Over 250 guests expected from throughout the U.S., Australia, Canada, and Europe. Are you attending?

Sonja Magdevski is the owner and winemaker of Casa Dumetz Wines. Sonja is a small, boutique producer of primarily Rhone varietals sourcing fruit from premier Santa Barbara County vineyards, in addition to her small private vineyard of Pinot Noir in Malibu. Sonja began making wine in her garage after she and her partner planted their Pinot Noir vineyard ten years ago. At that time, her career trajectory in academia became thwarted by the love of the grapevine. She studied political science at the University of Michigan and Journalism for her graduate work at Michigan State University. She received a Fulbright Scholarship to Macedonia in 1998-1999 to study ethnic conflict in her parents’ homeland with the intention of creating a sustainable framework for tolerance and stability in the Balkans, but she came to her senses over a glass of Petite Syrah. Today, she creates world peace one bottle at a time at her tasting room in Los Alamos, California.

If you attended the 1st UMD Global Conference in Washington, D.C. in 2009, you would have seen Sonja in action as the Emcee of the closing Gala.

Space is filling up quickly, so don’t wait till last minute. Click HERE to purchase your tickets to the Gala and get more details on the event.

Interested in Gala Sponsorship, click HERE.

Given that this is UMD’s 10th Anniversary, please consider taking out a congratulatory message in our Gala Commemorative Journal. Click HERE for pricing and AD specs.