Deagon Williams: Chef. MBA.

Deagon was born in California, but her cultural and culinary training ground was Paris-where she moved as a teenager in order to undergo formal culinary training. She came of age grappling with her own culture and cuisine while living and learning another. Deagon earned her Grand Diplôme d'Études Culinaires at l'Ecole de Cuisine, La Varenne, and then apprenticed with Michel Comby and La Maison du Chocolat.

As a chef, Deagon ran a 25 person kitchen staff with a daily changing menu as well as created new businesses from scratch. In order to build organizational expertise, Deagon studied systems and organizational theory-earning a BA in Sociology at Mills College. Next, she sought to deepen her understanding of business and economics by earning an MBA-also at Mills.

Deagon then became Client Services Manager at the Center for Culinary Development, where she worked on business development and food marketing for multinational corporations.