An industry changemaker, Tonya is a wine professional who catapults wineries and winemakers into the mainstream. She is also a leader for diversity and inclusion in the hospitality, food and beverage industries.

Tonya is a certified sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers and a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier International. As Sommelier & Wine Director for One Market Restaurant in San Francisco, Tonya curated a wine list with a bold style and flavor profile, including offerings by women, Black and Latino winemakers. She is also an active philanthropist and mentor, establishing Women in Wine to improve representation in the industry. She also holds a professorship with the University of San Francisco, working with students on food and wine pairings and is an ambassador, advisory board member and mentor for Wine Unify. You can follow her on Instagram at @noirsommelier.

Alisha Blackwell-Calvert is a Certified Sommelier and a Certified Specialist of Wine from St. Louis, MO. She has worked several positions within the industry including serving, managing, wine sales, floor sommelier, wine retail, and beverage director. Her strengths are held in food and wine pairing and blind tasting theory. Blackwell-Calvert is currently an independent wine consultant, creating wine lists for clients, conducting staff trainings, and managing private cellars. You can follow her on Instagram at @exquisitevines.

Additional IAF: Sales & Marketing

Barbara is a Bay Area wine and food trainer and educator. She got her start in the kitchen, cooking at several notable Northern California restaurants including Chez Panisse, Square One, and China Moon Café. She then moved to the Front-of-House, managing Zuni Café for four years.

Shifting her focus to wine, she directed wine programs at China Moon Café, Stars, Vertigo, Café Rouge, and continues to run the wine program at Shakewell in Oakland, while consulting and teaching about wine and restaurant operations in City College of San Francisco’s Culinary and Hospitality Studies program.

Carlin Karr, Wine Director of Frasca Hospitality Group, has been a member of the Frasca wine team since 2012. She oversees the award winning wine programs at Frasca, Pizzeria Locale, Tavernetta, and Sunday Vinyl in Boulder and Denver. After graduating from the University of Colorado in 2008, Carlin moved to San Francisco, where she opened the restaurant Sons & Daughters as General Manager and Wine Director. Carlin is recognized as an “Advanced Sommelier” by the Court of Master Sommeliers. Carlin has been recognized in Food & Wine’s Sommeliers of the Year 2018, Wine Enthusiast “40 Under 40” in 2019, Forbes “30 under 30” in 2011, Wine & Spirits Magazine “Best New Sommeliers”, and Eater “Young Guns”. You can follow her on Instagram at @carlinkarr.

Fiona S. Mak is the owner and winemaker of SMAK Wines, a Rosé exclusive winery in Walla Walla. She earned her Certified Sommelier title while managing at Quality Meats, having only trained for 1.5 years. In 2013 she relocated to Walla Walla WA to begin studies for Viticulture and Enology. Upon graduating, she was offered a lab tech position at Artifex Wine Company, a custom crush winery overseen by Jean- Francois Pallet of Pepperbridge. What began as a part time position soon turned into full time lab management, catering to the winemaking needs of 12-15 clients at once. Fiona founded SMAK Wines in 2018 and produces 3 Rosés modeled after the seasons. Her 2019 Spring Rosé of Sangiovese, was on the top of the list of “2020’s Top 20 Northwest Wines Under $20” as well as one of the “Top 20 Northwest Wines of 2020”, both by The Seattle Times. You can follow her on Instagram at @fiona_smak.

Additional IAF: Cellar/Production

In response to the changing world around her Kat created CORE Body | Mind, LLC, a consulting platform and support network that guides through physical and motivational trainings. It is her way to give back to the hospitality industry with health in motion and with a curated plan for you and your team. As a certified personal trainer, yoga guide, and cancer exercise specialist, Kat is making the effort to find, and share, the balance of hospitality and life with her peers and community while she experiences all the challenges and inspirations along the way.

She is an Advanced Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers and is currently preparing for the CMS Master Sommelier Exam in 2021. She is the Wine Scholar Guild’s Spanish Wine instructor for the Las Vegas Wine Academy, has passed her WSET Level 2 in Wine & Spirits, is a Sake Certified Specialist and a Sherry Certified Specialist. You can follow her on Instagram at @winegoddesslv.

After earning a degree in Sustainable Agriculture and Gender Studies, Kristin Olszewski got her start in restaurants in the Bay Area. She joined the front of house team at Saison, where she was first exposed to French wine. She has been a sommelier at Straight Wharf Restaurant in Nantucket, Beverage Director at Husk Nashville and for F10 Creative in Palm Springs. She was on the sommelier team at Osteria Mozza working with a list of over 1500-all-Italian selections and is obsessed with Italian wines. Kristin is currently the Wine Director at Gigi's where she has curated a list focused in wines from France and California. She’s a Founder and Chief Beverage Officer of Nomadica Wine where she curates a selection of high quality canned wine. You can follow her on Instagram at @kristin___o.

Additional IAF: Sales & Marketing

Melissa Smith is a chef, certified sommelier, and the Founder of Enotrias Elite Sommelier Services. While she was the Head Sommelier for K&L Wine Merchants, she developed the first iPhone app for wine pronunciation, and went on to found Enotrias, providing in-home and corporate wine tasting seminars, and private cellar management, organizing, inventorying, and assigning valuations for insurance and legal purposes. Melissa is the first person to give a legal seminar on The Valuation of Wine Collections that has been approved by the State Bar Associations of California, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Texas, Illinois, and Connecticut. You can follow her on Instagram at @winechef.

Additional IAF: Retail

Growing up in the Loire Valley and detouring from a career as a philosophy teacher, Pascaline Lepeltier, MS is a sommelier based in Manhattan, NY. After working in Michelin-star restaurants in France, she moved to New York City to open and run the Michelin-star Rouge Tomate beverage program for 10 years. Her wine list was quickly recognized and in 2017 was named “Best Wine List in World” by The World of Fine Wine. She has been a Master Sommelier since 2014, and became the first woman to win the Best French Sommelier competition in 2018. This year she also became a MOF, “Un des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France” in sommellerie. She teaches with the Court of Master Sommelier and the Wine Scholar Guild. Pascaline writes a monthly tribune for the French wine publication, La Revue du Vin de France, and is preparing her first book to be published in 2022. Finally, she makes natural wines from organic historical hybrids with her partner Nathan Kendall in the Finger Lakes, NY, under the label chëpìka. You can follow her on Instagram at @pascalinelepeltier.

Over the past 30 years, Shelley Lindgren has channeled her deep-seated appreciation for Italy into an award-winning career in wine. She earned her sommelier’s certificate while working at San Francisco’s iconic restaurant, Fleur de Lys, and went on to earn a culinary certificate at the Tante Marie Cooking School, and became a wine instructor for 12 years. In 2015, Shelley received the James Beard Award for “Outstanding Wine Program” at A16. A member of Les Dames d’ Escoffier, Shelley’s involvement in the local community extends beyond the walls of her restaurants, and she serves as a board member of Guild of Sommeliers and Marin’s Slide Ranch. In 2012, she co-authored her second book, SPQR: Modern Italian Food & Wine. Her third book, 'The New Italian Wine', will be released Spring 2021. Shelley’s reputation as an industry pioneer and advocate for the wines of Italy was recognized in 2019, as she was recently knighted by the Consulate General of Italy in San Francisco receiving the "Cavaliere dell'Ordine Della Stella Italia" recognition. You can follow her on Instagram at @shelleylindgren.

Zwann Grays is a wine buyer specializing in wine list diversity with a focus on natural and sustainable wines. Grays has worked many jobs in the wine industry including retail and sales. Finally landing in restaurants, she has worked in fine dining, casual fine dining and some of the city's most exciting wine bars. Now at Olmsted and Maison Yaki, located in Brooklyn, she oversees two wine lists that have received great attention. This journey in wine has educated but has also secured within her a certain confidence in this business that she didn't necessarily start out with. Now, secure in herself and in her skills she is eager to hear from You, conversing, sharing and answering questions in the mentor capacity. You can follow her on Instagram at @zwanng.