Dr. Natalia Velikova holds a joint appointment between the Department of Hospitality & Retail Management at Texas Tech University, where she is a Professor of Wine Marketing, and the Texas Wine Marketing Research Institute, where she serves as Associate Director. She teaches courses in wine business, wine tourism, wine appreciation, and Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET®) qualifications. Dr. Velikova's research focuses on wine consumer behavior, emerging wine markets, and wine tourism. She has co-authored over 40 peer-reviewed articles and numerous international conference papers and trade publications.Dr. Velikova is a recipient of four Fulbright awards, including two U.S. Scholar fellowships (Bulgaria and the Republic of Georgia), a Fulbright Specialist placement (Bulgaria), and a Fulbright Intercountry Lecturing award (Greece). She has served as a Visiting Professor at the University of Otago (New Zealand), Burgundy School of Wine & Spirits Business, and EM Strasbourg Business School (France). She has received several grants, including federal funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for research on emerging wine markets.Dedicated to professional service, Dr. Velikova has been a guest speaker at numerous industry conferences and has served as Associate Editor for the International Journal of Wine Business Research and Secretary on the Executive Board of the Academy of Wine Business Research.