Root Capital is thrilled to announce the addition of two sector-leading experts to our board of directors. Lindsey Bolger, who has spent the last three decades promoting sustainable sourcing within the coffee industry, has joined us alongside Marissa Wesely, a lawyer and life-long advocate for women’s economic opportunity. You can read more about Lindsey and Marissa below.
With these additions to our board, we deepen our commitment to two core pillars of our work: improving the lives of smallholder coffee farmers and expanding economic opportunities for women in agriculture. Lindsey and Marissa’s knowledge and advice will be invaluable as we pursue our vision for more inclusive, resilient, and prosperous rural communities.
Lindsey Bolger’s career in the coffee industry has spanned over three decades and touched nearly all aspects of the value chain. She started at Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roasters in 1987, rising to Vice President of Coffee. She then moved to Root Capital partner Green Mountain Coffee Roasters in 2001, leading their efforts on coffee sourcing, procurement, risk management, community outreach, and social impact. Lindsey worked closely with a number of cross-functional teams within the coffee value chain to promote and expand sustainable sourcing practices. She moved to Switzerland in 2015 to start Keurig Trading, where she served as Senior Vice President of Coffee until retiring in 2017. She now serves as an advisor for coffee-related nonprofits and commercial entities, including as a member of the board of Food4Farmers.
Lindsey has long been an advocate for coffee farmers, particularly helping enterprises in emerging origins improve their coffee quality and access premium markets. Her guidance and expertise will help Root Capital immensely as we reinforce our position as a leading social lender in the coffee industry.
Marissa Wesely is a life-long champion for gender equity and the transformative power of investing in women. She co-founded Win-Win Strategies (WWS), which works across sectors to support women’s economic empowerment across the globe. As the organization’s Chief Executive Officer, she built a strong public-private network of individuals, foundations, women’s funds, and private companies dedicated to collaborating for gender equity. She now serves as the Chair of the Global Advisory Council of Women Win—the leading global women’s fund focused on empowering adolescent girls through sport—into which WWS merged in 2019. She also writes regularly on issues of women’s rights and economic access for publications like the Stanford Social Innovation Review. Prior to her time at WWS, Marissa had a long career as a leading banking and finance lawyer for the global law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. During her time there she received the ABA’s Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award for her work advocating for women in law.
Marissa’s deep experience in promoting economic access for women and her financial expertise make her an impactful addition to Root Capital’s board of directors.