With over 20 years of experience in the culinary arts, media relations, and brand strategy, Leith brings a stunning depth of knowledge and industry insight to all client and agency work at Carbonate. A Bay Area native, she began her culinary career on the line—spending five years cooking in restaurant kitchens across the US and staging in Europe. She joined af&co.—one of the country’s leading hospitality consulting firms—as the agency’s fourth employee, where she managed many notable restaurant accounts, orchestrated numerous opening public relations programs, and secured feature stories in a wide range of major local, regional, and national outlets from the San Francisco Chronicle, to Saveur and Food & Wine. From there, Leith spent six years in Italy managing marketing for a luxury real estate agent in Chianti, leading private food & wine tours, helping open and run a boutique eight-room Airbnb in Florence, and learning everything she could about Italian wine, including taking the first level Sommelier course (in Italian.) As a Senior Strategist and Head of Insights at Carbonate, Leith spearheads the creation of the agency’s annual trends report, contributes thought capital to industry publications and client marketing programs, and executes strategic public relations campaigns rooted in industry insights. Leith holds a B.S. in Design & Environmental Analysis from Cornell University, as well as degree in Culinary Arts from Le Cordon Bleu. When she’s not checking out restaurants and wineries she might be found at a milonga or on her next world adventure. She was proud to achieve her goal of thirty countries by her 30th birthday and is still always eager to discover new places.