Director of NVWA Education Center and Certified Champagne Instructor. Born and raised in Poland, her love of wine has taken her around the globe. She has been a sommelier and wine educator at a 5-star resort in Thailand, an educator in Polish universities, and an international wine judge and speaker at conferences in Poland, US, Ukraine, Thailand, UK, Hungary. With a masters degree in Economics and Corporate Strategy, she has seamlessly blended her love of entrepreneurship and wine – most notably as founder of Szkoła Sommelierów (Polish Sommelier School) and Polish Women and Wine, an organization that has captured the attention of Jancis Robinson. Today Monika channels her entrepreneurial spirit through building innovative programs at NVWA’s headquarters. She loves lifting others to help achieve their goals, and credits her husband and daughter for serving that role in her life. Her main goal is to help students learn to trust themselves in their wine tasting abilities. When not at work you can find Monika hunting for wild mushrooms and plants on local hikes in the beautiful Napa Valley.