Raven McMillan

• Raven's caffeine obsession started when she worked her way through college (and beyond) as a barista and coffee shop manager. She owns at least eight coffee-making devices, from steam-driven drip machines to a copper Briki from Greece.
• She's gone fishing with Chef Marcus Samuelsson to celebrate new Caribbean restaurant openings and interviewed dozens of founders across the U.S. as part of her mission to support BIPOC-owned establishments and search for the country's oldest Black-owned restaurants.
• Because of her background in both PR and writing, she's been featured in the Comms Redefined podcast and LE Miami's Masterclass series, sharing insight on strategic storytelling in the hospitality industry.

Experience

With a foundation in journalism (UF J-school survivor), many years working at PR agencies, and a User Experience certification from Pratt, Raven brings a decade of top-to-bottom media experience to her storytelling approach. As a publicist, she helped craft messaging around some of the world's biggest brands in hospitality, such as Marriott. She also worked on strategies for resort-based restaurants led by chefs Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Enrique Olvera, Dario Cecchini, and more. She made a pivot during the pandemic and started playing on the other side of the media field in the wonderful world of freelance. She specialized in service journalism focused on travel, restaurants, and Black culture and was published in AFAR, Brides, Conde Nast Traveler, and The Knot. She was formerly an editor at Domino, covering design-forward cooking spaces, celebrity chefs, and kitchen product reviews.

Education

Raven has a bachelor's degree in journalism (with a concentration on magazine writing and design) from the University of Florida and a certification from Pratt in New York for User Experience and Interface Design.