BOSTON, MA (November 25, 2019) – The Intentional Endowments Network (“IEN”) brought new expertise to the executive team guiding its work last month, with the addition of two new members to the Board of Directors of The Crane Institute of Sustainability (“Crane”), IEN’s nonprofit organizational home. Both Evelyn Murphy, president of The WAGE Project and former Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, and Gabe Rissman, co-founder & president of YourStake joined Crane’s Board in October. Their unique perspectives on the cross-sector leadership for sustainable investing bring further depth to the group of investment and higher education leaders governing IEN’s work.
“After celebrating IEN’s fifth anniversary this past summer, we are pleased to be expanding the Board and bringing new ideas for our next phase of growth” said Georges Dyer, co-founder and executive director of Crane and IEN. “As leaders on issues across gender equity, environmental sustainability, shareholder engagement and corporate responsibility, Evelyn and Gabe will help us to take a holistic view of the role endowments play in shaping our economy and society.”
Murphy founded The WAGE Project over a decade ago to fight wage discrimination, building on her successful career in government and business. After serving as Massachusetts Secretary of Environmental Affairs, chair of the National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere, and MA Secretary of Economic Affairs, Murphy was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1986. Following her government service, Murphy worked in a variety of senior corporate leadership roles, and began the research that would lead to The WAGE Project and her advocacy for gender equity.
“I am excited to be joining the Crane Board at a time when IEN members are making real change on campuses and in the investment industry,” Murphy said. “IEN’s work on gender lens investing, climate leadership, and aligning investments with institutional sustainability will help us reach the tipping point we need for an economy that works for people and for our planet.”
Rissman first contributed his expertise to IEN as a leader of the student-managed Dwight Hall Socially Responsible Investment Fund while an undergraduate at Yale University. There, he filed a shareholder resolution asking Exxon to publicly report its undisclosed lobbying expenditures. He was also an early leader in the development of IEN’s work with student-managed funds, the Sustainable & Impact Investing Learning & Knowledge (SIILK) Network. After graduating, Rissman co-founded a new platform for shareowners to use their stake in companies to demand accountability, transparency, and corporate action on key sustainability and equity issues.
“I am extremely excited to be more intimately involved with IEN, as it continues to bring students, educators, and higher education endowments to the forefront of the transition to a sustainable economy,” said Rissman. “Particularly as a student who benefitted from the reach and resources of the Network, I am eager to help cultivate IEN's SIILK Network of student-managed investment funds to push the status quo and drive social impact now, and in the future.”
About the Intentional Endowments Network
The Intentional Endowments Network is a non-profit, peer-learning network advancing intentionally designed endowments – those that seek to enhance financial performance by aligning with institutional mission, values, and sustainability goals. Working closely with leading organizations, the network engages leaders and key stakeholders from higher education, foundations, business, and nonprofits. It provides opportunities for learning and education, peer networking, convening, thought leadership and information exchange around a variety of strategies (e.g., ESG integration, impact investing, and shareholder engagement). www.intentionalendowments.org
About Crane
The Crane Institute of Sustainability is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to promoting leadership for sustainability. Crane works with organizations in the higher education, business, non-profit, and public sectors to promote a strategic approach to sustainability, and facilitate collaboration among organizations and across sectors to accelerate progress toward sustainability. Crane’s flagship initiative is the Intentional Endowments Network. www.cranesustainability.org
Contact:
Georges Dyer
Co-founder & Executive Director, Intentional Endowments Network & The Crane Institute of Sustainability