Kyle Connaughton began his culinary career in L.A. with an apprenticeship at one of the oldest Japanese restaurants in the city and continued training in both pastry and savory at Spago Beverly Hills, The Dining Room at Ritz Carlton, Lucques, Hama Sushi, and A.O.C. This was followed by several years cooking in Japan for the famed chef Michel Bras and in numerous traditional Japanese cuisine restaurants. In 2006, Kyle joined Heston Blumenthal to become the Head Chef of Research and Development for the Fat Duck Experimental Kitchen. He is a contributor to the “Modernist Cuisine” series, a co-developer of the Culinary Science Bachelors Degree program for the CIA, and co-author of the book Donabe – Classic and Modern Japanese Clay Pot Cooking. In 2014 Kyle co-founded the culinary development firm Pilot R+D with Dan Felder, Dr. Ali Bouzari, & Dana Peck.
California native Katina Connaughton and husband Kyle have been together since they met at 15. Katina began her first foray into farming while living in a rural agricultural community in Hokkaido, Japan. She continued culinary gardening on a Victorian estate property in England before moving to Sonoma to complete her coursework in Sustainable Agriculture and Horticulture. Katina was greenhouse manager for the Ag Program and Santa Rosa Junior College and has farmed at Davis Family Winery and The Barlow. Katina heads up SingleThread Farm at Dry Creek 24 acre property, greenhouses, heirloom orchards and bee hives well as the foraging program and floral design department.
Tony Greenberg is Co-owner of SingleThread and CEO of Vertice Hospitality Management. An accomplished real estate hospitality developer and entrepreneur, Tony oversees acquisitions, development, and finance for Vertice and leads the executive leadership, operations, and finance teams at SingleThread. Previously, Tony led 4W Venture Partners, a Manhattan-based real estate development and investment firm focused on specialty hospitality and before that was VP of Finance and Development for the Hudson Yards Development Corporation in NYC.
Lacy is a Sonoma County native and began her Human Resources journey in recruitment at Genentech, but has spent most of her career dedicated to the wine industry. She spent 13 years at La Crema Winery, where she eventually oversaw both California and Oregon wine production as General Manager. While working at La Crema, Lacy pursued her education at Dominican University at night, earning a B.A. in Strategic Management. After a 3-month sabbatical in Spain, she returned to Healdsburg where she found herself back in the wine industry, working at Bella Vineyards + Wine Caves, overseeing wine production, grower relations, and people. It was during the pandemic that Lacy sought out SingleThread, naturally gravitating towards the culture and ethos of stewardship. In 2020, Lacy joined our SingleThread team as Director of Human Resources.
Marley Brown grew up on a farm in southern Illinois where food and farming were always a part of life. She started working in restaurants when she was 16 and she fell in love with the restaurant lifestyle. She graduated from C.I.A. Hyde Park in 2012. Marley started her career working for Sean Brock at McCrady’s in Charleston, South Carolina. She then moved to Maine to work for Melissa Kelly, a Chef who has a 5-acre farm and a restaurant. There, Marley cemented her passion for cooking and farming together. Marley has been with SingleThread since 2017.
Chef Alex was born and raised in Southern CA and initially went to University of Texas in Austin to become an Architect. While there he discovered his love for cooking, and pivoted to study at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in Napa, where he received his degree in Culinary Arts. He has studied under multiple talented Chefs, including at Animal in Los Angeles and SPQR in San Francisco. He joined SingleThread in 2017 and while here also earned a grant to the Ment’or Program where he studied sustainability in several Michelin starred restaurants for three months in Europe, including at Bilbao, Paris and Amass in Copenhagen.
Chef Alex has great passion for zero food waste, and is also heavily involved with our Research and Development efforts. He is a wonderful ambassador for SingleThread’s culture and our mission.
Growing up in the small town of Albert Lea, Minnesota, Jordan Friend’s early experiences in agricultural landscapes instilled in her a profound appreciation for the connection between the food on the table and the farming that goes into it, sparking her passion for cooking. With a family deeply rooted in food culture and international travel, she was surrounded by diverse culinary influences from a young age, often cooking alongside her father and discovering new ingredients and techniques together.
After moving to California to study at the Institute of Culinary Education in Los Angeles, Jordan began her career at Animal, an acclaimed restaurant known for its bold, creative approach to nose-to-tail cooking. Here, she honed her skills and developed an appreciation for ingredient-driven cooking that continues to shape her culinary vision. In early 2020, she joined the SingleThread team as a commis and steadily rose through the kitchen ranks, cultivating her technical skills, creativity, and a deep commitment to SingleThread’s mission.
Today, as Chef de Cuisine, Jordan oversees daily kitchen operations and menu development, working closely with SingleThread’s farm to bring a sustainable, farm-focused, and seasonal approach to each dish. She is deeply committed to echoing Katina and Chef Kyle’s values of leadership and stewardship while passing her knowledge on to the next generation of chefs. Her leadership style fosters a supportive, community-oriented environment—one she believes is essential for both the team’s growth and for cultivating a new wave of standards across the industry.
Growing up in Hawaii was an early influence on Emma’s interest in hospitality and farming- she saw firsthand how conscientious agriculture and cultural education provided a sense of stewardship to the community. Learning that relationship between food and tradition led Emma to later pursue a career in restaurants across California while earning a degree in languages and communications. During years of working, Emma committed to attend the CIA at Greystone and graduated the baking & pastry program. After moving to New Orleans to work under Nina Compton at Compère Lapin, Emma returned to Northern California and started with SingleThread Farms in 2017. She now works to combine the Connaughton’s mindful ethos and her passion for food science within the pastry department.
As SingleThread’s General Manager, Akeel is responsible for continuing to always refine our guest experience, leveraging his long SingleThread tenure to train our team members and ensuring that our level of hospitality always continues to wow our guests.
Akeel studied Hospitality Management at Cal Poly Pomona and participated in several internship programs that initially took him to Yosemite’s renowned Awahnee. At the age of 21 Akeel became a Certified Sommelier through the prestigious Guild of Master Sommeliers. He went on to become Assistant Manager at Chef Michael Mina’s RN74 in San Francisco and helped the Mina Group develop multiple restaurant projects. He later became Senior Manager at 2-Michelin starred Lazy Bear, where he would develop its entire service program. In 2016 Akeel moved to Healdsburg to be a part of the SingleThread opening team. His passion for service, hospitality and excellence has been a vital part of making SingleThread successful.
Haley Callahan is a Healdsburg native. Her endless curiosity for adventure lends a hand to the curated concierge services offered to every inn and restaurant guest.
As Inn & Guest Experience Director, Haley and her team strive to create memorable experiences for our Inn guests. From coordinating in-room dining or a tour of Sonoma County wine regions, to relaxing on property with one of our house made snacks, Haley lends a hand to the invisible details that shine when your special moment appears.
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