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EVENT DETAILS
Shelly Heier is President of Verus, a leading provider of institutional investment consulting and OCIO services with over $535 billion in assets under advisement. Shelly spearheads the firm’s efforts around diversity, particularly through her leadership of the Verus-founded Institutional Investing Diversity Cooperative (IIDC). The IIDC is a coalition of 22 consulting firms representing over $32 trillion in institutional assets working together to promote greater diversity in the institutional asset management industry by advocating for access to data that would capture every dimension of diversity. The IIDC believes a diverse firm is not defined solely by its ownership structure, but rather by the diversity of the individuals involved in the investment decision making process, and most importantly, that diverse investment teams - and viewpoints - enhance investment decision-making.
Shelly is an integral part of Verus’ leadership, serving on the Verus board of directors, management committee, and OCIO investment committee, and chairing the alternatives investment committee. In addition to overseeing the broad investment division, consulting, and sales, she provides investment consulting services to a handful of clients, including foundations, university endowments, and hospitals.
Shelly holds the CFA and CAIA charters, is active in various investment industry groups, and frequently speaks at industry conferences. She is a trustee of her alma mater, University of Puget Sound, a board member of the Seattle Children’s Theatre, and a founding member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center’s Innovators Network. In 2012, the Puget Sound Business Journal recognized Shelly’s accomplishments by selecting her as a “40 Under 40” honoree.
Susan Long-Walsh is a natural connector. She is on a mission to raise awareness of the profound inequities within organizations and amplify efforts to address them. Her TED Talk “The Path to Building an Anti-Racist Workplace,” outlines the hard work courageous leaders and teams must do to foster respect, dignity, and a true sense of belonging for all employees – and provides a way to hold these teams accountable and measure progress.
As a senior business professional, Susan continues to coach and influence executives. At T-Mobile she leads groundbreaking workshops and microlearning sessions on diversity and equity, including how to move on organization from a culture of inclusion to one of belonging. She has also created talent-recruiting and retention initiatives for top Northwest organizations such as Microsoft, Starbucks, Vulcan, Inc., AT&T Wireless, and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
From 2006-2013, she was Principal at Susan Long-Walsh & Associates (SLWA) a Seattle-based consultancy. At SLWA, Susan helped businesses train inclusive leaders and develop the behaviors and habits necessary to accomplish the critical work of driving greater equity, diversity, and belonging in the workplace. Her portfolio of clients included start-ups to Fortune 500 companies across the U.S. Services included recruiting senior level talent from diverse backgrounds, 1:1 coaching, workshop design and facilitation, and motivational speaking.
A firm believer in empowering girls, women, and BIPOC populations, Susan currently serves on the boards of StolenYouth and Seattle Arts & Lectures (SAL). In 2020, Susan became a member of the International Women’s Forum-Washington (IWF-WA). She mentors many women and girls and volunteers’ countless hours in her community.
Susan lives in Seattle, WA, with her husband. Together, they have proudly raised three very kind, funny, and heart-smart human beings.
MODERATED BY:
Mary Ruth Newman Board Member and Vice President of WIIIN Global Consultant Relations Cohen and Steers
Mary Ruth Newman, is a Senior Vice President at Cohen & Steers on the Global Consultant Relations Team. Before joining C&S in 2017, Ms. Newman was with Wells Fargo Asset Management in consultant relations for seven years. Prior to that, she spent 12 years abroad working for Wachovia Securities in London, Paris and Hong Kong as a director within European Debt Capital Markets & Syndicate and as a Managing Director within the Global Financial Institutions Group.
Mary Ruth is currently Vice President of Women in Institutional Investments Network and has served on the Board since 2018. She is a member of the Programming and D&I committees and acts as primary liaison to the WIIIN Advisory Council. She is also a member of the Cohen & Steers Women’s Exchange Steering Committee.
Ms. Newman has a BA from Earlham College and The Sorbonne and studied at The Paris Institute of Political Studies (“Sciences Po”). She is based in Los Angeles.
2021 AWARD HONOREE: Betsy Berkhemer-Credaire Chief Executive Officer 50/50 Women on Boards
Betsy Berkhemer-Credaire is CEO of 50/50 Women on Boards™, the global education and advocacy campaign committed to accelerating gender balance and diversity on corporate boards. She is the author of two books on the topic, "The Board Game: How Smart Women Become Corporate Directors” and “Winning the Board Game: How Women Directors Make the Difference.” Both books offer real-world guidelines and profiles of current women corporate directors for helping women seek board positions as their ultimate career goal.
As a statewide past president of the National Association of Women Business Owners-California (NAWBO-CA), Betsy led NAWBO-CA’s successful campaign to secure passage of SB826, effective January 2019, the first and only law in the U.S. requiring every public company in California to have at least three women board members before year-end 2021. She previously volunteered on the boards of the Southern California Leadership Network and UCLA Medical Center, and the consumer advisory board for SoCal Edison. For 27 years, Betsy has been the CEO and co-founder of Berkhemer Clayton, Inc., a retained executive search firm based in Los Angeles that specializes in senior-level searches at corporations, universities and nonprofit organizations. Her firm is distinguished for its commitment to advancing gender and ethnic diversity on corporate boards and in senior management positions throughout the country, with 44% of placed management candidates women and 36% men and women of color.
Before founding Berkhemer Clayton with Fred Clayton, Betsy built and sold one of the largest independent public relations firms in Southern California. Betsy is a UCLA graduate.
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