, WAMU, and WTOP. Julie directs all business development and distribution sales for Denizens Brewing Co. Julie still plays soccer on the weekends and rides her motorcycle whenever the weather and her schedule permits. The best decision she ever made was to jump into the beer business.