Elaine Chon-Baker

Elaine Chon-Baker is Founder and Managing Director of Mokja Ventures, a Washington, DC-based boutique fund that invests in restaurants and hospitality technology. Mokja, meaning “let’s eat” in Korean, is a nod to her heritage and her close relationship with her parents and six sisters, and reflects her belief in welcoming people to the table in every sense. Her unconventional path from global telecom and tech into food and beverage reflects two core beliefs: curiosity should guide how you move through life, and you are the one who owns your destiny, a lesson first taught to her by her father.

Elaine works with ambitious and resilient founders to launch and grow restaurants, startups, spirits brands, nonprofits, and other ventures, with a focus on funding, strategy, and navigating hard inflection points like pivots and partnership changes. Her work ranges from consulting with nonprofits and creative entrepreneurs to DoD contracting, speaking at conferences, and supporting early-stage teams. She increasingly explores how AI and technology are reshaping the industry and helps founders think about practical ways to integrate new tools into their work.

Elaine also serves as an advisor to Black Women in Food/Dine Diaspora, The Edna Lewis Foundation, and AKP Sports Foundation, and previously spent seven years as an advisor to the James Beard Foundation’s Women’s Leadership Programs, grounding her work in mentorship and opportunity-building across the industry. She is mom to artist-entrepreneur @kimchi.juice and two sons in college.