MEGAN BAUMBACH
$2000 CULINARY SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIP

Megan Baumbach is a student in the Baking and Pastry program at Auguste Escoffier in Austin. Currently, is the Head Pastry Chef for a local organic grocery store in Martindale called Good Things Grocery. She also runs a small business called SimplyYou, Options Made Simple. SimplyYou is focused on providing gluten free, dairy free, and vegan pastries to the local community. Her goal is to open a bakery that offers delicious options for any dietary restrictions, that includes a teaching kitchen where we can teach more this beautiful, fun craft. 

The scholarship will be utilized to further her studies at the Auguste Escoffier Culinary School in Austin.

ANEKA KRUSE
$2000 CULINARY SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIP

“My name is Aneka Kruse and I am a 19 year old student at Auguste Escoffier. I am originally from Wisconsin, however moved out to Austin on my own to pursue my passion and love for cooking. Being able to create new flavor combinations and bring my ideas to reality filled me with so much joy and also brought smiles to my families face when they would eat these dishes that were made from what seemed like nothing. Moving to Austin alone was difficult and maintaining a full time job while also being a full time student is very stressful. However, knowing that I am working hard so that I can get my dream job is a drive that keeps me going. So far my experience at Escoffier has shown me the endless possibilities of food creations and I am excited to continue to learn and grow in my culinary experiences.”

The scholarship will be utilized to further her studies at the Auguste Escoffier Culinary School in Austin.

JACQUELINE AGANS
$2000 KITCHEN PROFESSIONAL STIPEND

“My introduction to hospitality came when I was a teenager, working graveyard shifts at a Greek diner in New Jersey. The shifts were long; the menus longer. Since that time, I have worked many places and many positions, from Star Seeds to Saint Cecilia, front of house to back of house. The latter is where I met Chef Alexandra Gates, who encouraged my love of pastry and bought me my first notebook to scribble my ideas in. The women in my life have again and again given me strength and support. I am now the executive pastry sous chef with WIP Hospitality (formerly Elm Group) under Chef Mary Catherine Curren. They say as you get older, you begin to comprehend the breadth of everything it is that you do not know. One could say the year 2020 accelerated that for me.”

The stipend will be used to attend a continuing education pastry course at ICE, also known as the CAPS Program, in 2021.

SAMANTHA OLVERA
$2000 BEVERAGE STIPEND

Samantha is a Production Operator for Garrison Brothers Distillery. Her job involves a little bit of everything. Intaking grain/transferring it to silos, cooking grains/monitoring starch to sugar conversion, monitoring grain handling system, tracking fermentation process over 4 days, transferring distillers beer to stills, maintaining cleanliness of cookers & fermentation tanks, distilling beer and maintaining quality of product, providing tours, filling barrels, moving barrels to warehouses, keeping track of barrel inventory, checking quality of bourbon as it ages and when being dumped then placed into a bottle, bottling & packaging product. 

Her intermediate goals will be education. She’s worked in production long enough to feel confident with her ability to make bourbon but there is always more to learn in this industry. She wants to acquire the knowledge of spirits from the ground up. Every day she sees more and more women who are becoming interested in this industry. To this day she encounters people who are shocked to see that a woman not only knows what bourbon is but is also making it. She wants to keep recruiting people of all genders to appreciate the craft that goes into making this spirit. She would like to become a Master Distiller. 

The stipend will be used to attend Moonshine University in Louisville, KY.

TAJ REID
$2000 BEVERAGE STIPEND

Taj Reid is currently a wine steward at Central Market Westgate. She has over 20 years of experience selling, serving, teaching, writing, and learning about wine. Wine can be intimidating to newcomers, so her philosophy is to put them at ease, exhibit her enthusiasm, and put the bottle that best fits their desires in their hands. She has traveled extensively in the Western US visiting wineries and has studied briefly in Napa at the CIA at Greystone. She is very excited to enhance her knowledge by completing the WSET certifications.

She intends to stay with the Central Market company as a wine steward for the foreseeable future, but really hopes to do two things: one, to respond to any opportunities with the company or outside it for teaching wine classes on various levels; and two, to build her YouTube project, a channel called ‘Cheap Chianti’, where She’ll combine a quick edited, fast-moving entertainment driven style with real and accurate expertise. She will review wines and cover various styles and regional differences as well as post interviews with members of the industry. What will set her apart from other channels is a cheeky, fun approach. She’ll pair wines with Johnny Cash records, sci-fi movies and Doritos. She will answer questions about which wines pair with particular moods, such as giddiness, grumpiness, or existential dread.

Taj will pursue WSET wine certifications with her award. 

CANDICE PRICE
$2000 BEVERAGE STIPEND

Candice is the Assistant Category Manager over Beer and Spirits Globally for Whole Foods Market. Her role is to assist the Category Manager to make assortment selections driven by data, insights, consumer wants, and new products that taste great to put into our store sets across all 11 Whole Foods Market regions. 

Her goals are to continue her growth and knowledge within the industry and also continue to set the industry standards by understanding ingredients, techniques, and processes used by all aspects of the adult beverage industry to make more clear assortment decisions. She has always wanted to make a career out of her passion for adult beverages and plan to continue on the path of category management and product development at Whole Foods Market. 

Candice will pursue level 2 and 3 Cicerone Certification.

DIANA NAYA
$2000 BUSINESS OWNER STIPEND

Diana Naya hails from Miami, Florida, but has been in Austin over 12 years! Her personal experience with the healing aspects of fermentation led her to co-found Austin based fermentation company Pickle My Fancy Ferments. Her passion lies in producing functional healing ferments full of purpose, as well as teaching her community how to make them safely at home. Diana focuses on a science-based approach to better inform her customers and give her students the confidence they need to experiment with their own recipes at home. In her free time, she likes to dream up colorful and fun recipes that will entice those new to fermentation to adopt these goodies into their vibrant diets. 

Cultured Guru is a science-based Fermentation company run by a microbiologist in Louisiana. Their focus has been on producing truly exceptional fermented products, and recently have begun a fermentation school as well! Her dream is to take their three courses on fermentation. The first, focuses on the science behind fermented foods. How to cultivate them safely with a science-based approach. The second course is about fermented beverages. This covers kombucha and kefirs. The third is entirely about running a fermentation business and fermenting in oak barrels.

Diana will attend Cultured Guru Fermentation School.

ALI WHITE
$2000 BUSINESS OWNER STIPEND

Ali co-owns and operates Nervous Charlie’s Bagels.

“I grew up in rural Pennsylvania, close to Gettysburg. My hometown, to this day, still does not have a stop light. I stayed close to home for college, graduating in 2009 from Bucknell University. Soon after, I moved to New York to live with my now-husband, Chris. While there, I earned my MPH degree and spent my days working to promote emotional health and prevent suicide among teens and young adults as a program manager for The JED Foundation. In 2016, Chris and I made the move to Austin. Our first weekend, we went out seeking the bagels that we had come to take for granted in New York. We went to Einstein’s, and without going into too much detail, the idea for Nervous Charlie’s was born. We opened the doors to our bagel shop in 2018 and haven’t looked back.

One of the things I find most challenging about owning a business is the “people” part of it. Hiring people, managing people, motivating people, setting the right example for people - these are all things that I struggle with daily. Until 2019, I was always being led by other people, always looking to others for the answers, and now, I find myself in the opposite chair. I want to be the person that people can look up to and learn from, and I want to be comfortable and confident in my ability to be that person.”

Ali will be attending UT Austin’s Center for Professional Education learning HR and leadership skills. 

ALEXANDRA MANLEY
$2000 BUSINESS OWNER STIPEND

Alexandra was born and raised in Washington, DC. She has a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design. After time spent with Nancy Silverton at L.A.’s La Brea Bakery and Maiya’s in Marfa, Manley came to Austin. Working for MMH, she began as Lamberts’ pastry chef. She then opened and ran pastry & baking programs at six of the group’s properties. After a stint as Josephine House’s chef, she is now the corporate director of baking of MMH and a partner in Swedish Hill Bakery.

“The best compliment I ever received about my cooking is that the food I cook not only tastes delicious, but after eating it you feel good. I am interested in cooking and eating healthfully, but not necessarily in “health food.” Recently, I became interested in learning more about nutrition and medicinal herbs. I imagine my career pivoting in this direction, possibly opening a cafe and writing a cookbook. I’m also considering a business that offers healthy and delicious meal plans with recipes focusing on health concerns like anti-inflammatory, wheat/gluten-free, and vegan diets.”

Alexandra will be pursuing training from the Sacred Journey School of Herbalism.

VERONICA SANCHEZ
$4000 TRAVEL STIPEND

Veronica Sanchez is Production Lead at Sweet Ritual Vegan Ice Cream. Veronica is a 25 year-old Greek-Mexican Queer woman living in Austin, TX. She was born and was raised in Dallas, TX and grew up on Greek, Mexican, Indian, and fusion foods. She has worked for Sweet Ritual since 2018, working her way from production assistant to production lead. At Sweet Ritual she has taught through their vegan ice cream school ‘Cool School’ and she has extensive experience in training new employees, managers, and seasonal workers. Currently her career is focused towards developing relationships with small local vendors and farms as well as exploring the world of procurement. 

“When I was promoted to Production Lead the position gave me new opportunities to expand my skill set, explore new recipes, and improve my leadership skills. A central part of my job is recipe building, budgeting and (my favorite) procurement. The research, data, and knowledge that goes into finding the right tools, ingredients, and combinations for a good final product are my kind of challenge. I want to expand my knowledge on procurement and ingredients by exploring the different systems that interact in the culinary world such as farms, independent bakeries, artisanal markets, and artisanal foodmakers.”

Veronica will travel to Seattle, Washington to research all aspects of vegan ice cream and its production.

Other Scholarships

The Austin Chapter also supports the Austin Dames Supporting Women in Business Grant awarded by the Austin Food and Wine Alliance and the Educational Development Scholarship awarded by Lift Collective.

Holiday Dinner for the Homeless

For the past 16 years, we have hosted a yearly holiday dinner for the homeless, in partnership with the University United Methodist Church, a zero-waste kitchen.

Weekly Food Runs

Every Saturday, Austin Dames organize and execute a Food Run, picking up would-be-waste food at Wheatsville Co-op and delivering it to the University United Methodist Church to be turned into hot meals for the homeless. Our Food Run program has existed in some form since 2003, and our work has kept over 80,000 pounds of food from the landfill over the life of the program and helped feed our neighbors in need.

Green Tables Program

Since 2015, we have given financial and volunteer support to Posada Esperanza, a full-service transitional housing program for immigrant mothers and their children, escaping domestic or cultural violence. In addition to a cash payment, we partner with Green Corn Project in creating, digging and refreshing their vegetable gardens each year. These are part of our work supporting the Green Tables program of LDEI, a farm and garden philanthropic initiative linking rural and urban farms and gardens to school, restaurant, and kitchen tables. Programs promote community health, ensure sustainability, and support equity.