As the CEO of the Santa Barbara Vintners, Alison Laslett works to promote and protect the Santa Barbara Wine Region. The region boasts over a hundred wineries, more than 300 labels, and 70+ varieties of wine. Since joining the organization in 2017, the region has increased retail sales significantly, won the Wine Enthusiast Wine Star Award for Region of the Year in 2021, and Alison was named one of the Top Women in Business by the Pacific Coast Times. In 2025, with the formation of the Wine Preserve, Santa Barbara County became the largest Wine Business Improvement District in the United States.

Alison advocates for the region both locally and state-wide, working with tourism and lobbying partners to advance the reputation and rights of the industry. New to wine when she joined the Vintners, Alison previously spent time in both established nonprofits and start-ups, working with significant funders, including Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation.

Now, she enjoys her new-found knowledge of wine, working with colleagues across the state to continue to help the region thrive.

Joel Peterson is a seasoned marketing and communications leader with more than 20 years of experience in the wine and beer industries. As CEO of the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance (PRWCA), he leads an organization representing over 200 wineries and 500 businesses, advancing initiatives that promote, protect, and elevate Paso Robles Wine Country.

After earning his degree from the University of Arizona, Peterson began his career in film production in Los Angeles before transitioning into the wine industry in 2003. He has held roles with L’Aventure, JUSTIN, and Hope Family Wines, later worked in public relations for wineries and regional associations, and helped lead marketing efforts at Firestone Walker.

Deeply committed to his community, Peterson has served 12 years on the Paso Robles School District Board and is a board member of the Central Coast Economic Forecast. He lives in Paso Robles with his wife Dagny, and their two daughters.

Cynthia Lohr is a strategic marketing, communications, and branding professional with over 35 years of experience delivering measurable results that impact people, the planet, and profit for companies in the wine and technology industries and non-profits in the arts, the health and well-being of children and families and regional advocacy groups. As co-owner and Chief Brand Officer of J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, Cynthia collaborates with and oversees the company’s marketing and direct-to-consumer departments and is responsible for operational oversight with her fellow co-owners and executives, brothers Steve and Lawrence, and father, Founder Jerry Lohr.

Embracing a sustainability ethos and with a passion for climate justice, social equity, and servant leadership, Cynthia created the J. Lohr Touching Lives initiative in 2009 to help eradicate breast cancer in partnership with National Breast Cancer Foundation, IncÆ by donating three dollars from every bottle sold of her mother’s namesake wine, Carol’s Vineyard, to benefit early detection services for women in impoverished regions. Cynthia also co-founded the regional Bordeaux wine advocacy group the Paso Robles CAB Collective in 2012 and served as board vice president until 2020 and co-chairs J. Lohr’s DEI Committee. Before rejoining J. Lohr in 2002, Cynthia was VP at Alexander Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, serving B2B and B2C technology clients. She previously launched Yahoo!’s and led the company’s pre-IPO messaging, followed by the launch of Alexa Internet, leading the company through its acquisition by Amazon.com. Cynthia worked in education and business development before her time in technology, notably at PRx Strategic Marketing Communications, St. Mary’s College School of Extended Education, and the Oakland Unified School District.

Cynthia, a frequent speaker and moderator, has been featured at SF Climate Week, MKF Executive Wine Summit, Women of the Vine & Spirits, Unified Symposium, Kohler Food & Wine, and The Wine Institute, among other conferences. Cynthia was named a Wine Business Monthly 2023 Wine Industry Leader, a 2021 Woman of Impact by Silicon Valley Business Journal, and nominated for 2019 Wine Executive of the Year by Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Cynthia serves as a board director for REACH Central Coast and J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines and in advisory board roles for Women of the Vine & Spirits, UC Davis College of Agriculture & Environmental Sciences, Central Coast Insights/WiVi and Net Positive. Cynthia is a graduate of UC Davis, holds a master’s in public administration from the Cornell University Brooks School of Public Policy, is a member of the Pi Alpha Alpha Global Honor Society, and is a Climatebase Fellow.

Maeve Pesquera is a transformational wine industry leader and values-driven executive with a legacy of success in building luxury brands, scaling business growth, and shaping culture with purpose. With three decades of experience across prestige hospitality, strategic marketing, and innovation, Maeve brings deep expertise and authentic leadership to every facet of her work.

As Executive Vice President of Luxury and Chief Marketing Officer at O’Neill Vintners & Distillers, a certified B Corp and one of the country’s most dynamic privately held wine and spirits companies, Maeve leads the company’s luxury wine division and oversees marketing across the full portfolio. Her leadership spans Ram’s Gate Winery in Carneros and Robert Hall Winery in Paso Robles, as well as a growing collection of purpose-driven consumer brands. She also serves as a national spokesperson for O’Neill, connecting with trade partners, media, and industry stakeholders to advance innovation and elevate brand impact.

Prior to joining O’Neill, Maeve spent a decade at DAOU Family Estates, where she worked closely with founders Georges and Daniel Daou to shape the company’s culture, strategic direction, and rapid rise in the luxury wine space, culminating in DAOU’s $1B acquisition by Treasury Wine Estates. Previously, she served as National Director of Wine, Beverage and Culinary Innovation for Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, earning national recognition for launching the award-winning WiNEPAD, a pioneering digital wine experience.

A sought-after speaker and mentor, Maeve is a passionate advocate for building the next generation of wine industry leaders. She has spoken at national forums including the Oregon Wine Symposium, Women of the Vine & Spirits Global Symposium, Dream Big Darling, and Wine Business Financial Symposium, among others. She serves on multiple industry boards and advisory councils, including the California Wine Institute, Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance, and Cal Poly’s Experience Industry Management program.

Maeve’s work has been featured in Bloomberg, Forbes, SOMM Journal, and E! News, and honored with awards such as the Georges and Daniel Daou Award of Excellence, Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, and the VIBE Vista Award for Best Wine Program.

Maeve lives with her husband, Luis, a veteran chef, on their Paso Robles homestead, Milagro Ranch, where they grow wine grapes, olives, sheep and are raising five spirited young men. She believes in leading with integrity, cultivating joy, and leaving the land, and the industry, better than she found it.

Adrienne Ferrara is a faculty member in the Wine and Viticulture Department at Cal Poly, where she teaches wine sales and hospitality. She approaches the wine industry and its complex sales channels like a puzzle, aiming to demystify the various areas of wine sales and supply chain challenges much like the way we analyze microclimates and terroir.

In 2004, Adrienne and her husband, Chris Ferrara, co-founded their family brand, Clesi, which remains dedicated to producing Italian varieties from their ranch in Templeton, California. She also leads the Cal Poly wine internship program and oversees Cal Poly’s commercial wine sales.

Adrienne earned an MBA from Cal Poly’s Orfalea College of Business, concentrating in International Business. Prior to her position in higher education, Adrienne worked in brand management including positions at Wild Horse Winery and Vineyards, Laetitia Vineyard and Winery, Southern Wines & Spirits (now Southern Glazers).  

Adrienne, Chris, and their three children love food and road trips to explore snow covered mountains and rivers with white water. In addition to WiVi and CCI, Adrienne loves to help local schools and non-profit fundraisers work with the wineries to support local causes.

A Central Coast native, Jason “JC” Diefenderfer has been on the winemaking team at Hope Family Wines since 1998.

No stranger to agriculture, JC grew up on his family’s ranch in Templeton, just south of Paso Robles. He and Austin Hope attended high school together and forged a friendship that remains today. JC managed farm and ranching operations for King Ranch until 1997 when he began working with the Hope family to design and build their crush facility in Paso Robles. Recalling exactly when and how he was bitten by the wine bug that would take him down a different path in farming, he says “it was the clear approach to winemaking that intrigued me about Treana & Liberty School: their passion and dedication to the vineyard.”

Jason started working officially for the winery in 1998 and apprenticed under then-winemaker Chris Phelps. He became the assistant winemaker for Liberty School in 1999, winemaker in 2006 and ultimately Director of Winemaking in 2012. Today, JC works closely with Austin Hope to craft the blends of all the brands: Liberty School, AUSTIN, Treana, Troublemaker, Quest, and Austin Hope. JC oversees all production operations with focus on winemaking.

He brings the whole package to the table: local agricultural roots; familiarity with the wines and winemaking of the Old World and the New; and over two decades of experience with Hope Family Wines.

Anthony Bozzano owns and manages Bozzano and Company, a Central Coast wine business specializing in bulk wine and grape sales and custom brand development. Prior to founding Bozzano and Co., Anthony worked in sales and marketing for a local winegrower, where he managed bulk wine and private label sales.

Anthony was raised in Stockton, CA., where he is still actively involved with his family’s farm. He is a graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and a member of Class 43 of the California Agricultural Leadership Foundation