Karissa Kruse
President of Sonoma County Winegrowers
A little bit about Karissa…
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, Kruse 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 and she’s been invited to speak at major conferences around the world.
In an effort to continue to lead in the social responsibility component of sustainability, Kruse announced the relaunch of the Sonoma County Grape Growers Foundation in January 2016 that aims to assist local agricultural employees and their families in the areas of healthcare, affordable housing, childcare, education, resiliency and recovery and workforce development. She currently serves as executive director of the Foundation.
Karissa earned a BS in Economics and an MBA in Marketing from Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. She has 20 years of experience in various aspects of marketing, brand management, strategic planning and business development.
In January of 2017, Kruse launched 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.
In January of 2020, Karissa announced that Sonoma County Winegrowers is the exclusive partner with the California Land Stewardship Institute to launch a Climate Adaptation Certification, a first of its kind for agriculture. This exciting initiative will move beyond best practices in healthy soils to analyze the whole farm and implement climate friendly farming practices that minimize greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon sequestration, which vary by soil type and microclimate.
Karissa has worked for companies such as General Mills, Universal Studios, Mattel and Dairy Management. She is also a Sonoma County grape grower.
Kruse is on the Alumni Advisory Board for Wharton’s Initiative on Global Environmental Leadership and a member of the Global Wharton Women in Leadership. Karissa is on the German Marshall Fund Alumni Leadership Council and FIVS Global Environmental Sustainability Working Group. Karissa is a Past Chair and Past Board Director of the United Way of Wine Country. She is on the Board of Directors of Sonoma County Tourism, Sonoma County Farm Bureau, Sonoma County Alliance and Health Action Council. In 2020, Karissa joined the Board of Directors for the California Association of Winegrape Growers and First 5 Sonoma County.
In 2014, Kruse was selected as a North Bay Business Journal Women in Business Award recipient and was a Forty under 40 Award recipient in 2012. Kruse was honored with the Marshall Memorial Fellowship in 2015. Karissa received the 2016 Friend of Agriculture Award from the Sonoma County Harvest Fair. She was named to the 2016 and 2017 Wine Business Monthly Magazine's Top 50 Wine Industry Leaders. In 2017, she was named to the Organic Authority's List of "Badass Disruptors Changing Your Food System” and Food and Wine Magazine named her one of the most Innovative Women in Food & Drink. Karissa was honored by the North Bay Business Journal in 2017 with a Community Philanthropy Award. In 2018, Karissa was named A Green Leader by Wine Enthusiast and selected as the Leader of the Year by the California Association of Winegrape Growers.