Ikimi Dubose-Woodson

Cofounder and Executive Director, The Roots Fund, New York, NY

Rooted in Inclusivity

Ikimi Dubose-Woodson is cofounder of The Roots Fund, a nonprofit that offers resources to people of color in the wine industry. As executive director, she spearheads new initiatives to introduce a broader spectrum of people to the wine world. This past spring, she successfully led the first ever Roots Fund Charity Auction and Gala. The charity auction showcased rare wines and unique experiences, raising over $416K to benefit the organization’s mission to address the lack of diversity in the wine industry.

Dubose-Woodson is already planning the nonprofit’s next big event—a campus tour of several historically Black colleges—to influence the rising generation of Black students to consider a career in wine. “Find what you love and let it kill you,” she says, “I’ll probably die helping someone because that’s just who I am.”

Instagram: @rootsfund