Brinn Wellise - Event Chair
In 1999, Brinn A. Wellise opened Switchback Public Relations + Marketing, Inc. in Tahoe City, Calif. to provide outstanding services to local, regional and national clients. Prior to founding Switchback, Ms. Wellise served as a senior account supervisor for Kratz & Company in San Francisco and has managed numerous prestigious accounts including: Jamba Juice, Ski Lake Tahoe, Boston Properties Embarcadero Center, Aqua Restaurant, Domaine Carneros, Samuel Adams and Red Bull.
In 2004, Brinn was offered the opportunity to own an event under the umbrella of the Autumn Food & Wine Festival and jumped at the chance - she had been looking for a signature event for Switchback Public Relations + Marketing, Inc., and the Downtown Truckee Wine, Walk & Shop was the perfect fit. Combining her extensive Food & Beverage, Travel & Tourism and Event Marketing expertise, Brinn and her team were able to achieve great success for the year-one event and have continued to grow the event ever since.
Brinn is committed to giving back to her community. The first Wine, Walk & Shop was a huge success with nearly 500 tickets sold and $2000 donated to InnerRhythms Dance Theatre. The success of the event has only continued to grow since then and thousands of dollars have been raised for various non-profit organizations including the Lake Tahoe Music Festival, Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe, Truckee High School Band in honor of Matt Rusanoff and the Glenshire and Truckee Elementary Schools’ Special Friends Program. She dedicates both her own time and that of her staff to several non-profit organizations including: Truckee-Tahoe Community Foundation, Sierra Senior Services, Truckee River Watershed Council, InnerRhythms, Truckee Rotary, Kidzone and the Tahoe Forest Hospital Leadership Council.
Jen Eastwood - Event Co-Chair
Jen Eastwood, Supervisor of Systems + Operations at Switchback Public Relations + Marketing, has been on the Downtown Truckee Wine, Walk & Shop Steering Committee since the event's inception in 2004.
At Switchback, she implements her skills to oversee many of the special events under Switchback's umbrella. She has a passion for events and an aptitude for organization and detail. As a steering committee member, she has been instrumental in the planning and execution of the Downtown Truckee Wine, Walk & Shop as well as the highly successful 2005 Cadillac Ball. She has worked on various events including: Tahoe Yacht Club's Concours d'Elegance/Wooden Boat Week (4 years), Reno River Festival, Lake Tahoe Music Festival, Artown, Sierra Nevada Ballet, Bar of America's 30th Anniversary, the Gonzales Foundation, Heart of the Forest Renaissance Faire, InnerRhythms and more.
An avid traveler, Jen has studied abroad in Reading, England and Freiberg, Germany in addition to her independent travels in North and Central America and all across Europe. Highlights of her adventures abroad include attending the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, running into old friends in Paris and Prague, and attending weddings in Belize and Tuscany.
Katie Shaffer - Steering Committee
Katie Shaffer is servingon the Downtown Truckee Wine, Walk & Shop steering committee for a second consecutive year. A senior account executive at Switchback Public Relations + Marketing, Katie is particularly proficient at building partnerships and implementing successful community outreach programs. She also manages several development and real estate accounts, and lends her expertise to travel and tourism clients, securing broadcast, print and online media coverage for her clients.
Prior to joining Switchback, Katie held positions as marketing manager for the University of Nevada Press, a publisher of scholarly books, as publicist and event coordinator for the North Tahoe Fine Arts Council, and as a regular columnist for the Sierra Sun. A 28-year resident of Truckee, her public relations work over the past 25 years has proved instrumental in cementing positive relationships with many key players in the region. Katie's extensive knowledge and love of the area helps connect Switchback clients to the Truckee/North Lake Tahoe region.
Katie has concentrated her talents to event related projects such as the Tahoe Women's Services Ski Day, I-CAN Run event, Tahoe Yacht Club's Concours d'Elegance, Reno River Festival, and the Reno Tahoe Winter Games Coalition 2018 Truckee Taskforce among others. Katie is active with various community, youth sports, adult sports, church and school organizations.
Sally Lyon - Steering Committee
Sally is pleased to be a part of the Downtown Truckee Wine Walk & Shop and looks forward to this fall's event, which showcases both Truckee and its downtown merchants as well as great California wines. Sally was instrumental in creating the event and is thrilled with the previous years' successes.
Sally is a longtime Truckee resident having moved here from Reno in 2000. She is the Chief Financial Officer and Director of Human Resources for the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association in Tahoe City and is a licensed CPA. Before going into accounting, she was owner of a retail wine store as well as a manager of a deli/wine store in Reno. Whenever she can fit it in, she is out hiking and enjoying the mountains with friends and her dogs, Sunny and Cher.
Scott Corridan - Steering Committee
Originally from Southern California, Truckee resident Scott Corridan looks forward to his first year serving on the Downtown Truckee Wine, Walk & Shop steering committee. He has designed weddings, special events and fund raising celebrations for clients in locations from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles to San Francisco to Seattle to Paradise Island to Cabo San Lucas to Whistler and London. His celebrations have been featured in Santa Barbara Magazine, Inside Weddings Magazine, Martha Stewart Weddings, In Style Magazine and In Style Weddings, Town & Country Magazine, Bride’s Magazine, The Knot, The Robb Report, Los Angeles Weddings, and more.
In 2008, In Style named Scott as one of the top 10 celebrity event producers planning special events in the country. Scott’s work has also been featured on a variety of television programs including The Fine Living Channel, The Travel Channel, Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Wedding Edition and The Tyra Banks Show.
Scott has a passion for social causes and community efforts dedicated to animals, adult healthcare and the arts.