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
Global 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 Global Director of Meetings & Events for The Personal Assistant Network!

As our Global Director of Meetings & Events, Celia organizes professional development seminars, social gatherings, vendor showcases and more, in San Francisco, Napa/Sonoma, and on the Peninsula. She also oversees our activities in New York. Celia is 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.

Dale Simpson
Director of Meetings & Events, New York

Dale’s corporate career was in the cosmetics, jewelry and accessories industries, where she managed sales divisions – which included producing special events for sales force and retail accounts. Her experience with complex logistics and managing staff and customer relationships led to a new career in private service working with philanthropists, helping them manage many aspects of their busy lives.

With her background in event planning and her connections and passion for the world of the arts, Dale is the perfect person to coordinate The Personal Assistant Network east coast calendar, developing our professional development series, social events, and exposure to new and interesting venues and speakers.

A long time New York resident, Dale is a regular theater goer, and is a season subscriber to The New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. You might also find her at the opera or in the audience for a gala at Lincoln Center, where she volunteers. Other volunteer work includes the Lighthouse Guild.

Kristen Lyons
Director of Online Resources

After a 12+ year career in the creative and chaotic world of advertising, Kristen started her own business, Bella Concierge, in 2006 and has been helping clients enjoy more time for themselves ever since!

As Director of Online Resources, Kristen manages The Personal Assistant Network’s proprietary database – full of over 600 vendor referrals from both coasts, all accompanied by peer reviews. Our members have an ever present need for qualified vendors and service professionals – Kristen’s Director role is key to our success as an organization, and provides one of the biggest benefits we offer.

Kristen is a Bay Area native living in San Francisco, and has always enjoyed traveling the world to explore new cultures, food, wine, and people. She speaks fluent Italian and lived and studied in Italy for several years, returning to visit whenever she can.

Ellen McDermott
Director of New Memberships, New York

Ellen has a background as an educator, and spent her early teaching career in a school specializing in Applied Behavior Analysis, working with students with autism and autism-like behaviors. She transitioned into private service, managing the lives of a busy bi-coastal family, and now plays a key role as an Executive Assistant to the Founder and CEO of a leading gene therapy development company.

As Director of New Memberships for New York, Ellen is charged with growing the member base for The Personal Assistant Network in Greater New York. She’s kept busy coming up with initiatives to connect with all of the Personal Assistants, Executive Personal Assistants, House Managers and Estate Managers we haven’t met yet!

When she’s not working, Ellen is traveling the globe – anywhere her points can get her, practicing yoga, snowboarding and playing golf. Favorite travel stops include England, Ireland, Israel, Paris, Bordeaux or any region in France, and Sun Valley ID.