Maria Calvert, Hispanics in Wine

Title: Public Relations Consultant and Co-Founder of Hispanics in Wine

Location: Washington DC, USA

Years in Industry:
Since 2018! Before transitioning to food and wine, I was the Vice President of Global Communications at a currency broker on Wall Street. In addition to my love for public relations, I've always been committed to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives and was the Co-Chairman of my company's Charity Committee. I spearheaded initiatives to give back to the local community by securing partnerships with non-profit organizations in the tri-state area. After several years in finance, in 2018, I decided to follow my palate to the wine industry, joining a renowned PR agency in New York City as a Senior Account Executive. While working here, I led integrated communications campaigns for institutions and brands in food and wine worldwide. Today, my time is split between NYC and Washington, DC, as a Public Relations Consultant, offering my expertise to B2B/B2C start-ups and established brands in food and wine.
 
Separately, in 2020, I co-launched a passion project with Lydia Richards called Hispanics in Wine which in 2022 officially became a non-profit organization 501(c)(3). At Hispanics in Wine, we provide educational and career-advancement opportunities to the ever-growing Hispanic and LatinX community of beverage professionals in the United States and worldwide. 
 
My Top Three Challenges to Wellness:

1. I'm a huge traveler, both for pleasure and work. Traveling to me is more than visiting a new place. It's experiencing the local culture, making new friends, learning from a new community, appreciating what I have, and being more socially empathetic. More importantly, it reminds me that I occupy a tiny place in this infinite world. I get ambitious with traveling, and I often need to remember that I also need to rest and stay still. As much as living from a suitcase sounds appealing, I also need to enjoy my home, dog, family, and rest. It is all about balance!

2. As a result of the pandemic, I'm still learning how to balance my work schedule and personal life. I work from home, and there are days that I find myself doing work outside of my "work hours" because it is easy to grab my laptop and start typing away from my living room. Coming from a public relations and marketing background, we were working around the clock at the start of the pandemic as we were finding ways to adapt to this "new normal," hello, virtual tastings! That energy continued throughout the last couple of years, and now that we are back to pre-pandemic activities, such as in-person events, I'm constantly adjusting my energy and focus. Something that helps is blocking off my calendar when I would commute to work in the morning and evening as a reminder of when my work day starts and ends.

3. Perfectionism has always been my Achilles heel as a student and professionally. I strive to be the best in my class, work, and hobbies, and although it is a good trait (hello, attention to detail!), it also means a fear of failure. When I started working in the wine industry, someone dear to me said, "you must take calculated risks of failure to discover all you can achieve." Since then, I have tried to balance my perfectionism trait, taking risks and learning from each failure or achievement lesson!

 
How I Keep It Together to Stay Well:
I grew up playing sports and staying active is essential to me. It helps me mentally, and physically, and to deal with stress. My parents taught me to deal with my feelings since I was a young kid; whenever I felt overwhelmed in school, they would make me go outside and play a sport or run.
Being active means different things as I get older. I played on the tennis team against citywide NYC teams during middle school and high school. In my 20s, I played in corporate sports teams, specifically softball, dodgeball, and winter flag football. Heck, I also trained and did a Tough Mudder in 2012. I also learned to appreciate running, which challenged me mentally and physically. I went from learning to pace myself and running a short 3-mile race to ultimately doing an ultra-marathon (yes, that's 50 miles!) in 2014. Running allowed me to focus on my body and breathing and challenge myself to keep increasing my distance - I never thought about work, life problems, or anything while running. Now that I'm in my 30s, I'm learning what works based on my work schedule and personal life. You will find me hiking on weekends or when I travel, and during the winter, you will find me on the ski slopes!
 
What Inspires Me:
My parents. As I get older, I have a deeper appreciation for what my parents did for my brother and me. When my parents were my age, they migrated from Ecuador to New York City. They had limited funds, two pieces of luggage, a three-year-old daughter (me), and a nine-year-old son (my brother) to a foreign country without a job, a new language, a new system, and minimal connections. Through perseverance, courage, and humility, my parents were able to adapt to this country to give us a better life. For this, I'm forever grateful and inspired by their bravery. 
 
A Quote I Love:
"Happiness is internal, not external; it does not depend on what we have, but on what we are" – Pablo Neruda
 
Social Media handles:
You can connect with Maria on Instagram Facebook and online at mariacalvertpr.com and hispanicsinwine.com