Bettina Stern

Co-Founder, Chaia Tacos; Washington, DC

Bettina Stern is the co-founder of Chaia Tacos, a seasonal vegetable taco company that gives customers fresh, flavorful plant-forward ingredients. Chaia is where fine food and fast casual meet. The company focuses on long-term shifts in the way people are eating--and how they will need to eat to protect their bodies and the planet. It partners with local farms and producers to source their vegetables, their beverages and other ingredients. Chaia is a female-led, female-run business that believes everything's better in a taco and making the world a better place starts with the food we eat. The company has a triple bottom line mission: people, planet, profit. Bettina believes that this model has a long reach because today’s consumer wants more than food, they want a dining experience that supports their values, and that eaters and consumers can improve the situation surrounding food security concerns by making responsible choices. Yes, Chaia cares intensely about sustainability, and composting, and the environment, and eating less meat to save the planet. But the thing it cares most about is that their tacos taste damn delicious. Because then, all the rest is possible. Bettina’s background is as a magazine editor, including at Conde Nast Publications, Hearst Magazines, and The New York Times Custom Publishing. Her first job was working summers in the storefront kitchen of Ina Garten’s The Barefoot Contessa. She is a member of the Women Presidents' Organization, Les Dames d’Escoffier, a Slow Food advocate, and a charter member of Union Kitchen’s Food Incubator Program. Bettina was selected to and participated in Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses (10KSB) program in the Spring 2018 National Cohort at Babson College. She works with both graduate students at Georgetown University and undergraduate students at Georgetown University, George Washington University and American University. She is a graduate of Middlebury College. (Washington, DC) @chaiatacos