Steve Thurston (2021)
Sean Rafferty stands next to the newly rebuilt bar at Common Roots Brewery. He is the Common Roots Foundation executive director.
Sean Rafferty, an entrepreneur and longtime higher education finance professional, was named executive director of the recently-established Common Roots Foundation. An environmentalist, he was drawn to the philosophy of the foundation and to the for-profit company, Common Roots Brewery on Route 9 in South Glens Falls.
The brewery business was developed based on principles of environmental stewardship, and the foundation includes that as well as an active lifestyle and sustainability in their mission, concepts on which Rafferty has centered his life. A summer spent living in Yellowstone Park after college had changed him.
“That turned me on to environmental issues and how we need to conserve land, and that stayed with me,” he said. “I’ve been working to connect more with that as I go.
“I love hiking and fishing, I love the Adirondacks, everything about this region,” he said.
Rafferty heard about Common Roots when he noticed wineries and breweries selling T-shirts promoting the company and raising money to help the company rebuild after a fire in 2019 that burned the brewery to the ground.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Rafferty said. “Everywhere I go, they had the T-shirts for sale, so I knew something was up that was a little different.”
His brother—whom he describes as a “big beer aficionado”—talked up the beer, so when Rafferty moved to South Glens Falls, he knew he had to visit the rebuilt brewery and restaurant.
The foundation grew from the vision of the owners, Bert and Christian Weber. They had always envisioned Common Roots Brewery as a community gathering place and had always thought to have a foundation to give back.
When the brewery burned, that overwhelming community support helped them rebuild and pushed them to create the foundation more quickly. [Read more here.]
“I had always heard of Common Roots, great brewery, great people, great community feel to it,” Rafferty said. “I knew there was something about the place. You could tell everything they put into Common Roots, there is so much thought and purpose behind it.”
When Rafferty heard the foundation kicked off in May and needed an executive director, he jumped at the chance to be involved.
Just a few months in, the organization has already awarded several $250 microgrants. The organization is fundraising to offer larger grants in support of Common Roots’ tenets of environmental stewardship and community wellness.
“Our primary objective is still to help other nonprofits and groups to complete their own projects. And we’re also looking for new ways to support the community—potentially by partnering with other organizations to help co-create some new projects,” he wrote in an email.
Through membership fees (which yield great Common Roots swag); events including an upcoming disc golf tournament; and weekly Gears for Beers events (after a group bike ride, riders socialize and $1 of every beer order goes to the foundation), the Common Roots Foundation funds its outreach.
“This really is not just a brewery. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced,” Rafferty said. “It’s beer with a purpose.”
He replaces Alex Kochon who held the acting position.
Editor's note: The story was updated after publication for clarity.