Ivy first served a drink when she traveled to Guatemala at 19 years old. She lived and worked there for years, giving her a unique and extensive knowledge base into the agave spirits field. With help from her long-time mentor Julie Reiner, Mix was involved in some of New York City’s most iconic bars; from cocktail waitressing at Mayahuel, bartending at Fort Defiance, to being on the opening staff of Lani Kai. Not long after, the two opened up Leyenda in May of 2015. Leyenda has since won many awards and has been recognized as being one of the best bars in America by Eater, GQ, Thrillist and others. While this was happening, Ivy made it her mission to rethink women’s role behind the bar by conceptualizing and later, with Lynnette Marrero, co-founding Speed Rack in 2011. It has since taken the world by storm and so far they have raised nearly $1,000,000 for charity.

With a long history of working in bars throughout the Americas, Ivy has been recognized by many within the culinary and cocktail industry as being one of the best bartenders in the country and in 2015 was named American Bartender of the Year at Tales of the Cocktail’s Spirited Awards and in 2016 was named Mixologist of the Year by Wine Enthusiast. In 2019, her work with Lynette Marrero gave them the honor of receiving 2 Tales of the Cocktail’s Spirited Awards: for Philanthropy and World’s Best Bar Mentors. In Spring 2020, Ivy published her first cocktail book, Spirits of Latin America, which was named one of Esquire’s “Best Cocktail Books of 2020.”

Lynnette Marrero’s career began when she accepted a job at NYC’s Flatiron Lounge alongside cocktail savant Julie Reiner. Marrero quickly made the transition from cocktail-waitress to bartender and knew that the spirits industry was her true calling. She then moved quickly from Senior Bartender at Freemans to consulting and co-designing the bar program for Elettaria in Manhattan’s West Village. Here she worked closely with the chef to create an award-winning cocktail menu. After shadowing Zacapa Rum Master Blender in Guatemala and working as a Rum Ambassador for Diageo for two years, she returned and created her own company Drinksat6, cultivating a new generation of cocktail bartenders and elevating the bar at restaurants.

In 2015, Marrero opened and is now the Bar Director at Brooklyn hotspot The Llama Inn and the newly opened Llama San, which just received a glowing three-star review from the New York Times. Marrero has won Time Out Eat Out Awards for Best New Cocktail Bar and Best Bar Restaurant Hybrid for her work as beverage Director at Rye House. Marrero has also been honored by the James Beard Awards as one of America’s Leading Female Mixologists 2009, named Food & Wine and Fortune Magazine’s Most Innovative Women in Food and Drink in 2015, and Wine Enthusiasts’ Mixologist of the Year in 2016. In July 2019, Marrero received the Tales of the Cocktails’ Spirited Awards World’s Best Bar Mentors and the inaugural Philanthropy Award with co-founder Ivy Mix for their work in Speed Rack. She also placed in the inaugural Drinks International Bar World 100. Other notable projects Marrero’s has worked on include: creating the bar program for Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream, being the National Brand Mixologist for Perrier Sparkling Water and San Pellegrino Sparkling Fruit Beverages, and working with Zacapa Rum team as their trade educator and mixologist. Marrero launched the Masterclass.com Mixology platform in March 2020.

As a Social Entrepreneur, Deborah Brenner measures success on the positive impact a business makes on society. She has manifested her vision with Women of the Vine & Spirits, the leading membership organization, worldwide, dedicated to boldly pushing the wine, beer and spirits industry toward a more diverse, equitable and inclusive era that empowers all to succeed.

After graduating from the University of Delaware with degrees in English and Journalism Deborah spent 20 years in the male-dominated television and film technology industry that required international travel to countries for whom wine is a part of everyday life. During a fortuitous trip to the Napa and Sonoma wine regions, Deborah discovered another male-dominated industry, where women were under-recognized. 

Compelled to tell their stories, and tapping into her love of research and journalism Deborah authored a bestselling collection of profiles, Women of the Vine: Inside the World of Women Who Make, Taste and Enjoy Wine, which Wine Spectator named a Critical Read of 2007.

Through the process of championing these incredible women, Deborah was inspired to enter the wine business herself, releasing wine from a first-of-its-kind collective of seven artisan women winemakers from Napa, Sonoma and Paso Robles, CA. For the following seven years, Deborah learned the business inside and out. Ultimately, she could not foster women in the wine industry the way she had hoped, which led her to dissolve the wine brand and return to the drawing board.

A year later, in March 2015, Deborah organized the Inaugural Women of the Vine & Spirits Global Symposium. It was a sold-out success. The attendees eagerly supported the opportunity to connect through a global network and seek ways to accelerate their business and professional development. This forum allowed for collaboration across all industry sectors and inspired attendees to do business with like-minded women and men. It was clear to Deborah that to make a positive impact on the alcohol beverage industry, women needed a voice year-round. 

Membership to the organization opened September 2015. What started off as a one-off event and grass roots movement quickly expanded into a global organization with members engaged across 23 countries. Women of the Vine & Spirits has become a catalyst for creating a positive impact in the alcohol beverage industry by giving women worldwide a platform and a voice to thrive. 

To further foster education and career pathing, the Women of the Vine & Spirits Foundation 501(c)3 was launched in 2017 and to-date has awarded 99 women with more than $250,000 in scholarships.

Deborah resides in New York with her husband, Jack. Having been the spouse of a restaurateur who owned and operated an Italian restaurant for 24 years in Piermont, NY, Deborah is passionate about supporting hardworking hospitality professionals who are fundamental to the on-premise sector of the alcohol beverage industry.

In addition to Women of the Vine & Spirits, in 2021, Deborah launched another “sister company” called Badass Bartender™. This first-of-its-kind community for female bartenders aims to fill a void for female bartenders to unite, be empowered, support one another, explore career opportunities and network. For more information visit badassbartender.com 

Deborah has received a Rising Star Award from Women for WineSense (2008), a New York Small Business Administration Women in Business Champion of the Year (2009), a New York City National Association of Women Business Owners Signature Award (2010), the Lillian Vernon Award for Outstanding Community Service by the Women's Enterprise Development Center (2011), a NY Women in Communications Rising Star Award (2013),  the Rockland Business Women's Network Woman of the Year Award (2014), American Cancer Society Dr. Louis Berger Award (2017), Wine Enthusiast Wine Star Award Person of the Year Nominee (2017), Las Vegas Inc. “Woman to Watch” (2018), and Wine Enthusiast Wine Star Award “Social Visionary of the Year” Recipient (2018).