Airin Virgilio

Airin Virgilio, Senior Marketing Consultant

CHICAGO, IL

Food Systems Marketing, Google Ads, SEO

Food was always part of the story for me. My earliest memories cast my siblings and me around the table filling up on Southern Italian classics (“gravy,” not “sauce,” IYKYK). In a working-class family with five kids, we somehow always had delicious food on the table. It sustained me — and stuck with me. 

Graduating from Bradley University in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in Advertising and Graphic Design, I climbed the ranks of account management and strategy, eventually building new business units and nurturing client relationships in various digital and branding agencies. 

Fast-forward to 2020, I found myself eating up knowledge in two worlds at once: marketing, and sustainability. For the latter, I have a mound of garbage to thank. (No, seriously.) Working from home meant we were eating at home — all the time — and the garbage filled in hours, not days. Asking “why” to that problem unraveled a whole new world where food and sustainability intersect. And I absolutely needed to be a part of it. 

Today, alongside volunteering with local food organizations like Slow Food Chicago, buying as much local food as I can carry, and composting like the world depends on it (because it does), I’m proud to be a part of the Grapevine team to lend my skills and experience in marketing to sustainable food businesses and initiatives. When I’m not at my desk, you’ll likely find me cooking, reading, writing, thrifting, scuffing up my knees in rec-league volleyball, or daydreaming in the park.