Juliana Pesavento

Media Liaison

Juliana’s interest in the hospitality industry was piqued at a young age by a family full of adventurous diners and travelers. A Chicago native, she made the move from the Midwest to the West Coast to attend the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Journalism, from which she earned a B.A. in public relations. Juliana then spent 10 years at Wagstaff Media & Marketing, one of the country’s largest hospitality PR and marketing agencies. There she oversaw the company’s culinary PR teams and had the privilege of working with James Beard Award winners, Food & Wine Best New Chefs, bon appetit Best New Restaurant recipients, and many more incredibly talented clients. She then joined Simmer Group, a hospitality-focused branding and marketing agency, where she led the branding strategy for concepts from inception to launch as well as marketing campaigns for some of New York City’s most well-known fast casual concepts. She founded Middle Name Communications in 2021.

For media inquiries about the Jacques Pépin Foundation, please email juliana@middlenamecommunications.com.