Since its launch in 2014, Croatan Institute has made tackling structural racism in finance central to our mission. In response to the persistent racial segregation and lack of diversity we observed within the sustainable business and investing community (and financial services more broadly), we organized an internal โbrain trustโ composed of some of the Instituteโs advisory board members Sharlene Brown (now Director of REEFS) and Henry McKoy, as well as senior fellows like Josh Humphreys, and our late colleague Fern Jones, to begin grappling with these challenges. In 2018, after years of engagement with professionals of color working on equity issues, the Racial Equity, Economics, Finance, and Sustainability (REEFS) program and its Steering Committee were formalized.
At the 2018 Croatan Forum, the first REEFS Roundtable was held, bringing together more than 40 stakeholders to advance opportunities for black and brown communities.