Portia Yates was named after the protagonist in Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice”, known for her strength, grace, and intelligence. Through her impressive rise in the world of hospitality, she has lived up to the qualities of her namesake. 

Portia got started in “eatertainment” in 2009 when she took part in the opening of a popular, very busy entertainment venue in her hometown. Portia quickly established herself as a leader, operating with the confidence and decisiveness of someone far her senior. She showed a quick mastery of a complex position and began helping to develop routines to improve guest service and operational efficiency. The pride that Portia took in her work was apparent from day one and accelerated her toward more responsibility immediately.

It didn’t take long for her first promotion to front desk manager where she took newer associates under her wing and continued to seek out new opportunities to improve the operation and support the leadership team of the venue. She also began to take on new responsibilities for a brand in growth mode, developing training and hosting orientations - a precursor to her future role. 

One of Portia's greatest strengths is her discipline in her process. No matter what the goal, task, or project, Portia delivers on time and with impeccable quality that would raise the bar for those around her. Portia began assisting in more administrative functions and was tasked with helping to create efficiencies in the areas she was assisting in. Her growth in multiple areas between operations and administration led to her next promotion to floor manager, where she became a keyholder and took on broader responsibilities in the venue such as hiring, scheduling, guest management, and more.  

Portia supported the opening of 10 locations throughout her over 10 years with the company. As the brand grew, Portia was promoted to Director of Training & Compliance where she was instrumental in creating a training curriculum for team members and leaders, strengthening processes, helping with product rollouts, and elevating the standards of the entire company and its nearly one thousand employees.  

While growing in her roles and learning hands-on in the entertainment field, Portia was also impressively balancing earning her bachelor’s degree in Hospitality and Event Management from Lasell University while teaching dance, one of her all-time passions. 

Eager to play on her creative side and explore entrepreneurship, Portia set up her own business, blog, and online store in 2018. In doing so, she created an impressive social media presence with tens of thousands of followers and expanded her creative skillset rapidly to include professional-level design, writing, photography, marketing, and more.

Today, Portia is an integral member of the AMP Up1 Hospitality team, utilizing her talents to impact an array of important areas including training and process development, operations support, digital strategy, new store opening, and more. As with her previous positions, Porsche is focused on supporting the team in any way she can to help growth occur.  

In the over 10+ years Portia has been a part of the core group from AMP Up1 there has been one common theme that is undeniable: She is not to be typecast. Portia started as an hourly associate at the front desk and over the last decade has proven that it’s possible to achieve anything when you put your mind to it. Who someone is today does not define who that person will be in the future.  

Portia has a willingness to show up on time and be coached which has allowed her to expand her skill set by choosing to learn more about whatever she is doing. Portia models the values that are believed in the most at AMP Up1 Hospitality and has earned the respect of her peers with her impressive work ethic, integrity, and consistent appetite for growth. Thanks to her belief that there is “Always a smarter, faster, better way”, Portia has and continues to play a key role in the success of AMP Up1 and the launch and growth of “The 3rd Spot”.  

These days, when Portia isn’t working at AMP Up 1, you can find her spending time with her fiance and loving family while enjoying the arrival of her first child! She loves to extend her creativity to the house through baking, decorating, and more.  

IYKYK: Portia is also known in many social circles for planning and throwing some of the world’s most epic parties. 

Stay tuned for where her journey takes her next...