Simonne Mitchelson, 28

Senior South Coast Estate Manager, Jackson Family Wines; Cofounder, Natural Action Wine Club, Santa Barbara, CA

Equity in Enology

The nonprofit Natural Action Wine Club, which raises money and attention for educational and professional wine opportunities for BIPOC communities, emerged from a call-to-action that Mitchelson coauthored in June 2020, arguing that the wine industry needed to do better on issues of diversity and equity.

Since then, she helped create the BIPOC Scholarship in Wine and Viticulture at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and joined Jackson Family Wines’ DE&I Employee Council, which aims to address racial disparity and create a more inclusive environment at the company.

“I hope to help create spaces for people of color to express themselves and follow their passions, and just be without the thoughts of being palatable enough or needing to conform to any mold to get that job or that raise or that recognition,” she says.

Instagram: @simonneandsoforth; @naturalactionwc