Gwyn Waters
Founder and Lead Director

Now living and working in San Francisco, Gwyn is the daughter of a French Literature Professor and a High School Teacher/Peace Corps Volunteer. She was raised on the shores of Narragansett Bay, with summers on Hatteras Island and sabbatical stays in Oxford and Paris.

In the Bay Area, she was lucky enough to work in the rapidly growing, entrepreneurial environments of The Sharper Image and Backroads, Inc. She is forever grateful to the founders of those companies for providing great challenges and ever changing opportunities, and for their unrelenting drive to create exceptional customer experiences.

The chance to wear many hats and thrive in the midst of chaos, sometimes far from home, helped Gwyn transition to the career she loves as a Personal Assistant (where she continues to work for one of the Bay Area's leading entrepreneurs).

In 2008 she founded The Personal Assistant Network, the first professional organization for Personal Assistants and Estate Managers in the Bay Area. Members share trusted resources, attend seminars focused on professional development, and enjoy the myriad benefits of being part of a community of colleagues.

Cathie Caris
Director of Membership

As Director of Membership, Cathie gets us all involved in The Personal Assistant Network private online community and spearheads offline team building initiatives too. She's got a great group to work with, representing a range of experiences and skills in private service. Onboarding new members and keeping longtime participants enthused is how she gets her kicks!

Cathie is a dedicated career Personal Assistant and Estate Manager with over 15 years of experience managing home offices, estates and busy lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her areas of expertise include oversight of multiple properties locally and overseas, staffing and training, and coordinating complex international travel.

A California native, Cathie lives with her husband in the East Bay and is passionate about travel, photography and the San Francisco Giants. In her free time, you’ll find her hiking, biking or cooking.

Celia Barbaccia
Director of Meetings & Events

Celia is a native San Franciscan and lives in our fair city. Her event planning repertoire includes producing weddings and countless fundraising galas. She also comes equipped with a culinary and retail background, making her an excellent Personal Assistant and Special Projects Manager - and naturally a fabulous Director of Meetings & Events for The Personal Assistant Network!

As our Director of Meetings & Events, Celia organizes professional development seminars, social gatherings, vendor showcases, etc. etc. etc., in San Francisco, Napa/Sonoma, and on the Peninsula. She's constantly scouting locations for The Personal Assistant Network meetings, recruiting speakers, and spearheading complex logistics. We are lucky to have her at the helm.

As if all that weren't enough, she loves to travel, cook and garden. She can often be found volunteering, with efforts focusing on promoting sustainable agriculture and supporting underserved communities.

Julie McLaughlin
Director of Resources and Vendor Relations

A native of Scotland, Julie began her career in private service after a move to the San Francisco Bay Area. She's been an Estate Manager and Personal Assistant since 2001, managing multiple properties and household staff. Her background in construction project management comes in handy as she oversees complex renovations and new builds. Among many other things of course - like most Personal Assistants she can wear one thousand hats!

As Director of Resources & Vendor Relations, Julie is responsible for producing The Personal Assistant Network Resource Guide, our "bible" of over 400 vendor resources, all peer reviewed by members.

Julie lives in San Francisco with her husband John and they enjoy live music, playing a variety of instruments and hosting hootenannies. Other interests include hiking, visiting remote California beaches, and cheering on our beloved baseball team, the San Francisco Giants.

Bridget Hamilton
Director of Development

In her role as Director of Development, Bridget spearheads initiatives focused on funding continuing education, IT infrastructure and resource expansion for The Personal Assistant Network. She's extremely creative and connected – all members benefit from having her at the helm in this role.

Born and raised in Iowa, Bridget's career in retail management brought her to the Bay Area. After several years of successfully climbing the corporate ladder, Bridget was ready to transition to a career in private service when a close family friend had quadruplets. She worked as a live-in nanny/house manager for many young families - including traveling the LPGA golf tour for 2 years as a Nanny/Personal Assistant to a Hall of Fame golfer.

In her spare time, she loves to travel to her favorite coastal town in Mexico, go to musical theater, hike the gorgeous trails in Marin County and take wine tasting/spa trips with friends.