I grew up in the sticks. I had to walk three quarters of a mile to the school bus stop. My entire K-8th grade school had a total of 100 students. Nine kids graduated alongside me at our 8th grade promotion—and I had known most of those kids my whole life.
Technically, I didn’t even have a hometown, just an unincorporated area. We had no stop lights. Not only that, but our town leader, Bosco, was a canine. Mayor Bosco was like many politicians; often found laying in the middle of the road or begging for treats at the café in those rare moments when he wasn’t suspected of carousing with lady friends while being on an “out of town junket”. He even got written up in a Chinese newspaper extolling how Americans didn’t value our government—California Has Dog Mayor.
Leaving home to attend UC Davis was daunting. My freshman chemistry class had more people in it than my entire hometown. I was a Bio Sci major lost in a sea of young science students. Courses were interesting. Chemistry was my least favorite, but zoology struck a nerve. Then I took my first botany class, taught by Dr. Thornton. Professor Thornton was an extraordinary professor. Growing up in the country I grew vegetable crops and studied plants as I wandered the hills around me. Learning about the science and ecology of plants grabbed my attention, and I quickly decided to major in botany.
At UC Davis you can major in so many different sciences, but botany was perfect for me. I was an active member of the Botany Club. I had a great advisor, Dr. Terence Murphy, who helped with my pursuit of the degree in 4 years—with a 5 month trip to Europe not derailing my bachelor’s degree.
In 1992 I graduated with a BS in Botany and literally carried the flag for the Botany Department at graduation. I was one of 13 botany grads. Sadly, we were the end of an era, with the degree being renamed Plant Science the following year.
For a few years after graduation, I worked in laboratories. After a short stint in Raleigh, NC I moved to Indianapolis–the capital of Indiana. This allowed my husband and I to be near his extended family and allowed us to buy a house at 23 years of age. I was working for Moseley Laboratories/Vivolac Cultures. To this day I am friends with the owners of the company—even visiting their extended family in Mexico from time to time. Again, I gravitated towards a smaller environment where I could connect with people and enjoy my work.
Moving back to California in 1995, I first landed back in that small town, housesitting for my good friends while they sailed to Mexico. I went to work for a scientific recruitment firm—cutting my teeth on sales and technical recruiting in the SF Bay Area. I then opened up a new office for a different recruiting company in Walnut Creek. From there I was asked to open the Sacramento office for Yoh Scientific.
Opening a new office in an unknown town was a challenge, but I really enjoyed it. I had done the same thing in Walnut Creek with a friend and was ready to do it on my own in Sacramento. Our office quickly included engineering, IT, and managed staffing business units. The Sacramento entity became one of the top 10 offices for The Yoh Company—not too shabby for a girl from the sticks!
While at Yoh I created the wine business for the scientific business group. I had always wanted to work in wine. I often think about my first lunch meeting with a winemaker from Mumm. I was like a sponge in that and my future meetings—trying to learn as much as possible so that I could excel in wine placements.
My time with Yoh was a great foundation. I learned how to create a diverse client base, how to avoid financial risks when working with companies, and how to manage people. I really loved working with people—and again—am friends with many of my former co-workers to this day.
All good things must come to an end, and after 9 years I left Yoh. I knew I was going to start up a wine executive search firm and dove headfirst into entrepreneurship.
Looking back on over two decades of wine recruiting I know I landed in the right place. The wine industry is a very intimate one. People know each other. A person’s reputation is very important in business relationships. Personal stories are shared and friendships formed. Many new projects are landed through positive word of mouth. Like all industries, connections matter–but in the wine industry it feels more intimate—with people depending on you to help their business and their careers. I feel like I landed in exactly the right spot for my career success. Not only can a girl from a small town feel part of the wine industry, but she can actually thrive in it.
(Please note: That beautiful image of the backyard of my youth was from Sunol Wilderness Regional Preserve – East Bay Parks, taken by Ramu Ramaswamy. For more information please visit the site at https://www.ebparks.org/parks/sunol)
