WHAT WE DO

Purposeful Growth Institute was established in 2021 to take the Fellowships created by Inspiring Capital (a Certified B Corp) to the next level. PGI is leveraging almost 10 years of Inspiring Capitals’ commitment to creating an ecosystem of purpose-driven individuals and organizations, all of whom are ready for the new economy and a revitalized planet.

ABOUT US

Purposeful Growth Institute was established to take the Fellowships created by Inspiring Capital (a Certified B Corp) to the next level. PGI is leveraging almost 10 years of Inspiring Capitals’ commitment to creating an ecosystem of purpose-driven individuals and organizations, all of whom are ready for the new economy and a revitalized planet.

FOUNDATIONS WE’RE BUILDING ON

Our Mission

Our mission is to help individuals, organizations, and employers match their talent, interests, and needs with the needs of their community and the world, so they can do work that matters. As a result, our partners contribute to a fairer, healthier, and more equitable world!

Our Values

Willingness

to do the work of purposeful growth: self-reflection; deep questioning; and authentic, ego-free, collaborative peer interaction.

Imagination

of all the ways that business can be a force for good, and how we can find healthier, fairer, and more inclusive ways of working and living.

Courage

to do what’s required for a more inclusive, antiracist, and sustainable form of capitalism, even when that means going first in some way.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

PGI’s mission is to help individuals, organizations, and employers align their skills, interests, and needs with the needs of their communities. Working toward that mission is our contribution to our vision of fair, healthy, and purposeful work for all. Our efforts to be a diverse, equitable, and inclusive employer and partner are an integral part of achieving this mission and vision.

We use evidence-based selection techniques to identify the most highly qualified Fellows and staff from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, with visible and invisible traits as diverse as the people and communities our partners serve. Our commitment to being a learning organization includes self-awareness exercises, continued education, and guided reflection about bias, antiracism, inclusive leadership, and radical empathy, among other development topics. These practices ensure that our Fellows, employees, and partners stay actively engaged in advancing justice in our individual lives, on our teams, and with our communities.

Our team

Nell Derick Debevoise

CEO and Co-Founder

Nell is a thought partner to purpose-driven leaders, as well as speaker, author, Founder and CEO of Inspiring Capital, and President of PGI. She helps CEOs and CHROs expand their impact, grow their businesses, and build powerful legacies. She has lived and worked on 4 continents, and collaborated across sectors with Japanese executives, Palestinian community leaders, French high school students, and Mozambique education ministry officials among others.

Nell studied leadership, innovation, and intercultural dialog at Harvard, Cambridge, Universita di Roma, and Columbia and London Business Schools. She is a Senior Contributor for Forbes, and her first book, Going First: An Invitation to Find the Courage to Lead Purposefully and Inspire Action (early 2022) is an International Best Seller.

Nicolette Cabbell

Program, Recruiting & Inclusion Manager

Nicolette’s personal mission is to amplify diverse voices and empower professionals to lead. Helping students, professionals, and organizations connect to their purpose allows me to fulfill my personal mission of empowering people from all backgrounds to be their authentic selves and create a better world.

Nicolette is a truly purpose-driven professional herself, having already worked in a wide array of industries, including law, education, and business, including corporate and start-up settings.

Having served as the Program and Community Manager at Inspiring Capital, Nicolette now exercises her passion to connect and empower purpose-driven individuals as for PGI.

Jayne Rosefield

Board of Directors

Jayne Rosefield leads the Chicago office of Brunswick Group, a global advisory firm specializing in critical issues and corporate relations.

Jayne advises clients on a broad range of communications strategies and issues, with a focus on corporate reputation mandates as well as special situations including M&A, activism and crisis. Having split her career between New York and London before moving to Chicago, Jayne also brings a strong international perspective in running cross-border mandates and multi-stakeholder campaigns.

Prior to joining Brunswick in 2005, Jayne worked in the Syndicated and Leveraged Finance group at JPMorgan in New York. Jayne has a Bachelor of Arts degree (Magna Cum Laude) in History and Literature from Harvard University, and a Masters of Arts degree (Distinction) in English Literature from University College London.

Sasha Prince

Director of Partnerships

Sasha’s mantra is “a passion for people” and she has lived out that motto both personally and professionally. While Sasha dedicates ample personal time providing her spirit, education and time to support organizations within her community, she has also applied her passion for people into great professional success in Sales & Marketing.

Spanning over two decades, Sasha has been extremely fortunate to have spent her entire career in the “people” business, becoming a seasoned Sales & Marketing expert. Sasha has previously worked in the private sector in a variety of sales and marketing leadership roles. She then went on to establish her own consulting business specializing in marketing strategies that bridged the gap between organizations and their consumers. Her goal is to bring together people and businesses that are committed to having a positive effect on the world.

Humaira Wakili

Board of Directors

As an innovative executive with fifteen years of experience in global strategy, operations, and transformational leadership, Humaira works with CEOs, founders, corporations, nonprofits, and governments to create impactful strategies – and then I build the most diverse teams to operationalize them.

Throughout the U.S., Middle East, and Africa, I focus on the intersection of impact investment and sustainable development – particularly in fragile and emerging markets, conflict zones, and vulnerable and marginalized communities.

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