Lauren Deese is the Executive Director of Charlotte Wine + Food (CW+F), Charlotte, NC’s 37-year-old non-profit and charity wine auction experience. Lauren leads the organization’s administration and strategy, including programming, marketing, and the execution of wine and food-focused fundraising events and auctions.
Lauren spent close to 10 years in NYC, where she started her career at Bon Appétit magazine, working in both advertiser merchandising and events. After that, she went on to produce events for many of the nation’s leading culinary festivals, including The Food Network NYC Food & Wine Festival, Foxwoods Food & Wine Festival, Las Vegas Uncorked, Atlanta Food & Wine Festival, and Wine Riot, to name a few. She also spent over five years with the experiential marketing firm GMR Marketing, where she created incentive and meeting experiences for Cintas Corporation and Husqvarna, and most notably, led operations for the first-ever NFL Women’s Summit at Super Bowl 50 in San Francisco.
A Charlotte, NC native, Lauren is thrilled to continue building upon the CW+F legacy, using her expertise and passion for wine and food to positively support the Charlotte community.