Biography

I’m not the kind of person you’d expect would blossom into a highly creative, wine marketing consultant. My first “fine wine” was Mad Dog 20/20. But that’s a story for another time (in my memoir).

As a young adult, I funneled my creativity into poetry, journalism and abstract art. My father was a carpenter, and my mother painted, played the guitar and made my dresses on her sewing machine. Building and creating were in my blood, even if I didn’t realize it yet. 

 After several years in wine journalism and winery event planning, I shifted my creative skills into public relations and communications for a wine importer and marketer. Not long after YouTube was born, I embraced video storytelling and began honing my videographer and photographer skills. Like many wine marketing professionals, I joined the social media circus and tried as many rings as possible. I’m not sure if I’m proud or embarrassed that I made my own Ice Bucket Challenge video. 

During my tenure at Jordan Vineyard & Winery, I built an award-winning wine blog, conceived and produced several award-winning parody videos, served as in-house publicist, handled all traditional and email marketing, wrote all copy and sprinkled my creative ideas throughout the brand strategy, marketing, social media, events and hospitality experiences. I could’ve opened a hat store or a juggling certification school.

Meanwhile, in my personal life, my husband is incredibly talented medical device industry executive who moonlighted as a photographer for many years. He also is a skilled craftsman, and together, we have remodeled two homes, built and rebuilt multiple gardens—some of which were not by choice, thanks to the Tubbs Fire. But that experience awakened the designer inside me.

The pandemic served as a turning point in my career and my creative direction. Like many people, my work had to pivot. My energy shifted from public relations and social media to interior design renovations at Jordan. I began remodeling tasting spaces, both indoor and outdoor, and working with outside interior designers on major hospitality design renovation projects. I became the stylist and interior decorator, choosing everything from furniture, antique busts and decorative pillows to bathroom accessories and floral vases. Surprisingly, my creative mind didn’t miss day-to-day marketing or public relations. And I relished the reprieve from the hamster wheel-meets-hornets’ nest that social media management has become. 

When we finished our home and garden rebuild from the fire, Sonoma Magazine heard about us and published an article about my succulent garden design. Neighbors were soon asking me to redesign their yards to the fire-wise and water-wise, and my xeriscape gardens landscape design business, Sonoma Succulents, was born.

By the end of 2022, most design and stylist projects at Jordan Winery were complete, and I really didn’t want to go back to running a winery marketing department. So, I decided to transition into a wine marketing consultant, where I could focus on offering brand strategy, winery stylist, visitor experience design, landscape and floral design, hospitality strategy, content strategy and other creative services to wineries. My services span the myriad skills I’ve developed over the past 25 years in the wine business, though I’m taking a break from a few areas to thwart my addiction to juggling.

My shapeshifting career in wine has entered a new act. I’m a serial creative who lives to generate ideas for brands—and I am thrilled to bring such a diverse set of skills to my clients.