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By Contributor
PRODUCED BY KEMMIE RYAN
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KATRINA WITTKAMP
STYLING BY THERESA DEMARIA
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After a successful 25-year corporate career, BABS followed her passion for entertaining and founded Babs Boards in 2021. Since then, she has taught over 200 charcuterie and Girls Who Grill classes, inspiring women to cook, host, and step confidently behind the grill. Her mission is to make grilling approachable, fun, and a way to bring people together. She’s appeared as a guest chef at the Weber Grill Cooking School, was the only woman in an Ace Hardware Super Bowl wings competition, and regularly shares recipes and entertaining tips on Chicago morning TV. A career highlight: her 2025 debut on QVC featuring Char Crust, where she brought her grilling know-how to a national audience. Babs earned her accounting degree from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. She lives in Glenview with her husband of 27 years, Matt; their children, Max and Emerson; and their yellow lab, Reggie.
What conversations are you passionate about bringing to the table? Girls Who Grill! Women belong at the grill just as much as men—and I love helping them get started. It’s about breaking down intimidation and making grilling simple, fun, and empowering.
How do you maintain balance between your professional and personal life? Life is short. When you run a business, the work never stops—but setting boundaries helps you stay grounded and prioritize what matters.
How do you define confidence—and how have you built it? Confidence means trusting yourself, especially when something’s new. My parents always encouraged me to believe I could do anything, and that belief has guided me ever since.
What legacy do you hope to leave behind? I hope I’ve helped women feel empowered—around the grill and the table. I’ve started a book with my dad that’s part memoir, part entertaining guide. It’s still in the works, but I’d love to finish it someday and pass along his wisdom to my kids.
What’s one leadership lesson you’ve learned the hard way? You can’t do it all. Learning to say “no” has been one of the hardest—and most important—lessons.
For more information, visit babsboards.com or follow Babs on Instagram @babsboards.
