Nicolette provides the expertise that drives all facets of L.A. Spirits Awards’ competition process, from the recruitment and training of judges to the chaperoning of hundreds of entries through the complicated logging, tracking, and evaluation machinery. As the competition’s business manager, she directs all financial operations, and she is the primary planner of post-competition tasting events that promote L.A. Spirits Awards’ winners.

Nicolette has spent her entire career immersed in the world of wine and spirits evaluation and promotions and brings to L.A. Spirits Awards a level of competition management experience that is without equal in the industry.

Before launching L.A. Spirits Awards, Nicolette served as Managing Director of the Tasting Alliance’s three major U.S. competitions—the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, the San Francisco International Wine Competition, and the New York World Wine & Spirits Competition. There, Nicolette singlehandedly streamlined the events’ complex procedures and developed systems that ensured the utmost impartiality and integrity of judging operations.

Prior to running The Tasting Alliance’s competitions, Nicolette organized consumer and trade tasting events across the country for Blue Lifestyle and managed editorial content for The Tasting Panel Magazine and the Somm Journal.

Joel brings to L.A. Spirits Awards a wealth of strategic marketing expertise to help communicate to potential entrants the competitive advantages of L.A. Spirits Awards’ medals. He also acts as the company’s primary media liaison, the primary winner contact for all post-competition support programs, and is responsible for L.A. Spirits Awards’ graphic identity and marketing voice.

As the principal and creative director of his strategic marketing firm, Pace Design Group, Joel spearheaded transformational identity and promotional campaigns for some of the San Francisco Bay Area’s major financial services firms, including Bank of America, E•Trade, Wells Fargo Bank, and Charles Schwab, as well as for clients in the tech, biotech, and wine and spirits sectors. 

Major wine and spirits clients included several awards competitions, including the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, which he helped launch in 2000 and where he played a major role in establishing its reputation as the largest and most prestigious competition of its kind in the world.