Racial Justice Advisory Committee

 
 

Dr. Michael K. Dorsey

Dr. Michael K. Dorsey is a recognized expert on global energy, environment, finance and sustainability matters. In 1997, in Glasgow, Scotland, Dorsey was bestowed Rotary International’s highest honor, The Paul Harris Medal for Distinguished Service to Humanity. Dr. Dorsey is a “Full member” of the Club of Rome and in 2013 the National Journal named him one of 200 US “energy and environment expert insiders”. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Yale and the Johns Hopkins University, presently Dr. Dorsey is a JV partner in the Indian based panel manufacturer Pahal Solar and a limited partner in the Spanish solar concern IberSun, s.l.

 
 
 

Yusuf George

Yusuf is a Managing Director at Engine No. 1, an investment firm that drives performance by tying companies’ social and environmental actions to economic outcomes. Yusuf manages Engine No. 1’s active ownership and proxy-voting strategies for the firm’s fund portfolio companies.

Prior to joining Engine No. 1, Yusuf worked at JUST Capital, where he developed and led the firm’s corporate engagement strategy, oversaw the racial equity portfolio, and assisted with investor-related engagement. He began his career in the global capital markets division at Barclays Capital. Yusuf received a BS in Computer Science from Trinity College.

 
 
 

Patience Marime Ball, Founder and CEO, Women of the World Endowment (WoWE)

Patience Marime-Ball has dedicated her career to finding new ways to use the levers of finance to create a more equal world. A seasoned banker, investor and philanthropist, she has worked alongside investment leaders across the globe to catalyze investment in undercapitalized communities in ways that recognize all people as essential drivers of our global economy.

In 2018 Patience founded WoWE to harness the power of the capital markets to drive lasting change for women and girls. WoWE invests via an institutional-quality endowment structure at the intersection of gender and some of today’s most pressing social and environmental issues, and seeks to deliver market rate financial returns while maximizing impact outcomes.

Patience serves as Board Vice Chair of the International Center for Research on Women; is an investor in Purple Arch Ventures; is an early-stage investor with Golden Seeds LLC and serves on several advisory boards including Emerging Sun LLC, a company she co-founded in 2005.

Patience has an MBA from Kellogg Business School and a Juris Doctor from the Pritzker School of Law at Northwestern University.

 
 
 

Renee Morgan, Social Justice Strategist, Robasciotti & Philipson Social Justice Investing

Renee brings a long history of political engagement, and a passion to create a just world, to her over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. However, like half of all Americans, Renee began her adult working life in restaurants; washing dishes, seating people, cooking, and waiting tables. While life would take her to other professions, these early jobs provided valuable skills and the foundational work ethic so evident in her career.

She moved into the field of Social Work and from 1995-2001, worked as a counselor in a domestic violence shelter for women, a teen halfway house, a women’s addiction recovery halfway house, and then a county detox center. In 2001, Renee shifted careers and entered the field of finance at Trilogy Financial. After three years, Renee moved on to start her own firm, Better World Investments, acting as President until 2020.

Renee recently joined R&P as the Social Justice Strategist to combine her passion and cumulative work experience to make social and economic change. Renee works with our social justice partners to establish our investment criteria and direct investment campaigns.

Over the years, Renee has been recognized as a leader within Socially Responsible Investing and has served on several boards and committees. She has been a longtime activist and volunteer in the community, working with groups such as OutBoulder, Boulder County Hospice, and various political campaigns. In more recent years, her volunteer work and community activism have focused primarily on racial justice, working with projects like Showing Up For Racial Justice (SURJ), Black Lives Matter 5280, Denver Justice Project, and the Racial Justice Investing Coalition.

Renee has a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from San Jose State University and a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Leslie College.

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Donna Robinson

Donna Robinson is the Managing Partner of Robinson Law Office, LLC, an international law firm specializing in corporate social responsibility, public international law, and anti-human trafficking initiatives. Donna is licensed to practice law in Georgia and Florida, and she holds a cum laude Juris Doctor from Florida A&M University College of Law and a Masters of Law in Human Rights Law from American University Washington College of Law. Prior to launching her firm, Donna worked for the Supreme Court of the Republic of Ghana, the World Bank International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, and the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. Donna currently serves as the Legal Advisor for the Darfur Women’s Action Group, a survivor-led organization that seeks justice and accountability for the ongoing genocide in the Darfur region of the Republic of Sudan.

 
 
 

Sam Schrager

Sam Schrager is Head of US Climate Analytics Institutional Shareholder Services, where he leads ISS ESG’s climate data and analytics offerings in the Americas. Prior to work at ISS, he was Director of Metrics and Data Analytics at JUST Capital, a non-profit organization that assesses how large companies perform on the issues Americans care about most. In that role he was responsible for ESG data analysis, metric development and methodology creation. Sam has also worked as an impact investment analyst and a geospatial analyst for firms that include Cherokee Investment Partners, Eco-Site and Impact Economy. Sam received his Master’s degree in Environmental Management from Duke University and a B.A. in Environmental Science and Geography from Binghamton University.

 
 
 

Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr.

Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr. is the President & Founder of Hip Hop Caucus, a minister, community activist, U.S. Air Force veteran, and one of the most influential people in Hip Hop political life.

Rev Yearwood entered the world of Hip Hop Politics as the Political and Grassroots Director for the Hip Hop Summit Action Network in 2003 and 2004, and as a key architect of P. Diddy’s “Vote Or Die!” campaign in a run up to the 2004 Presidential Election.

To carry the energy of the efforts beyond election day, he founded Hip Hop Caucus in September of 2004. The goal of Hip Hop Caucus is to build a powerful and sustainable organization for the culture’s role in the civic process and empowerment of communities impacted first and worst by injustice.

As a non-profit, non-partisan, multi-issue organization, Hip Hop Caucus focuses on addressing core issues impacting underserved and vulnerable communities, with programs and campaigns that support solution-driven community organizing led by today’s young leaders. Through a collaborative network, Hip Hop Caucus holds elected officials accountable, shapes policy, and builds more diverse and powerful movements to ignite positive change.

After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Rev Yearwood established the award winning Gulf Coast Renewal Campaign where he led a coalition of national and grassroots organizations to advocate for the rights of Katrina survivors. The coalition successfully stopped early rounds of illegal evictions of Katrina survivors from temporary housing, held police and government entities accountable for injustices committed during the emergency response efforts, supported the United Nations “right to return” policies for internally displaced persons, promoted comprehensive federal recovery legislation, and campaigned against increased violence resulting from lack of schools and jobs in the years after Katrina.

In 2008, Rev Yearwood led Hip Hop Caucus’ launch of Respect My Vote!, a campaign and coalition that works with Hip Hop artists to engage young people in the electoral process. Since its inception, numerous celebrity partners have joined the campaign during election cycles to reach their fan bases, including T.I., 2 Chainz, Amber Rose, Future, Keyshia Cole, Vic Mensa, Charlamagne tha God, Keke Palmer, Omar Epps, and more. The campaign has registered and mobilized tens of thousands of young voters to the polls and in 2008 set a world record of registering the most voters in one day (32,000 people across 16 U.S. cities). Respect My Vote! is the longest running hip hop oriented voter engagement program, having been active in United States elections for over 10 years.

As a national leader and pacemaker within the Green Movement, Rev Yearwood has been successfully bridging the gap between communities of color and environmental issue advocacy. With a diverse set of celebrity allies, he has raised awareness and action in communities that are often overlooked by traditional environmental campaigns and elected officials. His innovative stance has garnered the Hip Hop Caucus support from several environmental leaders including the Sunrise Movement, League of Conservation Voters, Earthjustice, and Zero Hour.

He is a leader in campaigns calling for divestment from fossil fuels causing climate change, increasing diversity in the climate movement, ensuring everyone has clean water and air, and international efforts to address climate change. He has also fought on the frontlines for vulnerable communities, including at the international climate negotiations in Paris and efforts to fight new oil pipeline developments in Maryland and at Standing Rock. He has received numerous awards for his work, including being dubbed as a New Green Hero by Rolling Stone and recognized by the Obama White House as a Champion of Change.

In 2018, he helped launch Think 100%, Hip Hop Caucus’ award-winning climate communications and activism platform. Comprised of podcast, film, music, and activism opportunities, the platform challenges environmental injustices and shares just solutions to the climate crisis, including a transition to 100% renewable energy for all. More at Think100Climate.com.