Karissa Kruse

Karissa Kruse is President of the Sonoma County Winegrowers, a marketing and educational organization dedicated to the promotion and preservation of Sonoma County as one of the world’s premier grape growing regions.

Since taking over the top leadership role at the Sonoma County Winegrowers, Karissa has guided the strategy and implementation of Sonoma County’s commitment to become America’s first 100% certified sustainable wine region. Her forward thinking approach has helped Sonoma County Winegrowers gain global recognition for their efforts.

In recent years, Karissa launched 2 initiatives, in an effort to continue to lead in the social responsibility component of sustainability:

• the Sonoma County Grape Growers, which aims to assist local agricultural employees and their families in the areas of healthcare, affordable housing, childcare, education and workforce development.
• the Sonoma County Center for Ag Sustainability, a think tank in partnership with the Wharton School of Business, that is focused on bringing subject matter experts from around the United States to Sonoma County to work on issues and opportunities affecting the long-term preservation of agriculture.