The Team
Ted Stolberg is the Founder of Beanstalk Foundation and the Beanstalk Fund. He has 40+ years of experience in finance, first as VP Corporate Finance for Mergers & Acquisitions at First Boston Corporation (1972 – 1980), then as a Partner at Weiss, Peck & Greer (1981 – 1993), and as Founder of Stolberg Equity Partners (1993 – present). In 1999, Ted became Chairman of the Children’s Seedling Fund, the philanthropic beginning of Beanstalk. [Ted on LinkedIn]
Margaret Casart has been Beanstalk Foundation’s Executive Director since 2011. She has over 20 years of non-profit experience, including time as the Administrator and board member for Children’s Garden Montessori School. She was recognized as one of the original Children’s Seedling Fund (Beanstalk’s previous moniker) Leaders in 2000. [Margaret on LinkedIn]
Diana Crabtree is the Chief Financial Officer for the Beanstalk Foundation and the Beanstalk Fund. She has also held the position of CFO at Stolberg Equity Partners since 2002. Her experience in Accounting and Finance runs the gamut, as she has held positions in audit with PricewaterhouseCoopers and Adjunct Professor at the University of Denver, and author of “Money for Teenagers – A Personal Finance Guide for Youth” [Diana on LinkedIn]
Nate Ragolia is Beanstalk’s Social Media and Narrative Strategist. He attended the University of Colorado from 2000 – 2004, earning a degree in English with an emphasis on creative writing. He joined the Beanstalk team in 2011. Since the inception of the Fund, Nate has learned financial modeling and works in the due diligence process both as an envoy between potential investments and the team. [Nate on LinkedIn]
Maureen Rojas is Beanstalk’s Executive Assistant. She brings over 20 years of Human Resources experience in recruitment, training, organization development, compensation and benefits, and employee relations. Maureen has also accrued 10 years of non-profit experience doing everything from event planning to fundraising to communications and project management. [Maureen on LinkedIn]
Dana Bryson is special advisor for the Beanstalk Fund. She has spent more than twenty years working in nonprofits, business and government–in cities like Oakland and Washington, D.C. and Denver–and helped start what is now Washington D.C.’s largest Urban Farm. As Denver Mayoral Chief of Staff, she acted as a community advocate on issues such as police reform, economic development, and healthful food as a civil right. [Dana on LinkedIn]
We have over three decades of leader-first investment experience
Fund Advisors
Social Enterprise Executives
Brad & Libby Birky – Co-founders, SAME Cafe
Howard Brooks – Executive Director, Energy Resource Center; Co-founder Social Enterprise Foundry
Kelly Causey – Executive Director, Mile High Youth Corps; Co-founder Social Enterprise Foundry
Jonathan Liebert – CEO/Executive Director, Better Business Bureau of Southern Colorado; former VP, AspenPointe Enterprises; former VP of ADI, Pikes Peak Behavioral Health Group
Bill Morris – Executive Director, Blue Star Recyclers; Co-founder, Social Enterprise Foundry
Nonprofit Leaders
John Mulstay – Executive Director, Puksta Foundation; Senior VP-Wealth Management, Morgan Stanley
Sally Spencer-Thomas – CEO & Co-founder, Carson J Spencer Foundation; Board member, Suicide Prevention Coalition of Colorado
Libby Whitmore – Deputy Executive Director of the Addiction Research and Treatment Services, CU Denver
Christine Brotherson – former COO, MH/ID/Aging, Venango Training and Development Center, Inc., Seneca, PA
Consultants
Rolfe Larson – President, Rolfe Larson Associates; Business Planning Consultant, Naropa University
Funders
Catherine Clements – Founder, Cafe 180; President, Appetites Unite
Jeff Seifried – Former Executive Director, Mile High Community Loan Fund; former Urban Renewal Division Manager, City of Aurora
For-Profit Executives
Eric Mandil – Founder and Managing Principal, Mandil, Inc.
Michael Potts – Former CEO, Rocky Mountain Institute; former Vice President, Intuit, Inc.
Dan Rojas – Managing Consultant, World Wide Technology; former VP, IntraNext Systems; former VP Technology, Alpine Access
Craig Smith – CEO, HomeAdvisor International; President HomeAdvisor US; Corp. Leadership Council, Children’s Hospital Colorado
Educators
Peter Simons – Former Director of the Institute for Ethical and Civic Engagement; University of Colorado Boulder
Beanstalk Foundation
Peter Van Genderen – Former Partner, Stolberg Equity Partners; board member, Blue Star Recyclers; former GM, Unilink
