Owner - Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company
Leslie, with her husband Mark, co-founded Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company in 2004. After graduating from MSU in 2000 with a master’s degree in chemical engineering, she went to work for Mississippi Polymer Technologies (MPT). This small start-up had the mission of commercializing a newly discovered high-performance polymer. Leslie’s roll at MPT included process and plant design, set-up of the R&D lab, and leading the QA team. On weekends, Leslie devoted her engineering skills to the art of home-brewing beer. This hobby lead to the formation of Mississippi’s first packaging brewery. Since that time LMBC has grown into a $3MM/year company employing 20 people and selling beer in 20 states and three foreign countries. In 2012 they lead a successful campaign to improve Mississippi’s beer laws, ushering in a growing Craft Beer Industry for our state. In 2017 they lead a successful campaign to allow Mississippi breweries the right to sell beer direct to consumers who visit the brewery. Elected to the MMA Board January 2018. (Term expires September 2020; District 10)