Wine Industry Veteran Takes Communications Helm At Catholic Charities

SONOMA and NAPA COUNTIES, CA – Catholic Charities of Santa Rosa has hired wine industry veteran Kelly Conrad to manage its communications department.

After an 18-year career in the wine industry in Northern and Central California, Conrad said she was compelled to apply her talents to the non-profit sector.

“It was actually all the wonderful philanthropy the wine industry is involved in that piqued my interest in wanting to join forces with those organizations," she said. "I have always loved what I do, but was yearning to apply what I do to help make some real change in the place I live, love and raise my children.”

“With our recent programs expansion, we recognized the need to elevate our awareness in the community we serve. Also, with more people in need and more growth for us on the horizon, we will be relying heavily on communications efforts," Catholic Charities said. "Kelly’s media experience and ability to capture the voice of what we do here at Catholic Charities made her a great fit for the team."

Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Kelly Conrad stayed in the Northwest to attain her Undergraduate degree. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration & Marketing with a minor in English & Professional Writing from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington.

After completing the Wine Marketing program at Cal Poly, Kelly went on to work for such wineries as EOS Estate Winery in Paso Robles, California, Cambria Winery & Vineyard in Santa Maria, California, Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery in Sonoma, California and E&J Gallo Winery in Healdsburg, California.

Conrad is a Certified Specialist of Wine, was awarded the Robert Parker, Jr. scholarship for further industry education, volunteers regularly for various outreach organizations (gleaning and canning for food pantries, food distribution, cat-cuddling, etc.) and is involved in fundraising for Healdsburg public schools.

Catholic Charities of Santa Rosa is one of the largest non-profit providers of human services in the six-county northern California region, from Sonoma to the Oregon border serving Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Lake, Humboldt and Del Norte. Through 24 separate programs, from food and shelter to immigration services and Alzheimer’s care, Catholic Charities serves 20,000 people of all faiths annually.

For more information, see www.srcharities.org.

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--Photo and information courtesy of Catholic Charities of Santa Rosa