Meet Our Leadership Team
Robert Cavanaugh, Wine Educator and Managing Director
Melissa Conway, Director of Strategic Growth
Melissa has over two decades of experience in creating and delivering marketing, communications, and fundraising plans for Fortune 500 corporate clients and top-tier non-profit organizations. A tenacious pursuit of excellence undergirds her vast expertise in developing strategic growth strategies. Melissa specializes in expansion initiatives for Adventure Wine’s marketing campaigns as well as Public Relations, Trade Contacts and digital marketing for prestigious international wine regions. An expert in creative event-planning, she will be developing a variety of new initiatives for Adventure Wine in 2023.
Melissa is passionate about wine and has led numerous large-scale consumer tasting, fundraising, and brand expansion special events. At the heart of her work, Melissa continually seeks to give back to local communities by advancing and expanding missional and non-profit organizations to the highest level of influence while making a positive global impact. In the last decade, her events and marketing savvy have helped raise over $20 million in resources to provide hope and healing to women, children, families, and veterans in need. Melissa may be contacted at melissa@adventurewine.com
Lindsey Parris, Wine Educator and Strategic Planning
Lindsey discovered ‘Life as a Cabernet’ upon sampling his first Bordeaux Grand Cru in a Saigon bistro, and has been an avid wine enthusiast ever since. A retired business economist and Colonel in the United States Air Force, Lindsey has advanced degrees from Florida State University and Harvard University, as well as being the co-author of Corrupt Cities, now in its 8th language translation.
Lindsey holds intermediate and advanced-level certifications from the Wine & Spirits Education Trust, and works with Adventure Wine helping global wine regions develop strategic planning and promotions with Adventure Wine’s On- and Off-Premise chain accounts partners. He is also an extremely popular speaker, sharing his knowledge of wines at Staff Trainings and Consumer events.
Mike Tibodeau, Marketing Specialist
A business strategist and technology professional once uncorked a great bottle of wine and immediately embarked on a journey of Master Classes and Certifications for wine regions around the world.
Mike Tibodeau is an 18-year veteran with Adventure Wine, hosting classes in an easy, affable manner that has delighted audiences everywhere. He’s traveled the globe and visited dozens of wine regions, as well as being Adventure Wine’s leading expert on Spirits as well.
Mike is one of the best SPIRITS educators around, with a particular knowledge of Scotch and Whiskeys
Janet Cam, Culinary Strategist
Janet Cam is best known as the founder/co-proprietor of LePavillon restaurant winner of The Wine Spectator’s Grand Award, and the Managing Director of the legendary Lutèce in New York. She is included in Who’s Who in America’s Restaurants and associated with the James Beard Foundation and elected to the Smithsonian Food History Project’s advisory group, the Kitchen Cabinet.
Janet Cam provides consulting services to restaurant and hospitality businesses through a collaborative process to build profitable ventures from the ground up and redevelops existing businesses into fresh, competitive operations with a focus on wine and beverage programs.
Cam is launching the first certified wine program for the University of Maryland.
WSET II with distinction
She’s been teaching with Adventure Wine for over 10 years
Leo Raymond, Adventure Wine Educator
Leo has been an Adventure Wine educator for over 13 years, offering wine patrons the products of Bordeaux, Rhone Valley, Portugal, Argentina, Sicily, and the American Northwest.
Leo has had a lifelong interest in wine, which he’s fostered through dozens of master classes, professional instruction, and “field research” in Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, and Germany, as well as many US wine areas.
His background is business expansion and he’s also a passionate speaker about “all things wine!”
Jackie Ducci, Marketing & Event Planner
Jackie discovered her passion for event planning as a student at The Catholic University of America in Washington DC and currently works with a wide array of social, corporate, and fundraising event clients.
Some of her corporate experiences include: Habitat for Humanity, the Kansas Republican Party, Tsunami REACH, and several Chambers of Commerce and university groups. Her assistance is invaluable in planning trade events.