Denizens Brewing Co-Founder To Join Biden Administration

SILVER SPRING, MD — The co-founder of a popular craft brewery in Silver Spring is joining the Biden Administration.

Julie Verratti — who, with her wife, runs Denizens Brewing Co. — announced she has been appointed to the U.S. Small Business Administration.

As associate administrator of field operations, Verratti will lead the SBA's 68 field offices and 10 regional offices to deliver products and services for America's small businesses. She will step away from her full-time role at Denizens to accept the presidential appointment.

"This is an urgent time to work tirelessly on bold and equitable solutions for the hard-working women and men who operate the millions of small businesses that are the backbone of our economy and communities," she said in a statement obtained by numerous media outlets. "I am a passionate and true believer that when government is run well, we can deliver positive impacts for people."

Verratti, who will start her new job on March 1, is no stranger to politics or the SBA.

She ran for lieutenant governor of Maryland in 2018 on a ticket with Alec Ross. And before opening Denizens in 2014, she was a presidential management fellow and policy advisor for the SBA.

Verratti has also served on the board of directors for the Brewers Association since 2018, and on the board of directors for the Brewers Association of Maryland since 2019.

"All of us who know Julie know that she will be amazing in her new role as an outspoken advocate for small businesses across the country," Denizens said in a statement. "Julie's work has had a positive impact for Denizens and for so many others as well, and we are very grateful for all of her tireless advocacy on behalf of small brewers in Maryland and throughout the U.S."

Denizens was founded nearly a decade ago by Verratti, her wife Emily Bruno, and brother-in-law Jeff Ramirez. It was the first production brewery in Montgomery County and one of the few female-owned breweries in the region.

At Denizens, customers can pick from a large selection of pilsners, hazy IPAs, barrel-aged stouts, mix-fermentation sours, and hard seltzers.

"Craft beer doesn't need to be exclusive, and that is why we started this company," Denizens' website read. "Everyone has a seat at our table. Everyone matters. And everyone deserves delicious craft beer made right in their own neighborhood by people who live in their neighborhood."

The brewery opened its second location in Riverdale Park in 2019.