The United States Bartenders’ Guild (USBG) announces that Robert “Bo” Shuff will become the organization’s second ever executive director in its 76-year history.
Shuff joins the USBG after serving close to 25 years in campaign and nonprofit management. His leadership over the last seven years at DC Vote resulted in an increase in national support for equality for the people of Washington, D.C. Shuff served as D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s campaign manager, chief of staff to the Congressional Progressive Caucus Foundation and worked on behalf of the LGBTQIA+ and immigrant communities during his nonprofit tenure.
While advocacy and political strategy have been his most recent occupation, Bo is a hospitalitarian at heart. Shuff spent a decade in bars and restaurants early in his career, where he initially learned the art of service, before moving into the campaign realm and he developed the skills to navigate matrixed organizations, and the balance of empowering diverse community groups while keeping overall community goals in mind. His broad experience will serve him well as the USBG’s new executive director and will greatly benefit the USBG as the organization continues its evolution and ongoing commitment to education, advocacy, and membership development.
Shuff’s excitement about this new role is balanced with strategic and achievable goals, and he sees his past informing the future.
“Bartending and service are micro-level politics,” he said. “This community means a lot to me personally, and I want the USBG to move the general public’s perception of bartending as a career undertaken by creative people with a high degree of professionalism who are serious about their craft.”
USBG president Ingrid Shawn Rodriguez welcomes Shuff and knows that hiring him to lead the staff of this volunteer-run, chapter-driven organization was the right hiring decision. “Bo brings new eyes from outside the industry, while still understanding its nuances and being able to immediately impact what we can do. We have this fourth pillar of advocacy, and he understands how to take on what we are doing and how to grow it.”
Guiding advocacy efforts and helping the board define its mission in this space, along with overseeing education and addressing other member needs with the staff, is something Shuff is set to do when he starts on Monday, August 19.
Interim executive director, Jarrette Moore, is pleased to pass the baton to him and return to her role as director of membership and professional development.
“Bo has a really good idea of who we are and what we can do. Our strategic plan is in place as are our pillars, and we anticipate massive changes over the next 18-24 months that will greatly benefit our members. We feel extremely comfortable with him being the face of the brand.”
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