CARRIE WELCH [email protected] • @CarriePDX

Carrie Welch is Co-Owner of Little Green Pickle and Co-Founder of Bon Appetit Presents Feast Portland in Portland, Oregon. Little Green Pickle provides public relations, marketing, social media and web services for some of the most electric restaurants and artisans in the Portland food and drink scene, as well as national chefs and brands. When Carrie and wife Jannie moved from City in 2010 to work in Portland's ingenious food industry, Little Green Pickle originally began as a precursor to their dream restaurant. One service job and many spilled water glasses later, she decided she was better talking about restaurants, beverages, and artisan and Little Green Pickle was born.

Since its first year in 2012, Feast Portland celebrates everything that makes the Pacific Northwest awesome through a dynamic, multi-day food and drink festival. With over 80 chefs, 30 events and tens of thousands of attendees, the festival has raised over $200,000 for hunger relief in the U.S. Feast Portland received Travel Portland’s “Portland” award, which honors the top contribution to the region’s reputation, and has been named as one of North America’s 15 Best Food Festivals by Fodors and The Best Food Festival in the Country by Thrillist.

For Carrie, both Little Green Pickle and Feast Portland draw on the past experience of a 10- year career at as Vice President of Public Relations, overseeing all consumer press, talent relations, digital PR, social media, charitable efforts, and launching successful shows for now ubiquitous celebrity chefs Rachael Ray, , Ina Garten, Alton Brown, and Duff Goldman.

In 2008, Carrie helped create the Wine & Food Festival with Share Our Strength, The Food Bank for NYC and Southern Wines & Spirits, which continues to raise over $1 million to help end childhood hunger each year. She also co-initiated Food Network's first public affairs program, "Good Food Gardens," that brought teaching gardens to underprivileged kids and families in schools and community centers. She has studied wine and spirits extensively, completing the Wine & Spirit Education Trust Intermediate and Advanced Certificates. In 2015, Carrie was named one of the Portland Business Journal's "40 Under 40." and one of The Daily Meal's "60 (Plus) Coolest People in Food." When not eating or drinking, Carrie can be found reading books to their son Taylor.