Goldhirsh Foundation Names Groundbreaking All-Female Investment Committee

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03/14/2024 - 10:00 AM

Team includes C-level executives from industries including finance, real estate, food, and philanthropy

LOS ANGELES, March 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Goldhirsh Foundation announced its new all-female investment committee—believed to be the first such investment committee at an organization of its size and scope. The committee members are: Shana Barghouti, Natasha Case, Celestine Schnugg, and Ruth Wernig.

This new, all-female, investment committee is believed to be the first such at an organization of this size and scope.

The quartet of executives have experience at organizations such as ReMY Investors, Coolhaus Ice Cream, Boom Capital, and The California Endowment; they take over after 10 years of successful service by the prior committee.

"All four women on our new investment committee have proven themselves as business and civic leaders, as well as visionaries, during the course of their careers," said Tara Roth, President of the Goldhirsh Foundation. "This is a mission-aligned group that knows what a good investment looks like. I am honored that Shana, Natasha, Celestine, and Ruth have chosen to join our team, and I can't wait for us to get to work."

The Goldhirsh Foundation, which invests capital with innovative individuals, companies, funds, and organizations in order to make systemic change, has an endowment of approximately $60 million.

The new committee – with the experience, network, and expertise they bring – further solidifies a strategic shift for the Goldhirsh Foundation's endowment. For years, the Foundation has invested with purpose, and since early 2023, the organization's investing has become 100% mission-aligned.

The increased presence of women on investment committees has been shown to boost equity—in both meanings of the word. According to a 2019 study from HEC Paris business school, female-inclusive investment committees in private equity have outperformed male-only teams and are 27% more likely to have exhibited substantial value creation. Meanwhile, data from All Raise shows that in the United States, only 15.2% of check writers are women.

The Goldhirsh Foundation has invested in funds that seek to maximize human potential and wellness. Current funds include but are not limited to: Collaborative Fund, Lowercarbon Capital, M13, Obvious Ventures, Clean Industry Ventures (CIV), Willow Growth Partners, Core Innovation Capital, Slauson & Co, 2045 Ventures, New Mountain Capital, Boom Capital, and Tubbs Ventures. The Foundation also invests directly in enterprises including but not limited to: Sonera, Sanmai Technologies, Encantos Media, NationBuilder, Everytable, Bookshop.org, Good Mvmt, Climate Candy, and Optimist Drinks.

Meet the members of the Goldhirsh Foundation investment committee:

Shana Barghouti, Co-Chief Investment Officer at ReMY Investors, a multi-family investment firm based in Los Angeles. Prior to ReMY, Shana was a partner at Angeles Investment Advisors, where she managed the investment portfolios of several endowments, foundations and other non-profit organizations. Previously, Shana worked for Wilshire Associates, serving governmental pension funds. Before her career in finance, Shana was an advertising copywriter at BBDO and Saatchi & Saatchi. Shana holds an MBA from UCLA and an AB in Philosophy from Harvard, where she was captain of the varsity women's lacrosse team. She serves on the Board of the Griffith Observatory Foundation and on the Regional Advisory Council for KPCC/LAist. She lives in Los Angeles with her two sons.

Natasha Case, Co-Founder and was the CEO of Coolhaus Ice Cream until its successful acquisition in 2021. Natasha co-founded Future Gin, the first all-queer and women-owned spirit in the US and is now the Founder and CEO of Lunch Bunch enrichments + nutritious food for schools. She became a Commissioner of Cultural Affairs for the City of LA in 2023 and joined the Victory Campaign Board in 2024. Natasha serves on the board of UCLA School of Arts & Architecture, Larchmont Charter School, Startup UCLA, and has served as a judge for Chopped, Top Chef Jr, Alex vs America, the Sam Adams Brewing the American Dream, Ad Age Awards, and Harvard-Westlake Venture Club/Inc. In 2019, she joined YPO (Beverly Hills chapter). Natasha has been named a Forbes 30 Under 30, Zagat 30 Under 30, LinkedIn 10 under 35, 10 Most Successful Women in Business by Leaders Globe, and UCLA's LGBTQ+ 2019 Alum of the Year. She is a published author of the Coolhaus Ice Cream Book (2014) and was the co-host and executive producer of 'Start to Sale' podcast (Eater/Vox Media).

Celestine Schnugg, Founding Managing Partner of Boom Capital, an early stage venture capital fund. She is recognized as the first investor in Mammoth Biosciences, and early investor in Swarm (SpaceX), Astra (NASDAQ: ASTR), and Planet Labs (NYSE: PL). In addition to being the first check for frontier tech, Celestine convenes a scientific society. Prior to starting Boom, Celestine worked at Eric Schmidt's Innovation Endeavors and Apple.

Ruth Wernig, former Chief Investment Officer of The California Endowment. The California Endowment is a private health foundation established in 1996 to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities. As CIO, she was responsible for a $3.5 billion endowment. She helped diversify the portfolio of investment managers to include person-of-color led investment firms. She helped steward TCE's venture into mission and impact investing, all while improving the overall performance of the portfolio. She retired in June of 2021. Previously, Ruth was Treasurer of the University of Southern California from 2004-2010. She was responsible for overseeing the investment management of the university's endowment, working capital, pension and life income assets of $3.5B. Ruth has her undergraduate degree from Brown University and an MBA from Boston University. She is a CFA. She sits on the Board of St. Joseph Center in Venice and chairs the Finance Committee.

About the Goldhirsh Foundation

At the Goldhirsh Foundation, (www.goldhirshfoundation.org), we connect the dots between the best emerging innovations and the financial, social, and human capital to make them thrive.