Auctioneer Suzanne Tate

A few years ago the opportunity to take the stage fell into Suzanne Tate’s lap when the auctioneer and emcee for her child’s Montessori school fundraiser fell through last minute. Suzanne had worked on the planning side of numerous fundraising auctions as a vintner and agreed to be the auctioneer just to “save the day.”

She rocked the house and had a great time onstage. “It was in that moment,” says Suzanne, “connecting the crowd with the cause and mission of the charity that I knew I found a very special calling.”

Suzanne’s roots start in Texas, where she earned a degree in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin (hook ‘em horns!). A passion for food led her to obtain a culinary degree from the Cordon Bleu. And it was a chance meeting with a winemaker that brought her out to the Napa Valley over fifteen years ago.

Since then, Suzanne has been thoroughly involved in many charity auctions. She spent several years working with a large non-profit in the wine industry. And now that she and her husband are proprietors of their own wine label, they participate in numerous charity events nationwide. Hosting dozens of wine dinners annually has made Suzanne comfortable on stage and in front of a crowd, excellent traits for a fundraising auctioneer.

This unique background has given her an insider’s perspective on bringing to life the exceptional lots and experiences that we see in so many of our charity fundraisers and auctions. “I have had the unique opportunity to build auction programs from the ground up,” says Suzanne, “working on lot procurement and bidder relations at some of the most prestigious wine auction programs in the country.”

Suzanne lives in St. Helena, in the heart of the Napa Valley, with her husband, David, and son, Nolan.  In her free time, you can find her in the garden or kitchen, usually trying out a new recipe.