Kawon has over ten years of experience in the beverage industry. He started his career as a sales representative at Southern Glazers Wine & Spirits, where he gained valuable experience in the distributor side of the wine and spirits business. After a year, Kawon was promoted to the Signature Luxury Fine Wine division at SGWS, focusing on a portfolio of highly sought-after wines from around the world. He held the position of Senior Sales Consultant, where he developed initiatives for cross-divisional collaboration and ongoing training for the sales teams.

Kawon also gained experience from the supplier side of the business as the North Florida Sales Manager at The Wonderful Company, representing their wine and water brands such as JUSTIN Vineyards, Landmark Vineyards, JNSQ, and FIJI Water.

During the Covid pandemic, Kawon, like many others in the industry, was laid off. However, this led to an opportunity for him to join The Veraison Project as a mentee and later a grantee for the TVP Immersion Program in Sonoma. Through this program, Kawon connected with fellow BIPOC individuals in the wine industry and realized the importance of The Veraison Project. He decided to contribute more by joining the board as the Director of Development and serving on the Fundraising Committee.