Power Players in Corporate Social Responsibility

Stasha Santifort currently serves as managing director of global purpose and social impact for Deloitte. In this role, Stasha designs strategies for how Deloitte and its 415,000 professionals can make an impact in society. This includes Deloitte’s WorldClass initiative to support 100 million people through education opportunities, as well as initiatives on the climate crisis, COVID-19, social innovation and humanitarian and disaster relief. Stasha earned her bachelor’s degree in public policy and Master’s of Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

Sheila Sarem is the founder of projectBASTA. ProjectBASTA is a nonprofit committed to bridging the college-to-career gap for first-generation college-goers of color. Before the founding of ProjectBASTA, Sarem served as the director of the national leadership recruitment team for the KIPP network. Sarem earned her bachelor’s degree in international business from Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver.

Mr. Scherl has more than twenty years of retail, residential, hospitality and mixed-use real estate experience, and is both a licensed attorney and CPA. Prior to joining HHC, he held positions at Blackpoint Partners, Loeb Partners Realty, Nomura Asset Capital, Piper Rudnick and Shaw Pittman, and Arthur Young and Company. Throughout his career, he has been involved in a broad range of acquisitions, dispositions, redevelopments and financings for properties across the U.S. He graduated from Emory University with a B.B.A. in accounting and received his J.D. from George Washington University.

Why is corporate social responsibility important to you and your organization?
When you’re in a leadership role, you lead by example. That means lifting up others – from our employees to the neighborhoods that we work and live in. At HHC, we know our success is predicated on creating an inclusive work environment for our staff and building equitable, resilient communities.

How does your organization ensure that CSR flows through all of its areas?
Everything we do is grounded in a commitment to diversity, equity, inclusivity and sustainability. This starts internally – making space for employees to give back, while also enacting policies to ensure people feel heard, empowered and respected. Every project we build is also a reflection of these shared values, from the initial design to the curation of tenants. We also donate significant time and resources to a diverse range of local nonprofits.

What are some of your organization’s specific CSR goals and what social impact do you hope to accomplish?
The same charitable focus that guides our work is a core part of our corporate culture, and we will continue to build strong relationships with local nonprofits and community groups. As stewards of the public realm, we will work with the city to bolster resiliency along the waterfront so it remains safe and accessible. The 250 Water project will embody all of our CSR goals, serving as a model for resilient design while also incorporating vital neighborhood amenities like free community space that complements our year-round free events and programming.

How would you describe CSR in three words?
Accountability, intentional, essential

Dr. Talya Schwartz was appointed president & CEO of MetroPlusHealth in 2019. During her tenure, MetroPlusHealth has achieved a 35% growth in membership, a five-star rating from New York State’s Consumer Guide, and an increase in overall net worth. Dr. Schwartz’s commitment to addressing the social determinants of health among New York’s most vulnerable communities is the pinnacle of her leadership. Dr. Schwartz earned her medical degree from the Sackler School of Medicine, and practiced at the Children’s National Medical Center.

Alex Servello is a director in corporate social responsibility for Verizon. In this role, Servello leads education and community initiatives as part of Citizen Verizon, the Verizon’s responsible business plan for economic, environmental, and social advancement. Previously, Servello served as executive director of digital learning and innovation for Yonkers Public Schools. Servello holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Boston University and master’s in education from University of Massachusetts Boston.

Andrew Simmons is the founder of one of the only Black-owned suppliers and fabricators of rebar in the United States. Based in New York, A&S Rebar’s steel is used on some of the largest most complex infrastructure projects in the Northeast such as JFK Airport, Laguardia Airport, Hunts Point, the Major Deegan Expressway, the World Trade Center, the Brooklyn Queens Expressway and many others. Simmons started a nonprofit that develops affordable housing and is outspoken regarding criminal justice reform and creating opportunities for Black and Brown business owners in construction.

Shamina Singh is the founder and president of the Center for Inclusive Growth at Mastercard. Singh also serves as the executive vice president of sustainability and is a member of Mastercard’s Management Committee. In her role as executive vice president of sustainability, Singh is responsible for the development and implementation of the environmental, social, and governance strategy across Mastercard. Singh earned a Bachelor of Science from Old Dominion University and a Master of Public Affairs from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. 

Jennifer is the chief corporate affairs officer at American Express. In this role, she oversees public affairs and media relations, social media, colleague communications, reputational risk management and corporate social responsibility. She is a member of the Company’s Executive Committee, as well as chairperson of the American Express Foundation. She serves on the University of Michigan’s Tri-State NextGen Leadership Council, is a member of the Institute for Public Relations Board of Directors, is on the National Trust for Historic Preservation Board of Trustees, sits on the Board of All in Together.

Why is corporate social responsibility important to you and your organization?
American Express is built on trust, integrity, and service excellence. Living up to this legacy means doing what is right for our colleagues, customers, and communities. Our strength comes from what we call “the powerful backing of American Express”—and our ESG strategy is a natural extension of this.

How does your organization ensure that CSR flows through all of its areas?  
Our ESG Steering Committee, consisting of senior executives from across the company, is responsible for advancing our ESG strategy and driving the integration of our priorities across the business. We established measurable goals and action plans to achieve our objectives across three core pillars of our ESG strategy: Promoting DE&I, Advancing Climate Solutions, and Building Financial Confidence. We actively look for opportunities to collaborate and innovate across the enterprise to strengthen our global impact for our colleagues, customers, and communities.

What are some of your organization’s specific CSR goals and what social impact do you hope to accomplish? 
We have pledged over $10 million in grants to back low-carbon communities by 2025 working with our nonprofit partners. One example is our work with C40 Cities to support the development of consumption-based emissions inventories in New York City and London, which will provide data that can be used to increase access to nutritious food and reduce waste. In addition, we have pledged $17 million through 2024 to support our Backing Small grant programs that provide funding and resources to thousands of small businesses globally, including our Backing Historic Small Restaurants program, which helps small restaurants that have contributed to the fabric of their community, and has completed its second round of grants in the US. Grantees included two New York City restaurants, Neir’s Tavern in Queens and B&H Dairy Kosher Vegetarian Restaurant in the East Village.

How would you describe CSR in three words?
Powerfully backing people

Hilary Smith is the executive vice president, corporate social responsibility for NBCUniversal. She is responsible for leading NBCUniversal’s global social impact strategy, philanthropic investments, and employee volunteer programs. In this capacity, she also works closely with business leaders throughout the company on important CSR initiatives in each division. Additionally, Smith oversees NBCUniversal’s award-winning public service announcement campaign, The More You Know.

Why is corporate social responsibility important to you and your organization?
We want to support the communities where we live and work by helping to create more access and equity in society, in our industry and within our own company. This goal is not only important to me and the company’s leadership, but it is increasingly a priority for the employee base. The workforce at NBCUniversal is very passionate about giving back. In the last 5 years over 30,000 employees have volunteered their time to participate in CSR projects. This speaks volumes about their desire to make an impact. Today, employees expect to work for a company that shares their values and provides opportunities to volunteer and make a meaningful difference.

How does your organization ensure that CSR flows through all of its areas?
NBCUniversal has many divisions across film, tv, news, parks and sports, each supporting causes and organizations that that are relevant to their business and surrounding community. At the corporate level, we have over 50 nonprofit partners that fall into three main categories: 1) building stronger communities, 2) empowering the next generation of storytellers and creators and 3) promoting media and technology skills. We work with each one of our nonprofit partners to craft custom, immersive volunteer opportunities for our employees. For example, we host a spring break “externship” for the girls of Step Up, where students from underserved communities spend a week in our offices learning about various roles at the company, hearing from speakers and learning how to craft a marketing campaign for a TV/streaming series or film. We also secure board seats on the boards of our nonprofit partners and place executives from all parts NBCU on these boards who go through an extensive board leadership training program that the company offers.

What are some of your organization’s specific CSR goals and what social impact do you hope to accomplish?
NBCUniversal is very focused on empowering the next generation of diverse storytellers, and creating pathways to careers at both our company and in the industry at large. To help accomplish this goal, we recently launched The Creative Impact Lab. This program provides grants to a dozen different nonprofits that operate like creative agencies and employ diverse apprentices who aspire to be future content creators. We commission these nonprofit agencies to develop marketing assets (i.e. PSA’s, social media assets and sizzle reels) for Comcast’s and NBCUniversal’s existing portfolio of nonprofit partners across a myriad of sectors– from health and human services to education to arts, media and technology. NBCUniversal’s creative executives serve as mentors on each one of these projects. The completed assets are given exposure on the platforms and networks of Comcast and NBCUniversal.

How would you describe CSR in three words?
Essential, impactful, meaningful

Brian Smith is the senior vice president of corporate and community relations for the New York Yankees. In this role, Smith oversees the New York Yankees’ efforts dedicated to engaging and combining resources with their neighbors, community-based organizations, local officials and corporate partners to promote access and enhance the quality of life throughout the surrounding community. Smith earned his bachelor’s degree and a master’s in sports management from the University of Tulsa.