Courtney Gately: Founder of Pembroke Bakery
Courtney Gately is from a small town in Kansas and attended Kansas State University for her undergraduate degree. Fort Riley—just down the road—ended up shaping her life in a way she never expected. That’s where she met her husband and best friend, Tyler, who was serving in the U.S. Army at the time.
They met at Starbucks, where Courtney worked while going through school. It’s a simple origin story, but one that quietly set everything else in motion.
During Tyler’s deployment to Iraq, Courtney found her own way to stay connected. Each week, she baked cupcakes, brownies, and frosting, carefully packing them up and sending them overseas to Tyler and his friends at COB Speicher, a Contingency Operating Base in Iraq. Baking became a way to cope with distance, uncertainty, and the weight of deployment; it was how she showed love when words weren’t enough.
Listening to the Nudge
For most of her life, Courtney felt a steady pull toward baking. Friends, family, and even strangers regularly asked her to bake for meaningful moments—special events, celebrations, and once, even a wedding. She and a close friend ran a baking blog for a time, and the idea of turning baking into something more kept resurfacing.
After Tyler left the Army in 2009, the two embarked on what Courtney describes as a nine-state adventure, chasing education and professional opportunities. During that time, Courtney worked in higher education and for two national veteran nonprofits, earning both a master’s degree and a law degree along the way.
Through every season and every move, baking remained constant. It was how Courtney decompressed and how she stayed grounded. Colleagues and friends would often hire her to bake for small events, though she never seriously considered it a career.
That mindset began to shift when Courtney and Tyler made the intentional decision to move to Vermont. Surrounded by a deeply supportive community that valued creativity, local sourcing, and small business ownership, Courtney began to see her passion differently.
People kept saying the same thing: You need to turn this into a business.
Eventually, Courtney listened.
From Farm to Cookie
Pembroke Bakery officially launched in January of 2023. From the start, Courtney knew she wanted to do things differently.
Pembroke Bakery is a thoughtful cookie company built around transparent sourcing and regional partnerships. Courtney is intentional about where her ingredients come from—working with regional farmers, millers, and craft food makers whenever possible.
She describes it simply: Think farm to cookie!
“A lot of cookies taste good,” Courtney explains, “but you rarely know where their ingredients come from.” Her goal was to bake cookies that aren’t just delicious, but meaningful cookies with a story behind every bite.
Pembroke Bakery’s customers receive something that feels special and giftable, but also aligned with their values. “What sets us apart is that every cookie supports a small-business economy, from the farmers who grow our grains to the makers who craft our ingredients.”
Her brand is for cookie lovers who are label readers, impact seekers, and people who appreciate knowing where their food comes from.
Recently, Courtney launched Pembroke Bakery’s newest product line: mini crispy cookies. The process required significant time and effort, from perfecting recipes to dialing in packaging—but seeing them come to life has been deeply rewarding. Sharing them with customers has been one of her favorite milestones so far!
Courtney’s Key to Resilience
For Courtney, resilience comes down to one word: persistence.
“Persistence has always been key for me,” she says. “Life has a way of throwing things at you, but one tool that never fails is persistence.”
She knows that paths don’t always look the way we expect them to. Sometimes you don’t know exactly where you’re headed, and sometimes the journey feels slower or more uncertain than planned. But Courtney believes that continuing to show up and continuing to try is what ultimately gets you there.
“If you just keep working at it, if you just keep going, you’re going to get there,” she reflects. “Oftentimes, it’s even greater than you thought.”
Courtney’s story is a reminder that sometimes the thing you’ve been nudged toward all along just needs the right environment—and a little persistence—to finally take shape.
To learn more about Courtney and Pembroke Bakery, use the links below.
