In this episode we sit down with Brent and Dr. Karen Looby to explore the intersections of conservation, entrepreneurship, and Texas heritage through the stories of Desert Door and Wild Spirit Wild Places®. Brent takes us on the journey of Desert Door, from field to bottle, sharing how the craft distillery came to life. Meanwhile, Karen discusses how their non-profit arm works tirelessly to protect Texas’s wild lands. Whether you’re interested in environmental stewardship, business innovation, or the rich culture of Texas, this podcast offers inspiring conversations that capture the true spirit of the Lone Star State.
In this episode:
Colton Harbert, The Roundup with Capitol Ranch Podcast Host
Brent Looby, CEO and Co-Founder of Desert Door
Dr. Karen Looby, CEO of Wild Spirit Wild Places®
BRENT LOOBY:
IG @desertdoor
Brent Looby earned his BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1993. After graduation, he had a brief career as a manufacturing engineer at Mentor H/S and Motorola MOS-11 as a photolithography engineer. He left the private sector after four years to pursue a career in Naval Aviation where he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps in April 1997 and was designated a Naval Aviator in January 1999 where he served a total of 21 years as a EA-6B Prowler Pilot accumulating over 1600 total flight hours and 300 combat mission hours. His experience also included serving as Chief Operating Officer of the largest Air Group in the USMC where he directed and supervised operations and managed requirements for an $8B enterprise with an annual budget of $500M that consisted of 4,500 personnel, 110 aircraft and associated ground support and test equipment. During his final tour, he served as a research and development analyst, specializing in electro-magnetic spectrum technologies, for the Department of Defense. It was during this period he enrolled in the Executive MBA program at McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin where he met his soon to be two co-founders and created Desert Door Texas Sotol upon graduation in 2017. At the beginning of 2018, Desert Door had 3 employees and local distribution. Desert Door now directly employs 42 people across 9 U.S. cities and is currently distributed throughout 21 U.S. states, Europe and Military Sales.
A native of Midland Texas and a 5th generation Texan, Brent now resides in Austin with the love of his life Karen. They have one daughter Jessica and a grandson Christian. He is passionate about guitar, food, drink, travel and their beloved German Shepherds.
DR. KAREN LOOBY:
Dr. Karen Looby is CEO of Wild Spirit Wild Places®, a non-profit that creates connections and builds a community committed to protecting the expansive wild lands of Texas through conservation and education efforts. Karen has over 30 years of experience in public education as an elementary school teacher, administrator, professional learning facilitator, researcher, and program evaluator. This expertise puts her in a unique position to help educate the community and build commitments that are paramount to building sustainable efforts. The motivation is simple — we don’t want to be the generation that sat idly by while our wild places disappeared.
A native Texan with historic generational roots, Karen grew up fully versed in Texas lore and with an appetite to explore its wild places. Karen lives in Austin with her husband, Brent Looby, Co-Founder of Desert Door Texas Sotol and also a homegrown Texan. Karen enjoys spending time with family, spoiling her German Shepherds, training her horses, and traveling.
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