Meet the Team

Katie Canfield

Partner / Communications Director

Katie O'Donnell is co-owner of O'Donnell Lane, a strategic communications and events agency focused on wine, food, and tourism, based in Sonoma, California. She got her start in the wine industry in Chile in 2008 and has since worked in Rioja, Burgundy, the U.K., and California across various sectors of the industry: production, distribution and retail, hospitality, wine writing, and marketing and communications. Before O'Donnell Lane, Katie managed international portfolios at Wilson Daniels and Paul Hobbs Wines.

Katie holds a B.A. in Spanish and Global Studies from UC Santa Barbara, an M.Sc. in Wine Business from Burgundy School of Business, and the Level 4 Diploma from Wine & Spirits Education Trust. She serves as Board Chair of Bâtonnage Forum—a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting women in wine.

Rebecca Johnson

Partner / Events Director

Rebecca Johnson has been in the event industry since 2003. Following a career as an elementary school teacher in Northern California, she began planning private events for wineries around Sonoma and Napa counties to great success. Since then, Rebecca has applied her talent and passion for wedding and event planning to produce exquisite high-end luxury weddings in wine country and San Francisco, as well as Palm Springs, Los Angeles, Carmel and Lake Tahoe. Upon joining O’Donnell Lane in 2012, Rebecca has broadened her focus, drawing from her strong relationships with the highest level and most sought-after vendors in the catering, floral, photography and music industries to produce corporate and wine trade events. Whether it is an event for 25 wine writers or 2,000 trade and media personnel, Rebecca combines her attention to detail with excellent communication skills to create spectacular events tailored to each client request.

Ella Winje

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

Born and raised in California, Ella received her B.S. in Molecular Environmental Biology at University of California, Berkeley. Wanting to pair her love for being active and outside with her biology background, Ella worked her first harvest in Livermore while finishing up her final year at Berkeley and realized that tasting wine for a living wasn’t a bad direction to go. Following her studies, Ella continued to pursue wine in the lab at Cakebread Cellars for a few years, before deciding she wanted to get back in touch with the cellar through a harvest abroad in McLaren Vale, South Australia. Since being back, she has worked in Calistoga and Healdsburg, increasing her love for VAs and heat stability tests. Ella started working at O’Donnell Lane in early 2020, with work ranging from event logistics, to planning and executing, to PR and marketing, and hasn’t looked back.

Kathleen Stark

Event Consultant / Special Projects

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Kathleen Stark is a seasoned marketer and event director. Kat began her career at William-Sonoma’s corporate headquarters, where she played a key role on the merchandising team for over eight years. She then transitioned to Wine.com, initially managing their gifts business before becoming the Director of Wine.com Experiences. With her expertise in marketing, merchandising, and special projects, Kat combines creativity with organizational acumen to craft immersive experiences. She is dedicated to enhancing brand presence through innovative marketing strategies and impactful events.

Maria Calvert

MEDIA CONSULTANT / special projects

With over a decade of experience in public relations, Maria brings a rounded perspective to reputation management, integrated communications strategy, and cross-business collaboration. Before transitioning to wine, Maria was the V.P. of Global Communications at a currency broker on Wall Street. Today, she splits her time between NYC and Washington D.C., working as a public relations consultant and pursuing the WSET Level 2 certification. She is fluent in English and Spanish and is co-founder of nonprofit organization Hispanics in Wine. She has been recognized on the 40 under 40 Tastemaker's List by Wine Enthusiast and Wine Business Monthly's Wine Industry Leaders 2021, among other accolades.

Rebecca Hopkins

Communications strategy / Special Projects

Born in Australia, Rebecca has worked across the US, UK and ANZ wine markets, representing some of the world’s most well known and respected wine brands, helping them to refine and amplify their unique stories to key media and Industry opinion leaders. From leading the US communication and events teams at Accolade Wines and Constellation Brands, to Vice President of Communications with fine wine importer Folio Fine Wine Partners, Rebecca has extensive networks and knowledge across the wine, culinary and lifestyle media landscape. She formed her own communications agency in 2022, and in 2018, founded A Balanced Glass, a community and website that focuses on staying safe and well when working with alcohol. Rebecca’s work has been recognized by SevenFifty Daily, Food & Wine, Wine Enthusiast, and Wine Business Monthly.