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Laurie Thomas

Executive Director
Golden Gate Restaurant Association

What started as a personal love of food and a side business venture as a restaurant investor turned into a full career for Laurie Thomas, owner of Nice Ventures, which owns and manages Rose’s Café and Terzo, in San Francisco. In January 2020 Thomas took on the Executive Director for the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, a nonprofit trade organization focused on helping bay area restaurants survive and thrive.  Thomas was a member of the San Francisco Economic Recovery Taskforce, and worked with city leaders and other industry colleagues to help navigate the pandemic response in SF.  

Thomas is an active member of the Independent Restaurant Coalition (IRC) and helped work to get Federal funding for the independent restaurants.  She holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School, is on the Board of SF Travel, and the honorary board of Meals on Wheels of San Francisco.