Currently, I am the Western Region Brand Ambassador for Starward where I oversee five states – California, Washington, Nevada, New Mexico and Arizona. I focus on brand awareness, brand education, hosting events both virtual and live and developing relationships in my respective markets. We are a small team at the moment, just nine of us on Team USA, so we all do a little bit of everything! What really excites me is seeing new trends emerge in the whiskey category and knowing that Starward, in large part, is at the forefront of this movement.

Through my career, I’ve worked just about every position in a restaurant from washing dishes to bartending and eventually managing. I started bartending in my mid-twenties as a means to travel and meet new people, and soon fell in love with the creativity, community and storytelling that makes the magic of working in a bar. A passion for photography, spirits - whisk(e)y in particular, and my desire to connect with the creative, bartending community led me to my first Brand Ambassador position with Angel’s Envy while living in Miami. I knew that I ultimately wanted to live on the West Coast, so I took some time to travel and eventually set my sights on San Diego. I resumed my role as an Angel’s Envy Whiskey Guardian for the next three years, while bartending at a whisk(e)y bar called the Aero Club and helping to manage a craft cocktail bar called Hundred Proof.

Eventually, a full-time opportunity came up with Pernod Ricard, so I took the leap and worked on six of their brands, three of which were whisk(e)y – Redbreast, The Glenlivet and Jameson. A year later, I was referred by a friend and former colleague to the Starward USA team who were looking for a Western Region Brand Ambassador. In my heart of hearts, I knew I missed the intimacy and family-feel of working on an emerging brand and, when I met the Starward team, I immediately felt right at home.