The Portfolio Advisory Board held its Fall meeting in late September at Weber Retreat and Conference Center, where Board members attended to business items, shared the year’s accomplishments regarding shareholder advocacy and community impact investing, and engaged in strategic planning. PAB member Mary Priniski, OP, opened each day with inspiring reflection and prayer. 

Business Items

Sister Marilín Llanes, Director of PAB, provided an update on plans for PAB’s 50th anniversary, to be celebrated on September 26, 2025. A synopsis of the plan is pending approval of the Board in November.

New voluntary staff and Board members were introduced:

• Associate Dee Joyner will serve in the volunteer role of Senior Advisor to PAB for Special Projects. She will help facilitate the adoption and implementation of the 2023-2026 strategic plan and support the planning of the 50th anniversary. 

• Kayoko Lyons, CFA, and Petra Vujakovic from the Cabrini Missionary Sisters Impact Investment Fund will assist with community impact investing.  

• Sister Judy Byron, OP, and Rev. Dr. Sidney Williams Jr. were unanimously recommended as new members of the Board and were confirmed by the General Council. They filled two vacant seats on the Board due to the passing of Pat Daly, OP, last year and the resignation of Corinne Florek, OP, as portfolio manager.

Shareholder Advocacy

Pat Zerega and Mary Minette, PAB consultants with Mercy Investment Services, presented a report on their activities for the 2023 proxy year. They had 66 engagements  – such as meetings and negotiations – with companies in the PAB’s focus areas of protection of human rights, healthy persons and communities, and environmental sustainability. In addition, 18 shareholder resolutions were filed: nine in human rights, three in healthy persons, and six in environmental sustainability. 

One constructive engagement (with Dollar General) garnered a high vote from shareholders of 67.7% regarding practices on the safety and well-being of workers. In addition, the Adrian Dominican Sisters supported signing on to 39 letters, joining other faith-based investors in expressing viewpoints on actions of various companies at odds with our social impact criteria.

Mary reported on the anti-ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) movement and its impact on different sectors. For example, there are growing attacks against Climate Action 100+/Net Zero Asset Managers who are falsely accused of violating anti-trust /consumer protection laws. Another area highlighted the economic impact in states that have anti-ESG policies. These policies have forced divestment and decreased returns for pensioners in five states with a negative financial impact estimated at $20 billion. 

This was Pat’s last meeting due to her upcoming retirement. Mary Minette will be the permanent Mercy Investments Consultant to PAB.  

Community Investing

Sister Marilín presented an update on the PAB community impact loan portfolio, presented two loans for renewal, and presented three new loans for approval.

The PAB approved the following loans for renewal:

• Community Vision Capital and Consulting has been a borrowing partner with ADS since 1988. This CDFI invests in strengthening low-income neighborhoods and enabling underserved communities to build more racial and economic equity in more than 46 counties in Northern California.

• The Cooperative Fund of the Northeast (CFNE) and PAB have been in partnership since 1987. This CDFI facilitates socially responsible investing in cooperatives, community-oriented nonprofits, and worker-owned businesses in New England and adjacent communities in New York.

New loans were approved for the following borrowing partners:

• Capital for Change Fund (C4C) was formed in 2016 by the merger of the Greater New Haven Community Loan Fund (GNHCLF), Connecticut Housing Investment Fund, and Community Capital Fund. Capital for Change (C4C) is the largest full-service CDFI in Connecticut, serving a wider bandwidth of people, nonprofits, businesses, and public institutions in need.

• Lawndale Christian Development Corporation (LCDC) was established in 1987 by the Lawndale Christian Community Church to fulfill the call to justice in Micah 6:8. LCDC organizes with the community to eliminate health and wealth disparities in North Lawndale, Illinois. LCDC develops and manages affordable mixed-use housing, creates homeownership for working families, and builds cooperative businesses. 

• The African American Alliance’s Black Renaissance Fund (BFR) was formally established in 2020 by the African American Alliance of CDFIs CEOs of Black-led CDFIs. It is committed to closing the wealth gap in Black communities in the United States and identifying opportunities that will result in greater investments in the organizations they lead. The BRF secures grant and debt capital at very low interest rates, allowing members to strengthen their balance sheets, build more loan capacity, and generate more revenue through interest income. 

Celebrating Associate Dee Joyner and Consultant Pat Zerega

PAB was joined by members of the General Council and invited guests to express gratitude to Pat Zerega and Associate Dee Joyner for their many contributions to PAB upon their retirement. Dee retired on July 1, 2023, as Director of the Portfolio Advisory Board, and Pat will be retiring as a Shareholder Advocacy Consultant on October 1, 2023. Cynthia Crim, PAB Chair, and Carmen Mora, Co-Chair,  thanked Pat on behalf of the PAB. Corinne Sanders, OP, PAB General Council Liaison, expressed gratitude to Dee for her many service years with the Congregation in both PAB and the Resilient Communities endeavor. A toast and blessing were offered, followed by a celebratory dinner in honor of Dee.

Strategic Planning

Associate Dee Joyner engaged Board members in discussing the proposed Theory of Change Framework recommended by the Strategic Planning Committee.  

Members reviewed the Theory of Change Framework and definitions of component parts during a daylong process of engagement, working in small and large groups. The four overarching themes for the strategic plan are shareholder advocacy, community impact investing, alignment of the work of PAB for greater impact, and collaboration with internal and external partners. Recommendations were sent to the Strategic Planning Committee to refine and bring back to the Board for a vote by December 2023.

Please see the PAB website for articles on our borrowing partners and shareholder advocacy activities, which are updated monthly.

 

Feature photo at top: Members of the Portfolio Advisory Board are, from left, Kristine Cooper, Office Manager; Judy Byron, OP, Consultant; Joseph Baker II; Corinne Sanders, OP, General Council Liaison; Carla Mannings; Marilín Llanes, OP, Portfolio Manager; Mary Priniski, OP; Pat Zerega, Consultant; Cynthia Crim, Chair; Dee Ann Joyner, Director; and Carmen Mora, Vice Chair.