HALF MOON BAY BREWING COMPANY ANNOUNCES SPEAKERS FOR FALL 2017 BREWS AND VIEWS 

Free public forum welcomes directors, aspiring politicians and experts in impact investing, gun safety and racial dialogue to weigh in on the topics of the day

Half Moon Bay, Calif. – August 30, 2017 – Half Moon Bay Brewing Company announces the return of Brews and Views, the Coastside brewery’s popular speakers’ series that invites members of the community to enjoy a cold brew and a fresh view on American politics and social issues. The fall 2017 lineup welcomes distinguished guests including a well-regarded group of civic leaders to discuss the importance of libraries on September 21; a special political series featuring Delaine Easton, candidate for Governor of California, on September 27; Marshall Tuck, candidate for California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, on October 3; Jeff Bleich, candidate for Lieutenant Governor of California, on October 25; Stephanie Cohn Rupp, managing director of Threshold Group, and impact investing authority on November 2; Margot Hirsch, president of Smart Tech Challenges Foundation, which funds smart guns and firearm safety technology, on November 16; and filmmakers Mary Webb and Kate Mayer on December 7 to discuss their documentary on racial dialogue. 

Brews and Views was founded in November 2009 by Half Moon Bay Brewing Company co-owner Lenny Mendonca, who is director emeritus (retired senior partner) of the San Francisco and Washington, D.C. offices of McKinsey & Company. For Mendonca, who grew up listening to Commonwealth Club forums on NPR, Brews and Views is an ideal way to involve the public in discussions about everything from environmental issues and economic development to social change and politics. The free, public events are formatted like a town hall, often featuring an initial conversation between the guest speaker and moderator, after which the public is invited to participate in a Q&A session. Part of the evening’s dining proceeds from Brews and Views benefit the Cabrillo Education Foundation.
FALL 2017 BREWS AND VIEWS

Making Connections: Libraries at the Heart of Community
Thursday, September 21
Half Moon Bay Brewing Company, 390 Capistrano Road, Half Moon Bay
6 to 8 p.m.

Share brews and views with the following esteemed panel of civic leaders as they discuss how libraries enrich and transform communities.

• Lenny Mendonca, moderator, co-founder of the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company, Director Emeritus of McKinsey and Company
• Alex Castillo, brand management and development executive and Fuse Corps Fellow at Los Angeles Public Library
• Cameron Johnson, director of product innovation for Netflix and regional board member of the San Mateo County Library System
• Rick Kowalczyk, founder and managing partner of Medallurgy, LLC, member of San Mateo County Libraries Governing Board and Half Moon Bay City Council
• Jane Yuster, superintendent of Cabrillo Unified School District

Special Brews & Views: Candidate Series
Half Moon Bay Brewing Company, 390 Capistrano Road, Half Moon Bay
6 to 8 p.m.

The Half Moon Bay Brewing Company is delighted to have a special series this fall featuring the following candidates for office for 2018:

• September 27: Delaine Easton, candidate for Governor of California
• October 3: Marshall Tuck, candidate for California State Superintendent of Public Instruction
• October 25: Jeff Bleich, candidate for Lieutenant Governor of California

Impact Investing 
Thursday, November 2
Half Moon Bay Brewing Company, 390 Capistrano Road, Half Moon Bay
6 to 8 p.m.

The Half Moon Bay Brewing Company will host a conversation with Stephanie Cohn Rupp, managing director of Threshold Group. Rupp brings more than 17 years of experience in international impact investing including impact fund design and implementation, microfinance, and crowd funding. In addition to her critical role in impact, she is the head of Threshold Group’s burgeoning San Francisco office, growing the company’s local presence in the Bay Area.

Smart Guns and Firearm Safety Technology
Thursday, November 16
Half Moon Bay Brewing Company, 390 Capistrano Road, Half Moon Bay
6 to 8 p.m.

Brews & Views welcomes a conversation with Margot Hirsch, president of Smart Tech Challenges Foundation. Smart Tech Challenges Foundation funds innovators creating smart guns and firearm safety technologies for American gun owners.

Race Dialogues Part 2
Thursday, December 7
Half Moon Bay Brewing Company, 390 Capistrano Road, Half Moon Bay
6 to 8 p.m.

The Half Moon Bay Brewing Company will host a conversation with English and creative writing instructor Mary Webb, with her film-making partner Kate Mayer. Together, the pair completed Living Room Revolution: The Race Dialogues, a short documentary based on dialogues which focus on race and racism. Webb and Mayer are inspiring others to start their own race discussion groups in order to break down racial barriers.
ABOUT LENNY MENDONCA

Lenny Mendonca is a director emeritus (retired senior partner) from the Washington D.C. and San Francisco offices of McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm. Mendonca founded McKinsey’s U.S. state and local public sector practice. For many years he led the Firm’s knowledge development efforts overseeing the McKinsey Global Institute and the Firm’s communications, which includes the McKinsey Quarterly. He served for a decade on the McKinsey Shareholder Council (its board of directors). Over the course of his career he helped dozens of government, corporate, and nonprofit clients solve their most difficult management challenges.

Mendonca is a senior fellow at the Presidio Institute, the Chair of Children Now, co-Chair of California Forward, and founder and Chair of Fusecorps. He is the Chair Emeritus of the Bay Area Council and the Economic Institute of the Bay Area, and was vice-chair of the Stanford Graduate School of Business Advisory Council. He serves on the boards of New America, Western Governors University, The Committee for Economic Development, Common Cause, the Bay Area Science and Innovation Consortium, The Campaign for Business & Educational Excellence, The Educational Results Partnership, The College Access Foundation and the 50 Fund. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Board of Trustees for Junior Statesmen of America and the Advisory Boards of QB3 and The Public Policy Institute of California.

He received his MBA and certificate in public management from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He holds an AB, magna cum laude, in economics from Harvard College.
ABOUT THE HALF MOON BAY BREWING COMPANY

Selected by Coastal Living magazine as one of America’s Best Coastal Breweries, Men’s Fitness as one of America’s Top Ten Craft Breweries and Travel + Leisure magazine as one of America’s Best Beach Bars, the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company is situated on picturesque Pillar Point Harbor overlooking the Marina in Half Moon Bay. The Brewing Company expertly pairs a family-friendly, come-as-you-are atmosphere with a winning combination of fresh, sustainable seafood, craft beers, live music and an expansive, dog-friendly patio area with blazing fire pits to keep patrons warm on the waterfront. The Brewing Company is a casual coastal venue that has become an institution in the Half Moon Bay area for locals and visitors alike since opening in 2000. With its warm, wood-toned interior, expansive windows to the ocean, and walls dotted with surf memorabilia, the 6,000-square-foot restaurant and bar is reminiscent of a typical California surf shack. Behind the restaurant lie the 1,200 square-foot Mavericks Beer Garden and on-site brewery, where hand-crafted, award-winning Beers & Ales are piped directly to the bar. Winner of a gold medal at the 2015 U.S. Open Beer Championship, a silver medal at the 2015 California State Fair, and two silver medals at the 2016 California State Fair, the Brewing Company has set the standard for craft beer in the San Francisco Bay Area for the past sixteen years.

The Half Moon Bay Brewing Company is located at 390 Capistrano Road in Half Moon Bay, Calif. The hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to close; Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. to close. To book a reservation, please call 650-728- BREW (2739) or visit Dinnerwire.com. Additional information may be found at www.hmbbrewingco.com.

The Half Moon Bay Brewing Company also manages the neighboring Mavericks Event Center which overlooks the picturesque Pillar Point Harbor and is the ideal setting for weddings, celebrations, retreats and corporate events. Named for the famed surf break just up the beach, the Mavericks Event Center sits on a large oceanfront bluff, with an indoor ballroom that can accommodate up to 150 guests, (100 seated), plus a spacious outdoor deck and harbor view garden. For more information please visit www.maverickseventcenter.com.

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