Meet the 2026 Women's Entrepreneurial Leadership Cohort
Photo: ELL Creative
Mon, August 17, 2026
Today, we are excited to announce the 2026 cohort of the Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (WEL) program. WEL, a flagship initiative of the JBF Institute, is an eleven-week virtual program that provides advanced educational, training, and networking opportunities for owners or co-owners of brick-and-mortar food or beverage businesses in the United States.
This September, 21 participants will work to refine and articulate their goals and vision for their business(es), identify solutions to improve operations and internal systems, develop sustainable strategies to create a long-term strategy for growth and success, improve their leadership skills, and create a network of support with each other and the broader WEL community.
The 2026 WEL cohort overview:
- 21 women
- Represent 14 states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin
- Own 34 businesses collectively
- Report an average 2025 business revenue of over $4.2M; $90.2M collectively
- Employ over 770 people collectively
- Serve an average of 99,631 covers a year; 1.9M covers a year collectively
The 2026 WEL Cohort
James Beard Award Semifinalist®
Patricia Estorino
Gustazo Cuban Kitchen & Bar
Waltham, MA and Cambridge, MA
James Beard Award Semifinalist®
Trinh Nguyen
Ramie, Ba Sa Restaurant, and Pho T&N
Seattle and Bainbridge Island, WA
Chef Bootcamp Alum and James Beard Award Semifinalist®
Kayla Pfeiffer
Bicyclette Cookshop, Heyday Cookshop, and Thank You Kindly Cookshop
Naples, FL
Evelyn Bernstein Fellow and James Beard Award Nominee®
Ayesha Thapar
Cal-India Collective
Palo Alto, CA