Industry veteran Jamie Peha appointed as executive director of Auction of Washington Wines

Jamie Peha

The Auction of Washington Wines has named industry veteran Jamie Peha its interim executive director, effective immediately.

According to a news release, Peha has already played a key role as part of the AWW team. As director of the event’s Private Barrel Auction, she grew the program from eight wine lots in 2015, netting $48,000, to 31 lots and a record-breaking $251,000 in 2018.

Peha’s career accomplishments include building Taste Washington into a nationally recognized event, growing the Seattle Wine and Food Experience into a two-day, financially viable event and serving as interim director for both Woodinville Wine Country and the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance.

“The Auction of Washington Wines has chosen Jamie so that we may continue to focus on thoughtfully and strategically fulfilling our mission to raise awareness of Washington state wine while raising much needed funds for Seattle Children’s and WSU’s Viticulture and Enology Research,” said Beth McCaw, AWW board president. “We were recently listed as the number three largest charity wine auction in the U.S. by Wine Spectator, and Jamie’s leadership will be critical in continuing to drive future growth, for both the Auction and the Washington wine industry.”

Former Executive Director Shelley Tomberg stepped down from her role at the end of January 2019. According to the news release, her work contributed to the Auction’s 2018 weekend of events raising a record-breaking $4.3 million for Seattle Children’s and Washington State University’s Wine Science Research.

—by Jonelle Mejica