Katie (Kah tee) has devoted her entire career to the wine and spirits industry and brings over 20 years of public relations expertise to Calhoun & Company Communications. Prior to founding her own agency in 2003, she worked with pr veteran Edwin J. Schwartz Public Relations for 15 years, where she managed both wine and restaurant clients.
Through her work with a wide variety of wine and spirits companies, Katie has developed a broad perspective on the industry and built strong relationships in the press. She travels frequently to meet with the media and track emerging trends so that her firm can provide the press with individualized and meaningful story ideas.
Katie's industry knowledge has earned her a place among the top wine and spirits professionals as a national competition judge. She currently judges the San Francisco International Wine Competition, Monterey County Wine Competition, San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and is a frequent taster at Wine & Spirits magazine.
A year spent in Paris and France’s celebrated Burgundy region, introduced Katie to the world of fine wine with its ancient traditions and rich history. Upon her return to the United States, she published her college thesis on Women & Champagne in 19th Century France.
For more practical experience, Katie took a marketing internship at Wine Warehouse in Los Angeles, promoting top brands to the trade. In the Bay Area, she worked as a sales representative for wine and spirits distributor, Redwood Vintners/House of Daniels. She joined Edwin J. Schwartz Public Relations to return to her interests in writing and communications.
Katie's wine industry affiliations include membership with Wine 2.0; The Academy of Wine Communications; Family Winemakers of California and the Society of Wine Educators.
Katie lives in San Francisco with her husband and two teenage children. She feels lucky to have traveled throughout South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Europe—most recently with her kids in Spain. She loves to host dinner parties and cook, rejoices in electronic-free annual backpacking trips, and has been a longstanding volunteer in the community.
Melanie has dedicated her entire professional career to the wine industry where she combines strong public relations skills and extensive media relations with a passion for the business.
Previously, Melanie worked at Jackson Family Wines where she managed Public Relations for the Artisan Estates Vineyards and Wineries portfolio, focusing on Cardinale Estate, Hartford Family Winery, La Crema Winery and Stonestreet Alexander Mountain Estate. Responsibilities included development of strategic public relations plans, media communications and the creation and execution of public relations events.
Melanie came to Jackson Family Wines from the Jean Arnold Group where she worked closely with winery clients, national distributors and key trade accounts covering many facets of the business including sales, marketing and public relations. An internship with Mark West Winery in the Russian River Valley introduced her to the industry, where she began her career as Marketing Coordinator for the Associated Vintage Group.
Melanie’s focus has kept her closely involved with the wine community, having worked with organizations including the Sonoma County Vintners Press Committee, Zinfandel Advocates and Producers, Family Winemakers of California and the Imagine and Sonoma Paradiso charity wine auctions.
A Bay Area native, Melanie moved to Sonoma County to immerse herself in Wine Country. It is here that she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies from Sonoma State University. In addition to her love of wine and food, Melanie enjoys traveling, spending time with family and friends and exploring the Sonoma Coast, Russian River and regional parks of Sonoma County, the place she now calls home.
Kylie combines her competitive spirit and passion for writing together at Calhoun & Company where the sky is the limit.
Since joining Calhoun & Company in 2007, Kylie has blazed the trail for the spirits division, spearheading multiple spirits product launch campaigns that have resulted in high profile national media exposure. With a knack for thinking outside of the box, Kylie's creativity inspires compelling pitch initiatives that translate into powerful results.
Prior to Calhoun & Company, Kylie worked at Ruder Finn Public Relations.
A native Texan, Kylie attended Centenary College of Louisiana on a full, four-year soccer scholarship and graduated Summa Cum Laude.
Kylie makes it a priority to take full advantage of all Northern California has to offer from weekend wine tasting jaunts in Napa and Sonoma to her daily runs up to the Golden Gate Bridge. A self-proclaimed sports fanatic, she manages to balance her penchant for following college and professional sports amongst her insatiable thirst for reading and learning. Whether discovering a fantastic new dining nook in San Francisco or planning next week’s hiking adventure, Kylie approaches her professional endeavors the same as her personal ones – with an open mind and a positive attitude.
As an Account Coordinator for Calhoun & Company, Sonia provides essential support across several accounts. Sonia began her career with the MacKenzie Agency, where she helped plan a “True Italian” campaign and the Taste of Mendocino. Most recently, Sonia worked for Ellipses Public Relations, where she helped organize Wine Enthusiast Toast of the Town, and assisted with the publicity for San Francisco Cocktail Week.
Sonia has a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Relations from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and studied Wine Business and Marketing at the Santa Rosa Junior College. An avid traveler, Sonia expanded her knowledge of wine and explored different regions during her travels in Italy, France and Belgium.
Having grown up in Sonoma County surrounded by vineyards, Sonia transitioned naturally into wine public relations. When Sonia is not researching, pitching or tasting wine, she enjoys cooking, running, and soaking in the California sun (outside the foggy City, of course). Sonia brings enthusiasm, positive energy and a successful track record of securing media coverage to the C&C team.
A wine country native, Kristen brings her wine expertise and experience as a successful public relations professional to Calhoun & Company as an Account Manager across multiple international wine brands.
Kristen began her career working with Michael Mondavi on his Folio Fine Wine Partners project and with the PlumpJack Group. From there, Kristen became the Public Relations Manager and Wine Director at The Magic Flute Restaurant. Prior to joining Calhoun & Company, Kristen was part of a boutique public relations agency in San Francisco that specialized in social media marketing, giving her a unique understanding of social media strategy as it relates to the wine industry.
Kristen is a Certified Sommelier and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. A true Bay Area native, Kristen takes full advantage of everything Northern California has to offer. If she’s not at the ballpark cheering on the San Francisco Giants, she’s hiking in Yosemite or skiing in Tahoe. Kristen approaches her work with the same enthusiasm and passion she has for life. With a knack for identifying key media opportunities and communicating compelling stories, Kristen prides herself on being an aggressive media specialist with proven results.
Judith is the former managing partner of Sequoia Law Group LLP in San Francisco. After 20 years of practice, Judith decided to change careers and is excited to be at Calhoun & Company Communications.
She is married, has two daughters, lives in San Francisco and enjoys traveling, backpacking, yoga, piano, cooking and gardening. She feels fortunate to live next to Golden Gate Park. She completed her undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of Southern California (Go Trojans!) and her law degree at Pepperdine University.
At Calhoun & Company, Rachel combines her lifestyle PR background and creative instincts to provide valuable support across multiple agency accounts.
Rachel began her career by interning at several notable PR agencies in Los Angeles. Working with a variety of lifestyle and consumer accounts, she quickly developed her research and communication skills while learning the ins and outs of Public Relations. A true Northern California native, Rachel is thrilled to continue her career in the Bay Area and immerse herself in all that San Francisco and its neighboring wine regions have to offer.
Rachel received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from UC Santa Barbara, with an emphasis on Mass Media. While in school, she also worked as a manager at a prominent Santa Barbara eatery that specialized in serving locally produced wines and beers. It was this experience that sparked her interest in the wine and spirits industry. Rachel now brings her keen eye for detail and strong communication skills to the C&C team.
Jacquelyn provides key organizational support to Calhoun & Company by researching and tracking all of our clients’ clips and managing the clip databases. With a keen eye for relevancy in research and a broad knowledge of computer software, her contributions add efficiency to our team. Jacquelyn is studying Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing at San Francisco State University. She enjoys using her background in fine dining restaurants along with a passion for food and wine to contribute a unique consumer-based perspective to our clients’ accounts. Her enthusiasm for the Public Relations industry is backed by an intent to broaden her knowledge of marketing communications and developing positive brand images for clients.
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