Rebecca Adamson

Bio

Rebecca Adamson, Indigenous Economist of Cherokee Descent is Founder of First Nations Development and First Peoples Worldwide. A leader, activist, and ground-breaking indigenous woman, Rebecca holds a distinct perspective about how indigenous people’s systems thinking and the value system behind indigenous economies can be used to catalyze change. Rebecca’s career spans her time spent in and out of jail working for the Coalition of Indian Controlled Schools to serving as Founding Advisor to the Wharton Business School Initiative on ESG Investing (Environment, Social and Governance). A featured TEDMED speaker in 2014 and early Schwab Social Entrepreneur 2004-2009 with the World Economic Forum Rebecca uses finance- and market-based strategies to take on global giants and win. https://www.forbes.com/sites/morgansimon/2018/11/01/were-not-done-with-dapl-how-investors-can-still-support-indigenous-rights/?sh=48647026e0d5

Rebecca has worked directly with grassroots indigenous communities, and internationally as an advocate of Indigenous self-determination since 1970. Her first five years at the Coalition of Indian Controlled Schools were spent in and out of jail until the Indian Self Determination and Education Act was passed in 1975 making Indian self-determination legal. At First Nations Development Institute, in 1983 Ms. Adamson, with the Ogalala Sioux on Pine Ridge South Dakota, created the first microenterprise loan fund, the Lakota Fund. She became one of the key leaders of the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) movement. In 1994 as Trustee of Calvert Social Investment Mutual Funds Ms Adamson created Community Notes the first market mechanism for individual investors to invest directly into low-income community development financial institutions (CDFI). Today over $141.2 bn is being invested in CDFIs. In 2000 at First Peoples Worldwide she launched the Indigenous Peoples Rights Investment Criteria used by all the premiere social investment research firms.

Ms Adamson has won many awards: PBS Change Makers, National Women’s History Recipient, Council on Foundations Scrivner Award for Most Innovative Grant-Maker, John Gardner Civic Leadership Award. She is widely known for her asset-based development strategies and co-author the award-winning book “The Color of Wealth: the Story Behind the US Racial Wealth Divide”. Currently she serves as Founding Advisor to the Wharton Business School ESG Initiative, Trustee Women’s Media Center and Trustee Bay Paul Foundations.