Our Watershed Moments From New York City to Portland, Oregon
- 1974—Lisa is asked to write an autobiography for a school project. The first paragraph says, "I was born at 11:56 AM, just before lunch, which makes sense, because I LOVE FOOD".
- 1985—As a student, Lisa moves to Paris and is exposed to a cultural appreciation of fresh, local food that changes her forever.
- 1987—Lisa joins a luxury PR firm in NYC as an intern and discovers a passion for PR.
- 1993—Charlie Palmer hires Lisa as his first PR person. A new world of New York culinary stars opens up and the Food Network launches at the Rainbow Room. Charlie and Lisa schlep to the studio to do one of the first segments. They prep in a utility closet. No running water yet.
- 1998—Portland hosts the annual IACP conference. John Scharffenberger, Mark Tarbell and Lisa present a talk about culinary entrepreneurialism and how to build a business on great PR and word of mouth. Lisa returns to NYC with a new idea to move to Oregon.
- 1999—LAD communications opens its doors with a goal to spread the exciting things happening in Portland to a wider, national audience. Cory Schreiber and LAD work together to promote his seminal cookbook defining Northwest Cuisine.
- 2000—Oregon Food Bank needs volunteers to produce its first big fancy fundraiser dinner. LAD pitches in to create buzz and raise money for the Harvest Dinner —Portland's first time ever to serve dinner on the Hawthorne Bridge.
- 2001—Marketing a Sense of Place: IACP publishes a by-line story in an international trade journal that proposes a template for culinary marketers to think about the value of terroir in contemporary culture.
- 2003—Lisa invites and hosts a friend from Food & Wine Magazine to Oregon for a culinary event in Bend, and creates a great opportunity to research potential chefs for the America's Best New Chefs issue.
- 2004—Client Scott Dolich of Park Kitchen is the first Oregon chef named in the annual Best New Chefs Food & Wine Magazine issue. Lota LaMontagne joins LAD communications.
- 2005—First Portland Indie Wine Festival happens, an annual culinary event designed to preserve the biodiversity of Oregon's artisanal wine industry
- 2006—Cynthia Nims has fantastic South Pacific sing-along party in Seattle and Ryan Magarian takes a taste of the sample of Aviation Gin from client House Spirits that Lisa brought to the party. The rest, as they say, is history.
- 2007—Portland Indie Wine Festival wins Travel Portland's distinguished President's Award for its contributions to tourism and economic development.
- 2008—LAD grows to a team of six professionals and continues to grow an appreciation for craft beer.
- 2009—Ten years in Portland and New York. LAD becomes Watershed.
