RETHINK IMPACT MANAGEMENT - Key Persons
Chelsea Morris is VP of Platform at Rethink Impact and has been with the firm since 2015. She has moved up in the firm taking on increasing responsibility on the deal side and eventually also leading the fund's platform work including CEO programming, event strategy, communications, LP engagement, and operations efforts. She has a breadth of experience in both the for-profit and nonprofit worlds, including her work in the Development Office at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. In 2012 she started her own company, Love and Be Loved, which sold T-shirts and donated a portion of its profits to the local women's shelter. Chelsea graduated from Penn State.
Heidi Patel is a Managing Partner at Rethink Impact and currently sits on the boards of Icon Savings Plan, Culina Health, Oncue, and Ketos, and as a board observer for Angaza, Binti and Full Harvest. Previously, she was President of New Island Capital Management, an institutional-scale and 100% mission-focused investment advisor to a single ultra-high net worth family. In this capacity, she helped grow and run the firm while also running its early stage investing program. She sat on New Island's Investment Committee, overseeing 100+ investments, across multiple asset classes, in sustainability, conservation, online marketplaces, education, economic development, sustainable agriculture, and green real estate.
Prior to this, Heidi was an Acumen Fund Global Fellow working with D.light Design India, a mission-driven business operating in India, China, and Tanzania to eradicate kerosene through the design, manufacture, and distribution of solar-powered LED lights. Before Acumen, Heidi was a Director at Pacific Community Ventures, an impact fund focused on businesses creating high-quality jobs in low-income neighborhoods. Previously, she was a founding member of AOL Time Warner Ventures where she led several investments into early stage, technology-enabled companies within the mobile, voice recognition and digital media sectors. She also worked in Media and Telecom Investment Banking at both Deutsche Morgan Grenfell and Credit Suisse First Boston.
Heidi Patel teaches (and co-created) a course on impact investing at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and she serves on the Investment Committee for the Stanford GSB Student Impact Fund. Heidi is an advisor to Monarch Collective, a new private equity fund focused on women's professional sports and a member of the External Advisory Council for Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Princeton University. Heidi is also an active member of All Raise, co-leading their VC Cohorts program. Heidi's work in impact investing has been featured in the Wall St Journal, New York Times, Forbes, Fortune, TechCrunch, and beyond. Heidi earned an AB from Princeton University and an MBA from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University.
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Managing Partner
- Board Member of the NFL Players, Inc
Jenny Abramson is the Founder & Managing Partner of Rethink Impact and currently sits on the boards of Bold, Candidly, Ellevest, EveryDay Labs, Wellthy, Winnie, Sempre Health, Bold and as a board observer for Eleanor Health. Previously Jenny served as CEO of LiveSafe, a tech security company focused on preventing school shootings and sexual assaults. She also held leadership roles at The Washington Post, Personal (a data tech company), The Boston Consulting Group, D.C. Public Schools, and Teach for America.
Jenny is also a board member of the NFL Players, Inc. and the Jacobs Foundation. Jenny was named a Forbes' Impact 50 in 2020, Entrepreneur Magazine's 100 Powerful Women and a DC Tech Titan. She has been covered in The New York Times, in Forbes, in The Washington Post, and on CNN, interviewed on Squawk Box, featured at the Code Conference, at the United Nations, at the G7, and on Capitol Hill.
She received bachelor's and master's degrees with honors from Stanford University, an MBA with honors and the Dean's Award from Harvard Business School and was a Fulbright Scholar at The London School of Economics.
Joe Garcia is a Principal at Rethink Impact. Prior to joining Rethink full-time, Joe was an MBA Intern during his graduate program at the University of Michigan's Erb Institute, where he studied the intersection of climate solutions and finance, receiving an MBA and an MS in Environmental Sustainability. During the program, he served as the Director of the Social Venture Fund, the nation's first student-led impact investing fund, and as a Summer Associate at Lewis & Clark AgriFood, a growth equity fund in St. Louis. Before graduate school, Joe worked in sales and business development roles at software startups in the Bay Area.
Job Titles:
- Member and Operating Partner of Rethink Impact and Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer
Michael Walden is an Investment Committee member and Operating Partner of Rethink Impact and Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of Rethink Capital Partners. Through his role as COO, Michael oversees the operations of Rethink Capital Partners and ensures the necessary connectivity between Rethink ventures and the Rethink Capital Partners back office. Since joining Rethink Capital Partners in 2011, he has developed the firm's operating division. He is a member of the Investment Committee for Rethink Impact, Rethink Education, Rethink Community, and Rethink Healthcare Real Estate and has served on the boards of EVERFI, NextSeed, Neverware, and Lessonly.
Michael brings 30 years of experience establishing, operating and growing businesses in a variety of industries. This includes operating positions in venture-funded growth companies in the technology and telecommunications sectors.
Michael began his career in Washington, D.C. serving on the legislative staff of U.S. Senator Arlen Specter. Mr. Walden received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Richmond.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Investment Committee
Rick Segal is an Investment Committee member of Rethink Impact. Beyond Rick's role within Rethink Impact, he is Executive Director of Rethink Capital Group and has served on a number of public and private boards of directors which include Hudson General Inc., Air Express Int., and Penn Traffic, Schoolnet, Civitas, Wireless Generation, Smarterer and Flocabulary. Currently, Rick sits on the boards of various education technology companies including Advanced Prison Data Systems, Cinematic Health Education, Knowledge 2 Practice, Noodle Companies, Voxy, BEGiN-Homer Learning, EnGen and Vivvi.
Rick is deeply committed to creating better communities through his philanthropic engagements, which are primarily focused on health, education, and providing opportunities for low-income children and the arts. He is a Trustee of the Whitney Museum of Art in New York City, where he serves as Treasurer and chair of the Finance Committee. He also sits on the Board of New York Academy of Art, serving as Treasurer and Vice-Chair. Additionally, Rick serves on the Board of Trustees of New York Presbyterian Hospital and he is a board member and Finance Chair of the Africa Center in New York. He is the President of the A. L. Mailman Family Foundation.
Rick received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Wesleyan University.
Shak Chowdhury is the Chief Financial Officer at Rethink Impact. He also sits in this role for Seavest Investment Group, where he manages the firm's financial and accounting operations. Mr. Chowdhury has over 13 years of experience in the real estate industry with a focus on accounting and taxation.
Shak was a Senior Tax Director in the tax group for Tishman Speyer where he had responsibility for the U.S. tax reporting function of over 1,500 legal entities globally. Prior to his tenure at Tishman, Mr. Chowdhury spent four years as a Senior Tax Associate at Arthur Andersen & Co.
Shak received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree Cum Laude in accounting with a minor in mathematics from Bernard M. Baruch College. Mr. Chowdhury is a CPA licensed in the State of New York.
Tracy Abbott, who has previously held a CCO role at Rethink, has joined ACA and, through her position, continues to work with us to help facilitate the daily management of our compliance program. Her primary responsibilities involve developing, implementing and reviewing the compliance program, conducting on-going risk assessments, providing primary support to resolve compliance matters, and providing support to all divisions with respect to compliance issues. Tracy's career includes over 20 years working as a compliance professional, including as CCO for the New York State Common Retirement Fund, senior positions at prominent global investment management firms and a private wealth management firm. Ms. Abbott is a graduate of Utica College of Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice/Economic Crime Investigation and an MBA in Economic Crime and Fraud Management. She has experience investigating identity theft, as well as other financial crimes and is a frequent speaker and trainer in the industry on compliance, risk management and forensic testing, including conducting fraud training for securities examiners from the SEC, FINRA, CBOE and NASAA at SEC headquarters in Washington, DC, and is a passionate leader on Diversity and Inclusion initiatives. Additionally, she serves on the Board of Advisors of the Economic Crime & Cybersecurity Institute at Utica College and is a former board member of the National Society of Compliance Professionals.