Heather Staples, Co-founder of The Staples Restaurant Group, is an award-winning hospitality and design business leader. Her background includes restaurant design and launch work for Starbucks and Staples Restaurant Group, including market introduction of Restaurant Zoe, Zoe Events, Uneeda Burger, Feed Co, and Quinn’s Gastropub, which Bon Appetit named the #1 Gastropub in the U.S. She also works in real estate design with Staples Restaurant Group, Garden Botanika and Callison Architecture. Recognized as a regional commercial public policy influencer, her expertise extends to end-to-end commercial construction projects, with skills in environmental, engineering, permitting, zoning, community and development capacity planning. Heather started her career at Bain and Company following a stint as a ski instructor in Telluride CO. Born in Vancouver BC, she has a Bachelor of Environmental Design and Architecture from University of Colorado at Boulder.