Heather Kolakowski

Biography

Heather Kolakowski is an associate teaching professor in food and beverage management at the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration, part of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business. She teaches several food and beverage courses, including Restaurant Management and Nonprofit Social Enterprise & Food Justice, and serves as faculty advisor for Hotel Ezra Cornell, the student run hospitality showcase that allows students to apply classroom learning while taking on leadership roles each spring.

She received the 2017 Kaplan Family Distinguished Faculty Fellowship for her dedication to service learning. Kolakowski also serves as executive director of the Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures, the first academic institute to combine hospitality, environmental design and health policy and management into a broad platform aimed at improving service in healthcare, wellness and senior living.

Kolakowski previously taught at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), where she offered courses in beverage operations management, spirits and mixology, advanced service principles, introductory table service in St. Andrew’s Café and formal hospitality and service management in the American Bounty Restaurant. These front of the house classes emphasized fine dining service, customer experience, wine and spirits, restaurant trends and sales. She also taught the elective Women in Leadership.

A 2000 graduate of the Nolan School and a 2002 graduate of the CIA, Kolakowski returned to her culinary alma mater in 2008 after serving as food and beverage manager for the Four Seasons Hotel Company in Washington, D.C., and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Her additional professional experience includes assistant manager for the Peninsula Grille in Warrington, Pennsylvania, and teaching assistant roles at both the CIA and Cornell.

Kolakowski earned an MBA from SUNY Empire State College in 2013 and is a member of the Women’s Foodservice Forum, Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, the United States Bartenders’ Guild Association and the Cornell Hotel Society. She is a Certified Hospitality Educator and a certified TIPS responsible alcohol service instructor.

Education

MBA SUNY Empire State College, 2014
AOS Culinary Institute Of America, 2002
BS Nolan School of Hotel Administration, Cornell University, 2000

Research

• Kolakowski, Heather; Shepley, Mardelle; Ziebarth, Nicolas. "Transforming Our Lives Through Covid-19's Lessons"Healthy Futures. Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures. 6.2 (2021): 13pp
• McCuskey, Mardelle; Kolakowski, Heather; Ziebarth, Nicholas; Valenzuela-Mendoza, Ellie. "How COVID-19 Will Change Health, Hospitality and Senior Facility Design"Frontiers in Built Environment. 7 (2021)
• Kolakowski, Heather; Gaulke, Christopher. "The Benefits and Challenges of Food Service Composting Programs"Hotel Business Review. Hotel Executive. (2016)
• Gaulke, Christopher; Kolakowski, Heather. "The Local Challenge Balancing Customer Demand and Local Sources"Hotel Business Review. Hotel Executive. (2015)
• Eichelberger, Ezra; Kolakowski, Heather; Fischer, John. Remarkable Service. Wiley. 3rd edition (2014)

Awards

• Ted Teng ’79 Dean’s Teaching Excellence Award (2022) Cornell Nolan School of Hotel Administration