How Wine Taught Me to Lead, Travel and Build a Life Without a Map

In 2009, I made a quiet decision that would reshape my life: I went back to school.

I knew I wanted more from my work and my days — more meaning, more depth and more possibility than the life I was living at the time. I returned to the University of Miami to complete my degree in communications and began asking myself a question that still guides me today: What kind of life am I building, and who am I becoming along the way?

That question has become a personal leadership framework. Career growth, I’ve learned, rarely arrives through dramatic pivots. It unfolds through intentional choices, self-inquiry and a willingness to evolve.

After graduating in 2014, I began writing about wine, food and the arts for local publications and blogs in Miami. I loved the storytelling, the access to creative communities and the opportunity to translate culture for readers. But I also sensed that something larger was calling me forward.

Expanding What’s Possible Through Community

Around that time, I was invited to join Les Dames d’Escoffier, an international organization of women leaders in food, wine and hospitality. Through that community, I met winemakers, sommeliers, restaurateurs, journalists and entrepreneurs who had built careers I had never imagined were possible. Exposure to new role models fundamentally expanded my sense of what was achievable. For the first time, I could see a path into an industry that blended intellect, culture, travel and connection.

Wine became more than a subject; it became a language.

I began pursuing formal certifications, starting with WSET Level 2, and quickly became fascinated by how a single glass could hold geography, history, geology, agriculture and tradition. Wine was not simply something to taste. It was something to understand. More importantly, it was something that connected people across borders and backgrounds.

Courage Compounds

In 2017, I launched Petite Wine Traveler, a platform dedicated to wine and travel storytelling. That same year, I took my first solo trip to Europe. It felt intimidating and exhilarating in equal measure. Since then, traveling independently has become second nature, but I still remember that first leap. Each time you step outside your comfort zone, the next step becomes easier. Courage compounds.

Over time, my work expanded into television, live events and international judging. Today, I serve as the wine contributor for KEYT News Channel 3-12, judge major competitions including the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles and the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, and collaborate with tourism boards and hospitality brands around the world.

In spaces that have historically been dominated by older male voices, particularly in Europe and professional judging, I have often found myself among a small percentage of women and younger professionals. Rather than seeing this as a limitation, I’ve learned to approach it as an opportunity: to bring fresh perspective into established systems and to model visibility for others coming behind me.

Leadership Is Stewardship

One of the most formative leadership experiences of my career came in 2024–25, when I was invited to serve as director of the Santa Barbara Culinary Experience in partnership with The Julia Child Foundation. In one year, I scaled the festival from 29 to more than 75 curated events, expanded sponsorships, increased attendance and strengthened its cultural relevance across the region.

The work required diplomacy, vision, persistence and trust. It also reinforced a lesson I return to often: leadership is not about control. It is about stewardship — holding space for collaboration, aligning stakeholders and building something that lasts beyond your own involvement.

Wine as a Passport

Throughout my career, I’ve come back to one central idea: wine functions as a passport. It grants access to culture, people and place. It creates permission to enter unfamiliar worlds with humility. It carries memories long after a journey ends. When framed with intention, wine becomes a tool for connection and understanding.

This philosophy now guides my speaking, writing and media work, including my upcoming PBS series, Petite Wine Traveler Explores. Co-producing a national television series has required me to develop an entirely new skill set, particularly in fundraising and sponsorship development. It has pushed me far beyond my original comfort zone.

But growth rarely happens where we feel most prepared. It happens when we stay curious, resilient and transparent.

Building something meaningful takes time. It takes patience. It takes learning to ask for support. It takes trusting that imperfect action is better than perfect hesitation.

Looking back, there was no single moment that defined my path. There were hundreds of small decisions: returning to school, saying yes to opportunities that felt intimidating, investing in education, traveling alone, raising my hand in unfamiliar rooms and continuing to show up even when outcomes were uncertain.

Leadership, I’ve learned, is not about having all the answers. It is about being willing to stay in the conversation long enough to learn them.

Today, I continue to build a career rooted in storytelling, cultural respect and experiential travel. My work is guided by the belief that when we help people understand a place, we help them connect to it and care about it. Through shared experiences, we create loyalty that lasts far longer than any campaign.

Wine taught me how to listen.
Travel taught me how to adapt.
Building a media platform taught me how to lead.

And I am still learning.