Kate comes with a comprehensive understanding of food and beverage business needs. With over 20 years of hands-on industry experience, she has in-depth awareness of what makes business successful, “on farm” and “at fork”.Kate obtained a Bachelors of Science in Meat & Animal Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she studied Animal Husbandry and Applied Meat Science as well as completed all course work towards a Masters of Food Chemistry. She worked in operations and in Research & Development creating and commercializing food products for a big national brand.Kate transitioned into Business and Brand Management at a top Food & Beverage company. She led strategy development and teams on some of the top brands in the business including Oscar Mayer®, Oreo®, Philadephia® Cream Cheese, Kraft® Mac-n-Cheese, DiGiorno Pizza®, and Kraft® Salad Dressings & Sauces. In 2005, Kate received a Masters in Business Administration from University of Chicago Booth School of Business with concentrations in Competitive Strategy, Marketing and Economics. In 2007, she relocated to the Pacific Northwest and joined Starbucks Coffee Company where she managed the portfolio of coffee beverage brands for the B2B channels. When Starbucks decided to grow the food program in the retails stores, Kate was asked to lead the launch of their “Real Food. Simply Delicious.” program.In 2017, Kate became the first CMO at Yakima Chief Hops. Under her thought leadership, she rebranded the company and differentiated YCH from other commodity hop companies. Her efforts to connect the end-beer consumer to the ingredient story and farmer through the world’s finest breweries elevated and amplified Yakima Chief Hops into a value-added product that is sought out worldwide.Specialties: Strategy Development, Marketing & Branding, Product Development & Commercialization, Agribusiness & Sustainability, Hemp, Cannabis, CBD