2016 PD Merrill Business Ethics Lecture - Joseph F. Keefe: Investing as a Social Change Strategy

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• published: 18 Apr 2016
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The annual Paul D. Merrill Business Ethics Lecture honors the late Paul D. (P.D.) Merrill, Portland-area business leader and long-time UNE trustee, supporter and friend. The lecture series, sponsored by the Department of Business, creates an opportunity for future business leaders from UNE and the broader community to learn about and reflect upon the important role that ethical considerations play in our daily choices, and the impact these choices have on our communities. Joe is President and Chief Executive Officer of Pax World Funds and its investment adviser, Pax World Management LLC, as well as its majority-owned subsidiary, Pax Ellevate Management LLC. Under Joe’s leadership, Pax World has become one of the leading innovators and asset managers in the rapidly growing field of sustainable investing. Prior to joining Pax World, Joe was President of NewCircle Communications, a strategic consulting and communications firm specializing in corporate social responsibility and public policy-oriented communications. He served as Senior Adviser for Strategic Social Policy at Calvert Group from 2003-2005 and as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Citizens Advisers from 1997-2000. He is a former member of the Board of Directors (2000-2006) of US SIF, the trade association representing asset managers and investors engaged in sustainable investing throughout the United States. Joe has written and spoken widely on the subjects of sustainable investing and women’s empowerment. Recent thought leadership papers include “Gender Equality as an Investment Concept” and “Women and Impact Investing.” He is Co-Chair of the Leadership Group for the Women’s Empowerment Principles, a joint program of the United Nations Global Compact and UN Women and also serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of Women Thrive Worldwide, a leading non-profit organization shaping U.S. international assistance and trade policy to help women in developing countries lift themselves out of poverty. Joe was named by Ethisphere Magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics” in 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012 and 2015. In 2012, he was recognized by Women’s eNews as one of “21 Leaders for the 21st Century,” where he was the sole male honoree and in 2014 Joe was honored at the United Nations as one of five recipients of the Women’s Empowerment Principles Leadership Award. In 2015, Financial Times named him one of its “top feminist men” for his work helping women succeed in business and beyond. He is a former Democratic Nominee for United States Congress in New Hampshire’s First Congressional District and a former Chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party and member of the Democratic National Committee. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the College of the Holy Cross and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.