Women in Restaurant Leadership

Employee theft quietly drains bars and restaurants every single day. Everyone knows it's happening. No one talks about it. Until now. Chloe Rachel Howard and Jauna Werner co-authored "How I Steal From You"—a true crime exposé on internal theft schemes in hospitality. Chloe grew up in a family restaurant, spent a decade consulting on loss prevention. Jauna is a business operations ex...

Kasia Bednarz didn't grow up thinking about "clean eating." She grew up eating potatoes because that's what her family could afford. Today, she's the Founder and CEO of FARE—a fast-casual brand proving that fast food and real food don't have to be enemies. Built on scratch-made recipes, zero seed oils, zero refined sugars, FARE has grown from a farmers' market ta...

Zipporah Allen's #WiRLPOWER moment isn't about climbing the corporate ladder. It's about learning to ask for what she needs—unapologetically. Ten weeks postpartum, pumping on a corporate jet with a room full of men. Caregiving for her mother while preparing for board meetings. Leading at work while being a leader at home. Zipporah carries a lot. And over nearly two decades at McDona...

Most leadership advice comes from people who've never worked a Saturday night shift. Kayla Henson has. She started as a McDonald's crew member in 2006 and worked her way to Burger King General Manager. She's worked the doubles, led through call-offs, managed impossible shifts, and built cultures people actually want to be part of. Kayla is also the creator of QSR Nugs of Wisdom. She...

Maureen DiStefano just stepped into her new role as Director of Franchise Development at Slim Chickens. And we wanted you to hear her story first. With 20 years of franchise development experience across Potbelly, Dunkin', Starbucks, GNC, and Magnolia Bakery, Maureen is a Certified Franchise Executive, frequent speaker, and someone who genuinely believes "the best part of franchise devel...

Great growth doesn't happen by accident. It's architected. Designed and built with strategy, discipline, and a deep understanding of what actually works. Jennifer Durham, Senior Vice President of Franchising and Development at Potbelly, is the architect behind the brand's expansion as they head toward 500 locations. Jennifer's path to this role is unconventional. She started as...

Sometimes winning at something means knowing when it's time to move.  Shannon Swenson just did exactly that. After helping drive one of the most explosive growth periods at Dave's Hot Chicken, she's now Chief of Franchise Partnerships at Swig, taking on a pivotal leadership role as the beverage concept rockets forward. But why would she leave something so personal and successful? In...

Thank you to Foodbuy, our sponsor for this episode. Strategic procurement supports effective menuing and operations. Foodbuy Foodservice resources its Members to develop effective procurement strategies. Learn more at https://www.foodbuy.com/.  There's a kitchen in Chicago where it all started. A kid running home from school instead of playing sports. A mom cooking dinner. Afternoons spent wa...

30 years. That's how long Jane McPherson has been shaping brands in the restaurant industry—and she's still innovating, still evolving, still pushing forward. In this episode, I'm sitting down with Jane, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Penn Station Sandwiches, to trace her remarkable career journey across franchising, the sandwich category, and multiple periods of massive indu...

When a restaurant's fryer breaks down, or the refrigeration system fails, there's a critical moment of truth: a skilled technician walks through the door and fixes it. But we rarely talk about that workforce. In this bonus episode, I'm joined by Kristen Nowak, President of Field Service at Unlimited Service Group, who oversees a nationwide network of service and repair organizations...

Confidence isn't about being the loudest in the room. It's about knowing the value you bring and owning it. But here's what nobody tells you: in rooms where women are still underestimated, interrupted, and expected to prove themselves twice, claiming that space takes strategy, presence, and a whole lot of intentionality. In this episode, I'm joined by Olivia Ross, a WiRL adviso...

There's a difference between scaling and scaling thoughtfully. Between growth that happens to you and growth you actually architect. This week on WiRL, I'm in conversation with Jennifer Folger and Chrissy McKinney from Eggs Up Grill—two leaders who embody that distinction. Jennifer leads franchise growth. Chrissy leads brand and communications. Together, they're navigating one of th...

We spend a lot of time talking about menus—what's trending, what's next, what guests want. But what we don't always talk about is what actually makes those menus work . In this episode, I'm joined by Chef Awo Amenumey —a Chopped competitor and culinary strategist whose work bridges creativity and execution. From celebrating her Ghanaian roots through pop-ups to supporting opera...

What does it take to grow an 81-year-old brand… without completely melting what made it special in the first place? For Hillary Frei, it’s not about reinventing the wheel — it’s about knowing which parts of the recipe you don’t touch. Founded in 1945 by Alice Handel, Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream has gone from a single backyard-inspired stand to one of the fastest-growing concepts in the country — a...

From crunching numbers at J.P. Morgan to running one of Florida’s hottest steakhouse brands, Kassidy Angelo is rewriting the rules of what it means to pivot into hospitality. In this bonus episode, she shares how she went from finance to the front lines of the restaurant floor, building award-winning Daniel’s Steakhouse alongside her family. Tune in for stories about taking bold risks, scaling a n...

Before women could lead restaurants, build brands, or take up space in boardrooms, they had to fight for something much simpler: a seat at the table. In 1868, a group of women gathered at Delmonico's for what became known as the Ladies’ Luncheon—the first time women publicly dined together without male escorts. Organized by journalist Jane Cunningham Croly, the moment made international headl...

Sometimes the best conversations are the ones where you get to reconnect—and realize just how much has changed. When I first spoke with Christina Vaughan, she was already making a major impact behind the scenes at Slim Chickens. Fast forward to today, and she’s stepped into a brand-new role as the company’s first-ever President, while continuing to serve as COO. In this episode, we catch up on eve...

Ever dreamed of running your own business but felt overwhelmed by the “whole picture”? Michele Carlton knows exactly how that feels—and she’s here to show that entrepreneurship can start with just one small step. Michele is the franchisee behind PJ’s Coffee in Pensacola, Florida, where she works side by side with her son, building a café that’s as much about community as it is about coffee. From e...

Everyone has a marketing playbook. The real question is… does it actually work? In this episode of the WiRL podcast , marketing maven Alice Crowder breaks down what foodservice marketing is supposed to look like—and where so many brands quietly go off the rails. We talk about the four pillars that should anchor every strategy: culinary, brand, creative, and digital. Why insights aren’t optional. W...

What if success wasn’t something you climbed toward — but something you designed? In this episode of the WiRL podcast, Casey Halbach, Founder of Intentional Talent Solutions and a WiRL Advisory Board Member, joins us for a deeply human conversation about leadership, timing, and the pressure women carry to “do it all” in the right order. Casey shares why the myth of perfection keeps so many women s...

Somewhere between the test kitchen and the supply chain spreadsheet is where the magic happens. In this WiRL Day-in-the-Life episode, we sit down with Jax Sperling, Vice President of Culinary & Supply Chain at Craveworthy Brands, and the woman behind Big Chicken’s reimagined menu. From Shaq Snacks and buttery garlic toast builds to the real decisions that make big food executable, Jax shares h...

Leadership in hospitality isn’t just about managing a team or hitting numbers. It’s about people, culture, and resilience. In this episode, I sit down with Christin Marvin, who started her restaurant career as a line cook at just 15 and went on to become a managing partner, helping scale brands to 48 locations. She’s the founder of Solutions by Christin, author of Multi-Unit Mastery and The Hospit...

2026 is here, and we’re starting the year with intention, gratitude, and community. In this solo (and mini) kickoff episode, Senior Editor Satyne Doner reflects on the WiRL community’s incredible growth in 2025, shares a grounding reminder that it’s okay to ease into the new year, and looks ahead at everything coming for Women in Restaurant Leadership in 2026. From our biggest Women in Restaurant...

Listener note: This episode includes sensitive conversation around grief and loss. We invite you to listen in the way that feels most supportive to you. Grief doesn’t stay at home—it often comes to work with us. Yet many leaders are never taught how to recognize it, respond to it, or create space for it within their teams. In this episode of the WiRL Podcast, we’re joined by Elizabeth Meltz, found...

What happens when you combine restaurant-floor instincts, deep empathy, and industry-defining CX strategy? You get Jessica Kwa, Head of Customer Experience Strategy at Qualtrics, who helps some of the world’s biggest brands truly understand what customers need —and how to design experiences that turn insight into action. In this episode, Jessica breaks down: Why guest expectations are skyrocketing...