Caroline Cotto (NHS’14) is a director at Food System Innovations where she runs an initiative accelerating the alternative protein transition through taste. Cotto eats adventure for breakfast. Her commitment to saying “yes” has led her on an unconventional path to transform the global food system, taking her from White House intern for Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative to Fulbright fellow in Taiwan to U.N. World Food Programme assistant in Cambodia to regenerative farmer in Italy and ultimately to entrepreneur.

Prior to joining FSI, Cotto was the co-founder & COO of Renewal Mill, an award-winning startup upcycling the byproducts of food manufacturing into premium ingredients and plant-based consumer products to reduce food waste at scale. She served as a founding board member and the inaugural board president of the Upcycled Food Association, the first trade association and certification for upcycled brands.

Cotto started her entrepreneurship journey helping accelerate startups along the food supply chain at the Techstars Farm to Fork program. She also has experience at the global tech company HubSpot, where she founded and ran the company’s first women’s diversity program, Women@HubSpot. She continues to regularly advise and mentor startups across the food, tech, DEI, and circular economy sectors through Techstars, Princeton START Innovators, and the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Alliance.

Cotto grew up in the food industry, working for her family’s ice cream business in the town of Sandwich, Massachusetts. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Science from Georgetown's School of Nursing & Health Studies and received the 2023 Georgetown Entrepreneurial Excellence Award as the "Rising Star." She has also been named to both the Forbes 30 Under 30 (Food & Drink) and the 50 Best Restaurants' 50 NEXT lists. She's proud to be a Hoya and strives to live the Jesuit values Georgetown instilled in her on a daily basis.