Maryam Ahmed, Director – Public Programs, The Culinary Institute of America and Independent Consultant & Coach, Napa (CA)

Years In the Industry:

You could say that I’ve been in this industry, in some shape or form, my entire life. At the age of six I used the original Gateway computer to design menus and plan get togethers for family dinners.  My parents, both in the medical field, didn’t know what to do with their anomaly of a child who preferred shrimp cocktail to ER shows.

Eventually, I went to Cornell Hotel School and further deepened my love for wine, food, and events.  I went into distribution in NYC after graduation, and as I learned about the three-tier system, I recognized that there was an opportunity to help wineries more distinctly by bringing their products to market through improved consumer education and storytelling. By then I was a home fermentation lover, so I packed up to move west and went to Walla Walla Community College for Winemaking & Viticulture. While attending the program, I consulted for wineries and hospitality businesses.

I moved to Napa in 2015 at the chance to work for The Culinary Institute of America as they pursued a more active role in consumer education. Since then, I’ve built a team and created consumer and trade programs centered around the world of food, wine, and conscious consumerism. This has organically set me at the intersection of many avenues of the hospitality world-- which I love.  It feels like home to me!

My Biggest Challenge To Wellness:

My biggest challenge to wellness is the constant pressure to be doing or producing. In this industry, we are always in motion—there’s no slow down. I used to pile on the tasks when I’d get a day off, but then I’d be returning to work or sitting down with friends even more tired than I was the day before! When you’re in that frame of mind, it becomes harder to separate the commotion from the motion. Meaning, we could be doing a lot without checking in on how we are being and measuring how far we’ve come. In hospitality, it’s hard to learn to give ourselves as much grace as we give our guests. Suffice to say, I’m still working on it!

How I Keep It Together To Stay Well:

I’m in constant pursuit of wellness because in this case, practice doesn’t make perfect.  It’s taken me a long time to prioritize the importance of wellness in order to achieve it. I stay well by investing in friendships, disconnecting, and doing less while being more.

Friends: My friends keep me honest and I invest heavily in this aspect of my wellness. Even in a time when it’s “harder to connect,” I’m grateful for people that will hold a mirror up for me when I’m experiencing self-doubt or need a nudge in the right direction.

Me Time: I’m sure it annoys people, but my phone is on Do Not Disturb an awful lot. When I’m disconnected, I’m connected with me. I spend this time very intentionally. In turn, I find I’m more present for others which is exactly how I want to show up in my relationships and in my work.

Do less, Be more: I like to stretch the length of a day as long as I can, and I do that by going back to basics. It’s taken a long time to learn, but I’ve found that the things worth doing are the ones that allow me to just be in the moment. These are activities that pull me out of the rabbit hole of list-checking and work to-dos. For me, it’s time in the garden, or on a hike, cooking a new recipe, or climbing a new route – all of which command my attention but allow a natural opportunity for processing. The Vitamin D and movement don’t hurt either!

You can connect with Maryam on Instagram @goodfriendsgoodfood LinkedIn and her website.