Lisa Marie Gift
The sun radiated off of Lisa’s face as the wind and mist from the lake brushed against her joyful cheeks.
“This was literally my first memory. My dad and uncle were sailing alongside one another and I was on my uncle’s boat. I must have been 3 at the time. I don’t remember how I got there or how I got home, but as they both luffed their sails, I distinctly remember my uncle picking me up and passing me over to my dad, who was on the other boat. A strong fear fell over me when I noticed the water between the boats, which quickly subsided when I saw my dad’s face. He grabbed me and I immediately felt safe in his arms. I remember the impact of that moment to this day.”
Lisa Marie Gift is the founder of Ullage Consulting. She is 1 of 6 kids and grew up in Seattle, WA. You will discover her profound love for sailing, learn about how a serendipitous relationship completely changed her life’s trajectory, and hear stories about the people and events that shaped her character and helped her become the women she is today.
“My childhood was all about sailing trips. We didn’t go to Disneyland; we sailed our whole life.” Lisa’s dad was a big racer, but her mom did not grow up sailing boats. She found this passion later in life and wanted her children to learn on their own, so she sent them to the local Yacht Club school.
“I think she wanted us to know the power of what it was like to control something such as the wind and sea, to have respect for it.” Lisa says. “We used to sail in our local bay called Apple Tree Grove; I mean, how cute is that?! I would sail by my friends’ homes on the water and they would yell out, ‘Hey, are you staying the night tonight??!’
We would schedule sleepovers as I was sailing by.” She says with a smile. “It was those moments when a seed for sailing was definitely planted.”
“Being on the water makes my heart sing away - even when I get on the ferry to go home. My husband saw my face once and said, ‘You are glowing right now!’
It gives me butterflies and is such a special experience for me. There is something so powerful, elegant, and delicate about the water. You have to respect it so much. Sailing boats is where my heart is at. You are working with mother nature, harnessing the wind, and recognizing all the beauty that is surrounding that.
For me, sailing is my exact form of meditation. There is no place that I would rather be than sailing a boat and harnessing the wind. If I could die there, that is exactly what I would want to do. Sailing is my first memory and I hope it is my last. There is simply nothing more powerful or sentimental to me than harnessing the wind.
I have my home coordinates tattooed on my foot. It shows where I was born and raised. They say your feet will lead you everywhere you go. Mind keeps me grounded and reminds me of who I am and where I have come from.”
When it came time for Lisa to venture off to college, despite her deep love for sailing, she decided not to pursue this as a career path. “I think it broke my dad’s heart a bit. He bought me a Ranger 23 when I turned 18.” He said, “If you’re not going to do this at college, at least do it for fun. I respec what you are doing. I respect that you want to take a step back from this.”
Lisa pursued a journalism and marketing degree from Eastern Washington University. By the 2nd year, her heart yearned to be back on the water sailing again. “I decided to start applying for summer jobs.” Lisa knew she did not want to go back to yacht clubs, so she contemplated the question, “What was the furthest option from Washington State? … Maine!” she concluded.
She started to send her resume out to places in Maine and in a very short timeframe, landed the perfect summer job as one the directors of the camp, Kingsley Pines, at 23 years old. “I fell in love with this job! The whole goal of the camp was to create confident kids in a safe environment.” She says.
“This was single-handedly one of the best experiences of my life. I grew up 100% as a person during my time there.”
Lisa’s passion was reignited! She spent her time in between camp and school. In the midst of this exciting adventure, she had a second encounter with a young man named Phil. Little did she know at the time, that her life’s trajectory was about to shift into unchartered waters…
Shortly after graduation, Lisa realized that journalism was not the right fit for her. She started to apply for sailing jobs and was hired by Vanderbilt University as their first fulltime sailing coach. “This was crazy! I was so grateful. We trained on a damned lake and competed in the Southeastern region: Florida; Georgia; Clemson; and New Orleans to name a few.”
Lisa was on a one-way career path to becoming a world-class sailing coach. Her goal was to ultimately become a top youth coach in the US at one of the Yacht Clubs.
During her time in between the university and camp, a romance developed with Phil. He was a burgeoning winemaker traveling the globe doing harvests and Lisa continued to follow her dream. This long-distance romance lasted for two-years and was really working for them.
In the wake of this exciting time in both of their lives, Lisa remembers that, “One day we were both taking the kids out for a maritime festival in Portland, MN. We were walking past all these booths filled with arts and crafts. We both noticed this beautiful painting of a sailboat and I was like, ‘OH MY GOSH, that is beautiful!!’. After a moment of admiration, they hit the bathroom real quick and Phil says, “‘Cool, I’ll meet you back here.’ Now, I’m thinking, wow, that’s rude, he’s not even going to walk me to the bathroom!” Lisa says with a smile.
“Little did I know that, 3 weeks later, Phil commissioned the artist to make notecards for him so we could write on them back and forth. That was the most heartfelt, loving thing that anyone has ever done for me. I still have three of them.”
Lisa and Phil were having fun when they were together and fun when they were apart. There came a time when Lisa asked the question, “Do we love each other or not?” They both concluded…
“Let’s give this a real shot.”
At this time, Lisa was working as the National Sailing Coach for the country of Anguilla and as a local coach at Connecticut College. Phil continued to travel the globe, chasing harvests and ultimately landed a fulltime job at a boutique winery in Calistoga. Lisa said, “Alright, I’ll give it a go! I’ll go to Napa for 1 year, reach out to my contacts, and move my career to San Francisco. There was a yacht club in that area.”
Lisa hit the road running! From the porch of her gorgeous beachfront view in Anguilla, she began sending out resumes, one by one. “This was in 2010, shortly after the recession, and NO ONE was hiring me. I shouldn’t be so arrogant, but I never had such a challenge getting a job…ever.”
Time passed and frustrations ensued, but just when all hope was lost, someone took a chance on her and Lisa’s heart poured out with gratitude.
“I will ALWAYS bless Ashley Duckhorn Wine. She hired me, sight unseen, as a wine educator in their tasting room. I told her that I had to fly from the Caribbean, go to Washington to get my car, and then head to Napa. I said that would take a month at least.”
Ashley says, “That’ll be fine. It’s fine.”
“I’m like…ok…I’m not sure what a wine educator means.”
“That’s ok, we’ll teach you.” Ashley said with a sincere confidence.
“She was SO sweet and welcomed me with open arms! She gave me rack cards, recommended books, and I just studied them. She fully believed in me, endorsed me, and would still give me a recommendation all these years later. To have somebody believe in you in that way...it’s amazing. She is such an incredible human.”
A year into their life in Calistoga, Phil asked Lisa to marry him. She also continued to enjoy her work in the wine industry. She moved to White Hall Lane as wine club manager. “I loved it there! I had a chance to really sink my teeth into something and ask what I am really interested in.”
After a brief time working for a small producer in Howell Mountain, Lisa found a home working for the wonderful Frank Family Vineyards. She was there for quite a while until she needed more flexibility to be with her newborn son, and so, Ullage Consulting was born.
“I want to lend my expertise to smaller brands who don’t have the budgets to hire large marketing firms. I feel very blessed to have this balance between having an accountant and social brain. I can help clients run the numbers and develop their brand message. I’m a huge nerd who LOVES Excel!! My whole skillset ranges from business development, content development, and social media. I’m very blessed to have this niche in a smaller market.”
“There is not a day that I don’t miss sailing, but we value our community SO much here in Calistoga.” Lisa and Phil have developed an incredible bond with the people of Calistoga. “Our community is so special to us. They say, if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together. Your community is like a garden. You have to nurture it and give back to it.”
Lisa is also a new mother. Their daughter is 2 years old and the light of their life. “I draw inspiration from my younger sister. She is the most amazing mother in the world. Being a sailing coach for such a long time, I tend to be a little harsher and I recognize that. My sister analyzes things from such a place of love. She’s always kind, lighthearted, and supporting towards her boys. Her message to her children has always been straight love and I need more of that in my life.”
