Member Profile: Charles Streitwieser

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Most Americans don’t know that coffee fell out of favor after WWII and was replaced by soft drinks. It was brought back into style by Starbucks and similar retailers that created “specialty” coffee shops in the early nineties.

Past District Governor Charles Streitwieser saw coffee’s potential and took a leadership position in its growth.  This came naturally to him, since he had lived in Europe in his youth, where cafés were popular. 

After college, he worked in Costa Rica’s coffee industry, where he learned about its many varieties from experts and became a professional coffee taster (“Cupper”). Charles joined the early entrepreneurs of the 1990s bringing ‘specialty coffees’ to America by establishing the coffee roasting company Morning Star Coffee, Inc. The company provided freshly roasted coffees to hotels, restaurants and the café industry.

Charles is a native of Chester County, where he lives in a historic farmhouse with his wife Leslie and their three children.  After selling the coffee company, he pivoted his career to providing financial investment planning and fiduciary oversight for trusts and charitable foundations.   He is currently a Venture Partner with NextGen Venture Partners, a venture capital firm which finances early-stage companies providing software-oriented solutions.

Charles joined the Rotary Club of West Chester in 1994, transferring from the Rotary Club of Pottstown (where he joined at age 23).  He was West Chester Rotary’s ‘youngest ever’ Club President in 2003-04.  He served as Assistant Governor from 2004-2006 and as District Governor in 2013-2014.  Since 1998, he has served on the District Rotary Foundation Committee and has served as its chair from 2006-2008. Charles is currently reviving our District Friendship Exchange Committee to connect local Rotarians to Rotarians from around the world.

“At college, I studied several international organizations, including the United Nations.  I have found that Rotary International is superior in many ways to the work of the United Nations (less bureaucracy). Especially at Rotary International conventions, I have seen so many diverse cultures seeking to make the world better and to work in mutual support of one another. Everyone wants to make a positive contribution to our future.  It is what all our clubs do every day, both locally and internationally.”