George Christie

George Christie, a New Jersey native, settled in Sonoma County after college in 1991 where he quickly realized that the wine industry was where he wanted to concentrate his efforts. Since that time, he has been involved in nearly every aspect of the wine industry, from vineyard operations and grower relations to distributor realignments and national marketing campaigns. Always an active member in the wine community, Christie has also held board positions with the Russian River Wine Road, Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley and the Sonoma County Vintners. In 2008, George and his wife Tami, along with the Saini Family, partnered to create Saini Vineyards, a winery specializing on Old Vine Zinfandel from Dry Creek Valley.

In 2009, with Elizabeth 'E' Slater, George launched the Wine Industry Network (WIN). What began as an online directory has evolved over the years into one the leading B2B marketing and media companies serving the wine industry. WIN works with over 600 industry product and service providers and produces the Wine Industry Expo (WIN Expo), the 2nd largest trade show for the wine industry, along with the Wine & Weed Symposium, the Wine Industry Advisor news site and the Afternoon Brief daily news email with over 35,000 industry subscribers.

Tami Christie

Tami was raised in Healdsburg, California and graduated with a BA in Communications and Public Relations. She spent the first 10 years of her career working in the Telecommunications Industry for DSC Communications and Alcatel/Lucent as a Marketing Communications professional. In her current role as Director of Communications for the Wine Industry Network, Tami oversees all company communications, association partner relations and trade show programs. When she's not on company business, she's busy raising her two daughters, Olivia and Skyler, and continues to live in her hometown of Healdsburg.

Nick Young

Born and raised on his family's ranch in Alexander Valley, Nick has an extremely versatile background in online marketing, database management and web design. Affectionately known as the "Tech Guy" by his friends and colleagues, Nick is a Healdsburg native with a rich wine industry heritage as the grandson of Robert Young, renowned winegrower and wine industry icon. His love for computer technology and IT services have combined with his hospitality and customer service skills to lead him full circle back to the Wine Industry, where he truly feels "right at home."

Kim Badenfort

Kim Badenfort comes to the Wine Industry Network with a professional and academic background in communications with a focus on online multimedia content creation and management. Before joining WIN he designed websites and administrated content for a number of small businesses and non-profits, as well as wrote and edited copy for blogs and other social media contracts. He also brings valuable experience in teaching/education, technical support, project management, and public affairs.

Originally from Denmark, Kim has resided in Northern California for over a decade and adores living in the heart of the beautiful wine country with its rich wine and nature experiences.

Buffy Schaezlein

Buffy's expertise is primarily in marketing & design, but she also brings a tremendous amount of experience in content marketing, graphic, web and mobile design, digital research & metrics and social media marketing & optimization to the program.

Prior to Wine Industry Network, Buffy worked in marketing & advertising within the publishing industry, most recently with The Press Democrat. In her last position as Interactive Marketing Manager & Media Specialist she managed the marketing website, oversaw all internal e-mail marketing campaigns along with social media and mobile marketing initiatives and was a part of the team that developed The Press Democrat's PD Media Lab.

Stephanie Carillo

Stephanie was raised in Healdsburg and graduated from Sonoma State University studying Wine Business and Marketing. She has years of experience in customer service and membership sales. After falling in love with wine, Stephanie decided to get into the industry to learn as much as she can.

In her free time, Stephanie enjoys reading, swimming, wine tasting and hanging out with her family.

Olivia Christie

Olivia Christie hails from Healdsburg, California, in the heart of the Wine Industry. She obtained her degree in Anthropology from the University of Hawaii in 2023, and presently holds the position of Marketing Assistant at Wine Industry Network. When she isn't at the office, Olivia can be found relaxing by the Russian River, or exploring the fine dining scene that Sonoma County has to offer.

Andrew Jolivette

Andrew made his way to Sonoma County in 2003, drawn by the allure of its picturesque landscapes. He pursued his passion for storytelling at Sonoma State University, where he craftily convinced them to award him a Bachelor's degree in Creative Writing.

Before joining the WIN team, Andrew's journey led him to a unique job of miniaturizing & printing wine labels. Afterwards he found himself working within furniture industry, where he honed his craft in product copywriting and managing an eCommerce webstore. Never content with a single pursuit, Andrew has also dabbled in various artistic endeavors, working towards mastering skills in drawing, 3D sculpting, and web design.

Outside the confines of work, Andrew's drive for creative outlet takes him on journeys of literary creation, however, this more often leads to him crumpling up story outlines spouting colorful language that would make even the most seasoned sailors blush. When he's not immersed in a storyteller's fugue, Andrew seeks solace in the freedom of the road, venturing off to parts unknown in his car in search of moments of serenity away from the chaos of urban life.