The Kentucky Distillers Association announced a new partnership with University of Louisville as it makes a more intentional effort to make the industry more inclusive.“We're an industry that's been predominantly driven by white males for 200 years,” KDA President Eric Gregory said Monday.He added that the local industry “barely scratches the surface” when it comes to including women.“We are an industry that has very few voices at the table and that must change, and that must change now,” Gregory told WLKY News.KDA recently formed the "Lifting Spirits Foundation," a nonprofit that will offer scholarships to underrepresented groups.Gregory said that the goal is to eventually include more internships, externships and on-the-job experiences.Preference for these opportunities, Gregory said, will be given to people of color, LGBTQ and women.“We’ve only got a handful of women on our board. Our current chairwoman is only the third woman to ever chair the KDA's board in our history. That's shameful. We've got to do better than that,” said Gregory.The unique, industry-focused certifications offered at several Kentucky higher education institutions, could open doors for much more than distilling Kentucky’s liquid gold.Gregory explained that the distillery industry employs more than 20,000 people across the commonwealth.“You don't have to have the last name of Samuels or Beam or Russell or something like that to be in the distilling industry. There's accountant jobs, marketing, branding, brand building -- there's trade skills: welding and craftsman-- all sort of things available in the industry,” said Gregory.The scholarships are available to University of Louisville graduate students. It’s also available at University of Kentucky, where both graduate and undergraduate students can apply.The group wants to expand to more technical colleges, Gregory said. He also explained that the KDA has also created an advisory board, made up of community members with diverse backgrounds and perspectives.