Melissa grew up a Floridian, whose father taught organic gardening at the local vocational school. She enjoyed helping her Dad tend to their garden and appreciated the ability of having fresh vegetables. This experience planted the seed for her foodservice career. She began her journey in the foodservice industry while studying Nutrition & Dietetics in…

Michelle’s passion for the hospitality industry was sparked at an early age and led her to the restaurant & hospitality management program at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.  After graduation, Michelle launched her career at the Hilton Chicago, one of Chicago’s premier convention hotels, where she held leadership positions in both food & beverage…

Fresh out of Morehead State University, she began her career in advertising at a tourism magazine. She then became an event planner and trade show organizer for the motor coach industry. Through her various travels conducting site tours of hotels, attractions and restaurants, she was recruited into food service operations and served as the Marketing…

Jennie began her restaurant career at age 16 working as a hostess at Bennigan’s. Did this start as an illustrious passion? No, it was across the street from her high school and thus an easy commute. Nevertheless, the excellent training in multiple front of the house positions led her to return to hospitality again and…

Darnie grew up in New York where she earned her BA in Business Management and an MBA in Organizational Management. She started her career in Human Resources where she learned all the intricate details of recruiting, hiring and payroll administration. She then ventured into Product Development where she handled product/brand management by meeting with clients…