The annual spring conference of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility celebrated a special milestone – the coalition’s 50th anniversary. The legacy of ICCR was woven throughout the conference, with speakers including Bishop Michael Curry, Reverend Traci Blackmon, Nicholas Kristof, and Reverend Charles Buck offering messages of hope and a call to action for the next 50 years. The anniversary celebration included a tribute to ICCR’s founders for their vision and courage to establish ICCR, which has had lasting impacts in the shareholder advocacy arena.
The Sisters of Mercy’s history with ICCR spans decades:
- Pat Wolf, RSM, served as executive director in the early 2000s.
- Valerie Heinonen, OSU, former shareholder advocacy consultant for the Sisters of Mercy – Regional Community of Detroit and Mercy Investment Program, and former director of shareholder advocacy for Mercy Investment Services, was interim executive director and program director for militarism, Burma, global finance and the maquiladoras at ICCR in the 1990s.
- Several members of Mercy Investment Services’ staff have continued this history of service to ICCR on the board of directors, committees and by leading working groups of investors.
- The Sisters of Mercy have been active collaborators with ICCR on many issues including human rights, healthy persons and communities, and environmental sustainability.
- Susan Vickers, RSM; Susan Makos, former vice president of social responsibility for Mercy Investment Services; and Valerie Heinonen, OSU, have received the ICCR Legacy Award, which honors “those whose work has provided a strong moral foundation and an enduring record of demonstrated influence on corporate policies.”
Mercy Investment Services is proud of the impact of ICCR and its members over the past 50 years and looks forward to many more years of collaboration for the benefit of the greater good.