The Studio by Feast it Forward was founded by Katie Hamilton Shaffer. Originally from the town of Davis (about 45 minutes from Napa) she came to the Napa Valley to pursue her passions in food and wine. As she admits, “I wanted to go to culinary school but they didn’t have a soccer team. So, after playing collegiate ball and a short stint on the semi-pro circuit, I moved to Napa Valley to pursue my food and wine aspirations.”

Initially she wanted to become a chef but soon began working for several Napa based wineries. It was at one of these wineries that the daughter of a friend was diagnosed with Rett Syndrome, a rare disease. Katie took action and created a support network from scratch in the form of “Erika’s Dream”, a non profit foundation. Katie also helped launch Wine, Women & Shoes and was instrumental in promoting that organization to National prominence. She continues to be extremely involved in a number of projects that focus on helping others.

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