Become a Shareholder Activist!

[Shelly]

Hello Friends,

The expression of our vision to create a better world for us all carries on in big ways here in Sonoma County. There are two exciting upcoming events that I would like to share with you all on the New Economy.

On April 30th, the 9th Annual Sustainable Enterprise Conference will be happening at Sonoma Mountain Village in Rohnert Park. You can read the full details and buy your tickets at the following link:

http://sustainableenterpriseconference.com/

Also, the Sonoma New Economy Project has lined up our next speaker for this month at the Share Exchange. Please read the full details on the event below. I hope to see you at both of these exciting events.

Most respectfully yours,

Shelly

THE SONOMA NEW ECONOMY PROJECT

 invites you to the next Speaker Series event

April 24 from 6-8 pm at the Share Exchange, 531 5th Street in Santa Rosa:

How to Change Corporations Through Shareholder Activism
A presentation and discussion with Dale Wannen of Petaluma-based Sustainvest Asset Management.

Part of helping to build the new economy is investing our money in places that have positive impact. That can mean buying stock in sustainable and socially responsible companies. But it can also mean investing in corporations that are NOT doing a good job for people or the planet – then using a simple tool, the shareholder resolution, to change those corporations from inside. Think Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks could use more compostable materials? Should Best Buy implement a recycling program for old electronics? Are you disturbed that Gap and other big-name clothing is made in hazardous conditions like the kind that caused the tragic 2013 factory collapse in Bangladesh?

 

As holders of stock in a company, investors have the ability to play an active role shaping the decisions and policy directions that corporations take. By investing as little as $2,000 in a company, you are purchasing the right to make proposals that could potentially alter corporate rules and change the way business gets done – even at a place as large as Apple or Coca-Cola. Shareholder activism topics addressed here include corporate governance, climate change, political contributions, pesticide use, animal cruelty, gender/racial discrimination, pollution, problematic labor practices and a host of other issues. Sustainvest Asset Management is involved in filing shareholder resolutions that help individual investors make a greater impact on corporations – and this is your chance to learn how you can do the same.

Dale Wannen has over 15 years experience in wealth management and financial services. Prior to Sustainvest, Dale was a portfolio manager at Harrington Investments where he specialized in environmental and socially responsible investment strategies, securities analysis and shareholder advocacy. Formerly a financial adviser with UBS Wealth Management Services in San Francisco, Dale holds an MBA in Sustainable Management from Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco. He is a volunteer with Mentor Me Petaluma, Rebuilding Together Petaluma, and the founder of Green Drinks Petaluma. He also sits as Board of Director and Treasurer of the San Francisco human rights organization Global Exchange; is a committee member for the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in San Francisco, and teaches Economics for the Oakland non-profit Game Theory Academy.

There is an optional $5 donation at the door. Looking forward to seeing you on April 24 – and please spread the word!

-Your friends at the Sonoma New Economy Project