BREWERY OPERATIONS MANAGER
Hayley Shine
Hayley Shine joined the RJBC brewing team from Chicago, where she launched a unique and successful liquids program for an ambitious startup brewery and cidery called ERIS. Learning the art of cider making and falling in love with apples has partly inspired her great move from the Windy City to the Hudson River Valley.
Hayley’s love for beer dates back to stolen sips of Corona during her early childhood in Florida. She discovered craft beer during her college days at University of California at Berkeley, drinking Sierra Nevada Pale Ale while struggling through physics problem sets. Hayley put her bioengineering degree to use exploring the art and science of home brewing, easily becoming the most popular hippie on frat row.
After a brief stint brewing and distilling at Rogue Ales in the Pacific Northwest, Hayley worked for Rock Bottom Restaurants and Breweries for a dozen years. In 2012, she landed at the helm of Rock Bottom Chicago, an institution with a reputation for churning out exceptional brewers. Hayley has won an impressive list of brewing awards, most recently a bronze medal in Juicy Hazy IPA at the Great American Beer Festival.
EXECUTIVE CHEF
Mathew Burnell
A native of the Hudson Valley, Executive Chef Mathew Burnell has been working in restaurants since the age of 14, including 13 years as a professional chef. His varied background includes a long history in both catering and fine dining as well as work as a corporate and a private chef. Along the way he trained under and worked alongside chefs who were classically schooled at the Culinary Institute of America, Le Cordon Bleu, and the International School of Culinary Education. He traveled across the country to pursue different local cuisines – including Southern and Cajun – and fell in love with elevated comfort food. He’s also trained in French and Italian cuisine as well as in pastry and bread. He’s a welcome addition to the Roe Jan team, leveraging his extensive training with a positive, “can-do” attitude that makes our kitchen sing!
SOUS CHEF
Leanne Gerbasio
Sous Chef Leanne Gerbasio moved from her hometown in New Jersey to the Hudson Valley in 2022, when she joined the Roe Jan Brewing culinary team. She brings nearly 20 years of restaurant experience – including 14 years as a culinary professional – to her role as “second in command” in our kitchen, where she assists the Executive Chef with overseeing daily operations, supervising and training staff, managing inventory, ensuring food quality, and developing new menu items. Her endearing personality and commitment to excellence keep our kitchen team smiling even while they’re working hard.
Fun fact: Leanne is an avid fantasy football player and a die-hard fan of the Philadelphia Eagles – “Go Birds!”
OWNER
Kathy Bluestone
Kathy has over 30 years’ experience developing consumer marketing strategy for small businesses, Fortune 500 companies, and not-for-profit organizations. She has a lifelong passion for food and craft beverages, developed through classes at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, the Institute of Culinary Education and the International Wine Center in New York City, King Arthur Flour in Vermont, the Cordon Bleu in Florence, and anywhere else she could find opportunities to learn, from Oregon to South Africa.
Midway through her career in marketing, Kathy left her day job to attend the French Culinary Institute (now the International Culinary Center) in New York City. After earning a certificate in artisanal bread baking, she began work as a professional baker, but a persistent case of tendonitis forced her to leave the bakery and return to the world of spreadsheets.
Kathy has a BA in piano performance from The College of William & Mary, an MBA from Duke University, and a master’s in teaching English as a Second Language from Columbia University. When she’s not at the computer she loves to garden and play Beatles tunes on the piano for her best canine pal, Daisy.
OWNER
Steve Bluestone
Steve has worked as a developer, general contractor, property manager, and building systems manufacturer. With his former partners he produced thousands of units of housing and tens of thousands of square feet of retail space, most in new structures that are among the top 1% in energy efficiency in the New York City metropolitan area. He has been an industry leader in energy efficiency for decades, and continues to pursue his passion of researching new products and systems while also introducing innovative building methods. He has spoken at dozens of building and energy conferences throughout the country and continues to share his knowledge to help inspire the industry to reduce overall energy and water consumption.
After moving to Hillsdale in 2017 to live in the net-zero, Passive House-certified home he and Kathy built, he embarked on the Roe Jan project, incorporating his prior experience to make the renovated building one of the most efficient microbreweries built to date.
Steve’s passions include hiking, riding his touring bicycle, performing for 30+ years with The Bouwerie Boys (a NYC-based Morris dancing group), and drinking one of his favorite beverages, beer.