About Me...
Kate Danaj
When Kate decided more than seven years ago that alcohol was not serving her any longer, she decided to give up drinking for Lent, and was surprised that she made it through successfully. Realizing how much better she felt without "wine-o'clock" cravings, boozy brunches, or dreaded hangovers -- she wanted to keep herself accountable to a mindful-drinking path. That's when she came across two books that solidified her booze-free path (This Naked Mind by Annie Grace and Kick the Drink Easily by Jason Vale) and completely changed her life.
She felt like she took the red pill, tumbled down the rabbit hole, and became "unplugged" from the Matrix of alcohol that had cast a haze over her life. It was surprisingly easier than she expected to almost completely cut booze from her life after seeing alcohol for what it actually is -- a toxic depressant that our healthy bodies treat as poison. She realized alcohol wasn't making her more relaxed, fun, effervescent, or witty -- she already had those qualities inside her -- but instead, it made her feel tired, cranky, foggy-headed, and anxious. And on top of that, much of the allure of alcohol was coming from shiny ad campaigns and eye-catching packaging, and we know how that turned out for the tobacco industry.
So after drinking moderately for six years, she decided to go completely alcohol-free on December 28, 2021, and hasn't looked back since. Knowing that she wanted to get involved in the AF space, she enrolled in and graduated from SansBar Academy – a comprehensive 10-week instructional course -- which ignited even more passion for the spirit-free category. She kicked-off her first zero-proof pop-up event in honor of Dry July 2022, and was recently named one of Los Angeles' most fascinating people for 2022.
Kate is also co-founder of Rise Beverages -- a sales and marketing firm dedicated to connecting boutique alcohol-free brands to the bars, restaurants, and guests who love them.
Kate received her Masters from Northwestern University and has specialized in marketing, marketing research, and customer user-experience research across her 25-year career, consulting for an array of global brands, including Amazon, Disney, FedEx, Facebook, Google, Instagram, Microsoft, Nintendo, Twitter, and many more.
In her free time, Kate mixes up non-alcoholic cocktails, shares drink recipes with other AF aficionados on her “Sober in the Southbay” social account, explores plant-based cooking, hangs out with her two teenaged sons, walks along the beach, and cheers for the Rams.