Annette is the founder of annette a.p. Wine and Spirits Inc, a consultancy business focused on business development and merchandising for the wine and spirits industry.

She previously held a 37 year career with Costco Wholesale, including 25 years in the Beverage Alcohol department retiring in January 2020 as Vice President/General Merchandise Manager. Annette has extensive managerial and merchandising experience in the wine and spirits business. She led a team in the United States with a global sales volume of approximately $4.8 billion (2019). During her tenure, Annette led the development for the successful private label brand, Kirkland Signature for wine and spirit items.

In May 2021, Annette was appointed to the Board of Directors for Crimson Wine Group, a portfolio which engages in the production and sale of luxury wines. She is also on the advisory board and serves as a Mentor for Wine Unify, a non-profit organization to promote and celebrate diversity in the wine industry.

You can follow her on Instagram at @annette.a.p.

Paula de Pano is the founder and owner of Rocks + Acid, a mission-based wine shop and tasting room opening in Spring 2022 in Chapel Hill, NC. The award-winning sommelier, wine educator and one of the leading wine professionals of the South, recognized by Wine Enthusiast as one of the country’s “Five Filipino and Filipino-American Sommeliers” helping to change the narrative in the United States, is the former Beverage Director for the Five Diamond, Relais & Chateaux Fearrington House Inn and Fearrington Village in Pittsboro, NC. In addition to her nine years at Fearrington House Inn, she spent two-years as Senior Sommelier at Eleven Madison Park. Originally from Manila, De Pano attended the Culinary Institute of America and holds the Advanced Sommelier title from The Court of Master Sommeliers Americas, the second-highest sommelier ranking, following Master Sommelier.

When dePano began her career in hospitality, there were no brown women present; she strives to help other women navigate their role in hospitality or retail by sharing her challenges and obstacles in the wine industry. You can follow Paula on Instagram at @sommgirl.

Linda Wish has 30 years’ experience in the wine and spirits industry, beginning as a restaurant server in New Jersey during high school/college. Linda moved onto the wholesaler side of the business calling on wine shops and restaurants when there were very few if any women in these roles. Wish then moved to Hawaii, continuing her role working for one of the largest wholesalers in the US and calling on hotels, on-premise, and fine wine shops before shifting to the off-premise sector. She was then promoted to Account Executive for Club channel for two states–Hawaii and California. Linda transitioned from wholesaler to supplier, working for Hess Collection calling on the off-premise sector, followed by working for the importer, Vintus. Today, Linda represents Ste. Michelle Wine Estates as a senior member of their National Accounts team and she brings a wealth of relationships and experience to the role of Mentor.

Linda resides in Dana Point, CA with her rescue chi-mix fur-baby, Lucky-boy. Her hobbies include golf, gardening beautiful succulents, tasting wines, and cooking. You can follow Linda on Instagram at @winewish.

Susan Hayes is the Vice President of MO Cellar Selections, a portfolio specializing in premium and super premium wines and spirits in the Pacific Northwest. Susan retired from a long time career as Buyer in the wine and spirits field at Costco Wholesale, a position she held for 15 years in two regions in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest. Susan’s buying career expands decades and has allowed her to travel the world, meet notable personalities in the wine and spirits industry, and study with experts; including earning her WSET Level 2 certificate. She was also inducted into Bordeaux’s Commanderie du Bontemps de Médoc. Susan’s industry experience is truly invaluable and can help mentees navigate through their own careers. Hayes has a passion for food, wine and spirits, friends, travel, and art. Upon leaving the corporate world, while vacationing in Hawaii, Sue began a business painting pet portraits, which have been commissioned all over the USA and as far as the UK.

Susan lives in Washington State with her companion Rick. They enjoy boating the beautiful Washington lakes, traveling to Mexico and Europe and most of all spending time with their seven children and five grandchildren. You can follow Susan on Instagram at @suehayes3442.

Melissa Zeman is the owner of BottlesUp!, a bottle shop and experience in Chicago. She graduated from Trinity University (San Antonio) in 2007 and in 2009 leapt into the wine industry, officially beginning her career with the full intent of opening her own shop (which ultimately took ten years). During that time Zeman received her WSET Level 2 and managed two different retail shops, specializing in event planning/execution and wine club management. She opened BottlesUp! in September 2019 and runs all aspects of the business. She focuses on being an active part of the community, growing the shop’s 400+ member wine club, and further developing the recurring BeyoU Ladies’ Nights.

In her free time, you can find Zeman playing soccer and supporting fellow small businesses/industry comrades. Follow Melissa and the business at @bottles_up_chicago.

Chrissy Edrozo is the regional wine buyer for Costco Wholesale overseeing the Southwest region, purchasing for 44 locations in 5 states. She holds the WSET Advanced Level 3 award and continues her studies. Chrissy is a wine contributor to the member monthly publication The Costco Connection and a representative of Costco’s in-house women's group, Journey’s. Edrozo began her career in 2001 at Costco. Prior to that, she held many roles beginning in operations at an entry level position before transitioning to the purchasing department. She held various roles within the Mexico buying division and then moved to the Southwest region in the Food & Sundries division.

Today, she resides in San Diego, CA with her Fire Captain husband, Ronnie and their family of labs, Bubba and Besty Lou. You can follow Chrissy on Instagram at @chrissyedrozo.

Rachel Gross is the Director of New World Wine at Total Wine & More, a large, family-owned, privately held American alcohol retailer based in Bethesda, MD. She attended Indiana University, and for her entire career in the industry Rachel has worked on the retail side of the business. She has been with Total Wine & More since April 2010, starting as an associate buyer on the domestic wine team. She has managed the premium domestic, value France, South America and Kosher/Israel wine businesses. Rachel excels at negotiation skills, while often being the only woman at the table. She loves the complexity of the wine industry and helping others dissect and navigate through the 3-tier system. A big supporter of women in the industry, she strives to help all women grow and build relationships.

Rachel resides in Gaithersburg, MD with her husband Stephen and two children Jacob and Eliana, along with their Airedale Terrier, Porter.

Anny Chen has worked in the wine industry for 12 years. She is currently a Senior Fine Wine Consultant at Morrell & Company, helping private clients source top wines for their cellars, focusing on blue chip producers and new cult wines that are the next big thing. Anny’s focus is quite niche, hyperfocused on building one-on-one relationships with top collectors in the fine wine world. Anny started her career in wine in 2009 on the sales floor of Zachys Wine & Liquor and was quickly promoted throughout the years up to Vice President of Sales. She has a similar passion for travel and augments her wine education through trips to Burgundy, Champagne, and Bordeaux, tasting with winemakers whenever possible. ​She holds a Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) credential as well as the WSET Level 3 Advanced, and is a Founding Member of Societe des Ami du Champagne (SAC)​ in New York. ​Anny graduated cum laude from New York University with a double major in International Relations and East Asian Studies, and holds a Master of Science in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics. Prior to her entry into the wine world, Anny worked in Sales and Trading at Bank of America. You can follow Anny on Instagram at @annerz35.

Jenn Holterman is the Merchandise Director of Wine at Target based in Minneapolis, MN. Jenn has been at Target for 12 years with the most recent 9 years on the Adult Beverage team. She began her career in Space/Presentation followed by the Multicultural team supporting Beauty/Healthcare. During her time on the Adult Beverage team, she more than doubled the business to over $1B today through elevated store experiences, new licenses and launching several successful national brands. She also introduced the regional buying model for Target, launched Adult Bev Order Pick-up/Drive-up nationally in nearly 1,200 stores and developed and launched over 14 exclusively launched brands (including California Roots which is now a top wine brand at Target). Jenn has accomplished all this growth while maintaining her passion for driving diversity in the wine industry and delivering curated offerings that are authentic, trend-forward, and innovative for the Target guest.

Jenn is married to her husband Andy and together they have two little boys - Nicholas and Bennett. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, biking and watching sports with her family. You can follow Jenn on Instagram at @jennjeane.

Rebecca Powelson is the Vice President of Sales for the Avanti Division at Riboli Family Wines (since 2021). This is a new position curating a new division while managing the Costco and Whole Foods retail accounts. Prior to this role, Rebecca worked for 13 years with Atlas Imports with focus on imported boutique wineries. She was a partner overseeing their domestic and import portfolios, managing national distribution, and working with national accounts. She also serves as President for Meredith’s Miracles, a foundation committed to helping young adults with colon cancer. In addition, she volunteers with A House on Beekman, an organization serving the children of the South Bronx. Powelson has overcome personal challenges being a woman at a young age in this industry and has a desire to help women in wine by paying it forward by sharing her journey, obstacles, and outcomes.

Rebecca’s wine career began in 2005 in Chicago after graduating from Miami University. Powelson has her CSW and WSET Level 2 certifications. She has traveled to over 50 countries and is grateful to have climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2019. She resides in New York along with her fiancé, Dimitris. You can follow Rebecca on Instagram at @beccapowelson.

Tina Boyle manages supplier relations and special projections within the marketing division for MISA Imports, one of the largest Bordeaux wine importers in the USA. She spent the prior four years as General Manager, Vice President, for MISA-California, a distribution corporation with responsibility for both wines and spirits sales and warehouse operations. Boyle held a retail buying role before she transitioned to the importer/wholesaler side of the business. Tina worked 28 years for Costco Wholesale, with over 22 years experience in the Los Angeles Region buying division and 6 years of club store retail operations. She held the position of Buyer for Wine, Beer, and Spirits from 2005-2015, managing over $550 million in sales annually. She has the WSET Level 3 certification and has managed 150+ employees over her career while guiding many into management roles. Her areas of strength include solid negotiating capabilities and willingness to grow the business in the best interest of the company. Tina works with team members to exemplify the company’s core values through commitment to service. She focuses on individual team member talents to maximize team productivity while infusing respect, humility, and kindness into business relations.

Tina recently relocated from Southern California to Austin, Texas with her husband, Mike and has two daughters Justine and Cameron. You can follow Tina on Instagram @tina.ford.boyle.