Introducing the Fall 2025 Fall Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Cohort
Photo: ELL Creative
Thu, August 28, 2025
Today, we are excited to announce the 2025 fall cohort of the Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (WEL) program. WEL, the flagship initiative of our Women’s Leadership Programs,is an eleven-week virtual program that provides advanced educational, training, and networking opportunities for owners or co-owners of brick-and-mortar food or beverage businesses in the United States.
This September, a cohort of 21 participants will work to refine and articulate their goals and vision for their business(es), identify solutions to improve operations and internal processes, develop sustainable strategies to scale and increase revenue, improve their leadership skills, and create a network of support with each other and the broader WEL community.
The 2025 fall WEL cohort overview:
- 21 women
- Representing 19 states: California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisianna, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Washington, D.C.
- Own 42 businesses collectively
- Average business revenue in 2024 of over $2.9M; $62.9M collectively
- Employs over 750 people collectively
- Serve an average of 102,033 covers a year; 1.9M covers a year collectively
Read on to meet our 2025 fall WEL participants!
Lawren Askinosie
Springfield, MO
Jamilyn Bailey
Orlando, FL
Laila Bazahm
Austin, TX
Heather Bublick
Evanston, IL
Cat Carter
Charlotte NC
Adrienne Cole
The House of Marigold and Marigold Catering Co.
Louisville, KY
Sarah Courtney
Seattle, WA
Cari Fundora
Casa Nuova Italian Restaurant and Cork & Glass
Alpharetta, GA
Francesca Galarus
Philadelphia, PA
Laila Ghambari
Portland, OR
2025 James Beard Award Nominee®
Kaitlin Guerin
New Orleans, LA
Evelyn Bernstein Fellow
Téa Ivanovic
Washington, D.C.
Zareen Khan
Redwood City, CA
2025 James Beard Award Semifinalist®
Lavanya Mahate
Saffron Valley Restaurants, SV Café and Bix Bakery & Café
Salt Lake City, UT
2025 James Beard Award Nominee®
Erin Miller
Cambridge, MA
Anna Myint
Nashville, TN
Katherine Nomura
Honolulu, HI
Jessica Perjes
Chicago, IL
Evelyn Bernstein Fellow
Debby Portillo Gonzalez
Riverdale Park, MD
Pei Shan Wei
Zaab Zaab and Zaab Burger
Elmhurst, NY
Crystal River Williams
Norma’s Corner Shoppe and Julia’s
Ridgewood and Wappinger Falls, NY