Solidago Foundation CFO to Speak at Regional Food-system Meeting
BOSTON — Jeff Rosen, chief financial officer of the Northampton-based Solidago Foundation, will take part in a meeting organized by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, in partnership with the Federal Reserve Board and Coastal Enterprises Inc. The meeting, to be held on Wednesday, Nov. 15 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, is titled “Harvesting Opportunity: The Power of Regional Food System Investments to Transform Communities,” and will focus on the future of regional food-system investments, primarily in New England.
“We are excited to host the regional food-systems discussion this month,” said Prabal Chakrabarti, senior vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and the bank’s Community Affairs officer. “The event is an opportunity for organizations like Solidago to connect with stakeholders to help further advance investment in the sector, and reaffirm and strengthen those partnerships that exist.”
Participants will include food-system investors, funders, and financial intermediaries. Rosen will participate in a panel session moderated by Gray Harris, senior program director at Natural Resources Section Coastal Enterprises Inc., to discuss his more than two decades of experience working in the New England food system. Additional panelists include Lisa Sebesta, Fresh Source Capital managing partner; Alex Linkow, Fair Food Fund director; and Mark Watson, Boston Impact Initiative managing director.
“It is a great honor to work alongside some of the most experienced farm and food enterprise investors in the country,” said Rosen. ”We are doubly honored to be working in a new partnership with the Federal Reserve and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston to work to fill financing gaps in the New England local and regional food system. This presents us all with an opportunity to accelerate the change we seek and to make substantial inroads into revitalizing the region’s autonomous food system.”
Since 2003, Rosen has spearheaded the Solidago Foundation’s efforts to expand the Program Related Investment and Mission Related Investment programs. This has resulted in a focus on community governance of community capital funds. Rosen was instrumental in launching the PVGrows Investment Fund, a collaborative fund of the Solidago Foundation, the first local food fund in the country, open to both accredited and non-accredited investors. Solidago has drawn upon this experience and is working via its Inclusive Economies program with several communities, launching authentic, community-led design processes to manage investment funds. Previously, Rosen worked in the private sector as a serial entrepreneur, developing and selling food-sector businesses, and as a chief financial officer for several restaurant chains and food manufacturers.
