25-member committee will advise Secretary, Deputy Secretary on efforts to advance racial equity
WASHINGTON – Pacific Community Ventures’ CEO, Bulbul Gupta, has been appointed to serve as a member of the inaugural Department of Treasury Advisory Committee on Racial Equity, announced today by U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen, at an event marking the anniversary of the Freedman’s Bank where Vice President Kamala Harris spoke. Bulbul brings over two decades of experience advancing racial justice in the CDFI, impact investing, and policy space, centering Black, Brown, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and immigrant communities. As the first CEO of color at Pacific Community Ventures, one of America’s first impact investing organizations, Bulbul is committed to reimagining our financial systems to empower historically excluded communities and provide access to affordable capital so they can realize their full potential, and their communities can thrive with good jobs.
This first-of-its-kind committee will provide advice and recommendations to Secretary Yellen and Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo on efforts to advance racial equity in the economy and address acute disparities for communities of color, in order to unlock their untapped potential for a more inclusive recovery and longer-term shared prosperity. The Committee will identify, monitor, and review aspects of the domestic economy that have directly and indirectly resulted in unfavorable conditions for communities of color. The Committee plans to address topics including but not limited to: financial inclusion, access to capital, housing stability, federal supplier diversity, and economic development.
“I am proud to join the Treasury Advisory Committee on Racial Equity while partnering with such a diverse group of people who are passionate about racial equity and policy change in this country,” said Gupta. “We cannot get to racial equity in this country by remaining colorblind. Research from the Kellogg Foundation finds that racial equity across education, business, incarceration, and health can leverage an additional $8 trillion by 2050 for the U.S. economy – GDP growth, job growth, and income we cannot afford to sacrifice in this recovery. This is not just the moral thing to do – it makes good economic sense.”
“A critical piece of executing on our racial equity goals is bringing a wide set of outside perspectives and lived experiences to the decision-making table,” said Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen. “The Treasury Advisory Committee on Racial Equity, made up of members with wide-ranging backgrounds and expertise, will provide important insight and advice to leadership across the department to bolster and inform our equity efforts.”
The 25 inaugural members of the Committee come from a wide range of backgrounds including academia, advocacy, financial services, and local government. Members share a common experience with and working knowledge of the implications of economic policy decisions on communities of color, as well as a deep commitment to advancing racial equity. Michael Nutter, the David N. Dinkins Professor of Professional Practice in Urban and Public Affairs at Columbia University and the former Mayor of Philadelphia, will serve as chair of the Committee.
Members will serve a two-year term. The Committee’s charter is established under agency authority and in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).
The Committee is a product of Treasury’s department-wide equity assessment last year, in which the team identified a goal of creating an institutionalized way to gather on-the-ground insights and recommendations on racial equity efforts.
Inaugural Treasury Advisory Committee on Racial Equity Members:
- Michael Nutter, David N. Dinkins Professor of Professional Practice in Urban and Public Affairs, Columbia University and former Mayor of Philadelphia (Chair)
- Nicole Anand, Deputy Director, Inclusive Action for the City
- Janie Barrera, President and CEO, LiftFund, Inc.
- Nicole Borromeo, Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Alaska Federation of Natives
- Dorothy Brown, Professor of Law, Georgetown University
- William (Bill) Bynum, Chief Executive Officer, Hope Enterprise Corporation, Hope Federal Credit Union, Hope Policy Institute
- David Clunie, Executive Director, Black Economic Alliance
- Gary Cunningham, President & CEO of Prosperity Now
- Nicole Elam, President and Chief Executive Officer, National Bankers Association (NBA)
- John Friedman, PDBF Distinguished Professor of Economics and International and Public Affairs, Brown University
- Gilbert Garcia, Managing Partner, Portfolio Manager, Garcia Hamilton & Associates, L.P.
- Bulbul Gupta, President & CEO, Pacific Community Ventures
- Darrick Hamilton, University Professor and Henry Cohen Professor of Economics and Urban Policy, The New School
- Michael McAfee, President and CEO, PolicyLink
- Michael Miebach, CEO, Mastercard
- Gina Nisbeth, Founder and President, 9th & Clinton Advisory
- Lorella Praeli, Co-President, Community Change & Community Change Action
- José Quiñonez, Founding CEO, Mission Asset Fund
- Carlos Rangel, Chief Investment Officer, W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF)
- Valerie Red-Horse Mohl, Co-Founder, Known Holdings
- Amanda Renteria, Chief Executive Officer, Code for America
- John Rogers, Founder, Chairman & Co-CEO, Ariel Investments
- Chiling Tong, President and Chief Executive Officer, National Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship (National ACE)
- Barika Williams, Executive Director, The Association for Neighborhood Housing & Development (ANHD)
- Felicia Wong, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Roosevelt Institute, Roosevelt Forward