Fawn Weaver has been a serial entrepreneur for more than 25 years. As the CEO and founder of Grant Sidney, Inc., Weaver is a popular TED speaker, as well as a USA Today and New York Times bestselling author. Fawn Weaver is the CEO of Uncle Nearest, Inc. which she founded in 2016, becoming the first African-American woman to lead a major spirits brand with an all-female executive team. Uncle Nearest has become the fastest-growing American whiskey brand in U.S. history and the most awarded Bourbon of 2019, 2020 and 2021. Since then, her accolades include being the first African-American featured on the cover of American Whiskey magazine and being named one of Food & Wine's Drinks Innovators of the Year in 2022. In addition to all of these achievements, Fawn also founded the Nearest Green Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization offering full scholarships to every descendant of Nearest Green, the world’s first known African-American master distiller. In 2021, Weaver created the Uncle Nearest Venture Fund, to invest in minority founded, owned and led brands with the greatest potential to grow into legacy brands.
Heidi joined Scheid Family Wines in 1992 as Director of Planning and served as Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer from 1997 to 2001. Since 2001 she has overseen sales and marketing for a wide-ranging portfolio of wines for the company. During her tenure, Heidi has helped expand Scheid’s vineyard holdings to 12 estate sites and has taken the wines of the Scheid family to every state in the U.S. and 13 different countries (and counting). Heidi is an active and engaged member of the California wine industry. She has been a director of the Wine Market Council since 1996 and is currently its chairperson.
Elisa Gutiérrez is a Chemical Engineer with extensive national and international operations and supply chain experience. Since 2019,she has led the operations and sustainability programs of Casa Herradura, with almost 1,000 employees. She oversees the Tequila Herradura Distillery, El Jimador, Antiguo and pre-prepared cocktails (RTDs) New Mix and Jack Daniel’s. Gutiérrez also manages the distribution and logistics of Brown-Forman's global products and tequila exports to the world. She is the leader of the Global Network of Women (GROW) in the company and has been named one of the 100 most influential women in business in Mexico. She also chairs the company's development and community support activities and supports various foundations.
Chelsy Escalona is a Cuban visual artist based in Berlin, Germany, who graduated from the Superior Design Institute at the University of Havana as a Graphic Designer in 2015. Chelsy's unique style is characterized by black lines, bright colors and textures, and her work is focused on show casing the beauty of everyday life experiences through a female perspective, portraying a positive vision of women's roles in society. Chelsy's achievements include being selected for the "Selection of Authors" by the Illustration Festival of Belgrade, winning the Flower Girls Art Contest and being nominated for Best Design in Cubadisco Music Awards in Havana, Cuba.
