#185: Be The Change (Friday, July 16)

"...We are committed to strengthening the neighborhoods and cities in which we live and work, practicing a hands-on model of corporate responsibility." - taken from Ariel's mission statement

So this week I got to meet one of the people I most admire in my industry: Mellody Hobson. She is the chair of the board of trustees at Ariel Capital Management, the first and the largest African-American mutual fund in the country. She is also one of the few (if not the only...I certainly have never seen another in my 10+ years in the financial industry) black female senior executive at a mutual fund, but you may know her most from her role as the resident financial expert on Good Morning America, or as a featured columnist in Black Enterprise, or for her role as a financial contributor on the Tom Joyner Show.

Mellody talked at great length about being the change you want to see in the world, and living by that motto. It's out of that quote that the Ariel Community Academy, a Chicago-based public school with a curriculum especially focused on finance and investing, was born.

Check out this video, and tell me if it doesn't just make you want to go out and change something: https://www.arielinvestments.com/content/view/106/1066/