MA in Global Communications. Marketing & PR Communications, Brand Content Development, Destination Marketing & Communications.
Subject: Following the Olive Oil Trail through California
I am an innovative, impactful, dynamic, and resourceful communications leader and destination content manager with extensive experience as an integrated marketing specialist and creative visionary. My strength lies in strategizing, executing, and leading communications efforts to increase brand awareness. With 25 years of experience publishing travel, food, wine, and wellness stories, I am considered a tourism expert.
My professional background includes roles in Marketing and PR Communications and Brand Content Development (2019 to present), and as Destination Marketing & Communications Director at Visit Calistoga (2015 to 2019). From 2005 to 2014, I served as Editor of Special Features and as a syndicated food and travel columnist. My freelance writing has appeared in Apple News, Napa Valley Register, USA Today, Metro News, Very Napa Valley Magazine, Edible Marin/Wine Country Magazine, and in syndicated columns for Gannett. I have also served as a Paris hotel correspondent for Forbes Travel Guide.
I have produced sponsored content for Auberge Resorts, Sauce Hair Products, Pedago Electric Bikes, and AvantStay itineraries. My book writing includes “Travel Makes Me… Hungry in Mexico & The Caribbean” (2021), “Travel Makes Me Hungry: Tales of Tastes & Indigenous Recipes to Share” (2020), and a contributing chapter in “Digital Marketers Sound Off: Tips, Tactics, Tools and Predictions from 101 Digital Marketing Specialists” (2018).
Tourism-related highlights in my career include teaching Travel Writing at Napa Valley College Up Valley Campus, attending the Australian Tourism Exchange (Adelaide, Kangaroo Island, Tasmania, Sydney, and Byron Bay), and participating in the International Wine Tourism Conference in La Champagne, France. I also joined E.J. Gallo for the “Italians Do It Better” VIP wine and food tour through Tuscany and Giuseppe Giusti Olive Oil. My wine judging experience includes the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition (2018) and the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles (2007).
I have been invited to speak on the Wine Women Radio Show about Calistoga tourism, on the Transformed Traveler Radio Show about how travel has shaped my life, and on Travel 2.0 to discuss my personal and professional journey in travel.
My education and training include a Wines of Portugal Academy Certification (2020), Wine & Spirit Education Trust Level 2 Award Certification (2019), a Master of Arts in Global Communications in Paris (2015), and a Bachelor of Arts in Writing, Literature & Publishing in Boston (2005).
Activities and honors include membership in the International Food, Wine, Travel Writers Association (2021–present), TravMedia (2012–present), and the Society of American Travel Writers (2019–2021). I have served as Wine Women Board Director for Business Development (2019–2020), as a member of the Public Relations Society of America (2015–2020), the Association of Food Journalists (2017–2019), and as Public Awareness Board Director for Soroptimist International of Calistoga (2017–2018). Additionally, I served as President of the Wine Society Club at the American University of Paris (2014–2015).