Kate Griffith, Chief Philosopher & Proprietor

Chief Philosopher Kate Griffith relocated to work for the City of Lompoc and helped grow the infant wine industry in 2002. She met the love of her life, married Norm Yost on 01/01/10 and began working for Flying Goat Cellars. She now enjoys being a proprietor of a family business, branding and selling Norm’s handcrafted wines. She enjoys the simple pleasures of life on the Central Coast with Norm and Cooper, their beloved pooch. The couple are also backyard beekeepers, relocating unwanted swarms and providing community education, as well as hosting the Lompoc Valley Beekeepers Association meetings and selling Hush Honey at their tasting room. 

Griffith graduated with master’s degrees from the University of California, San Diego and Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. She has over 45 years of communications, branding and marketing experience, much of it self-employed and specializing in Latin America. Her most visible campaign was on the passage of NAFTA, while working as a foreign agent for the Government of Mexico. Over the years, she has published extensively on subjects ranging from NAFTA, environmental sustainability in Mexico, telecommunications in Latin America and the local wine industry. 

Kate has been a board director for CoastHills Credit Union, Santa Barbara Vintners, Lompoc Wine Alliance, Lompoc Valley Beekeepers Association, Santa Barbara County Workforce Investment Board and Santa Barbara Conference & Visitors Bureau and Film Commission (Visit Santa Barbara). She was also an Advisory Committee Member for CoastHills Credit Union and a Planning Commissioner for the City of Lompoc. Before moving to Lompoc, she helped launch Robert Duvall's Children's Fund and organize numerous polo fundraisers across the country.