Caroline Cotto

Caroline Cotto is a Director at Food System Innovations where she oversees NECTAR, an initiative accelerating the alternative protein transition through taste.

Caroline 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 UN World Food Programme assistant in Cambodia to regenerative farmer in Italy and ultimately to entrepreneur.

Prior to joining FSI, Caroline was the Co-Founder & COO of Renewal Mill, an award-winning startup upcycling the byproducts of food manufacturing into premium ingredients and delicious 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.

Caroline 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, ICA Fund, Georgetown Entrepreneurship Alliance, and the UC Davis Mike and Renee Child Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Caroline grew up in food, working for her family’s ice cream business in the town of Sandwich, MA. She studied at Georgetown University and has been named to both the Forbes 30 Under 30 (Food & Drink) and the 50 Best Restaurants's 50 NEXT lists.