Core Faculty
FAculty
The Redwoods Initiative team has extensive experience in wealth management, philanthropic services, and business initiatives. Each module is taught by a faculty consultant with Abby Raphel leading as co-facilitator. Faculty credentials are based on sector knowledge, experience and excellent teaching ability.
Nell Derick Debevoise is the founder and CEO of Inspiring Capital, which matches business professionals with social ventures to help them grow sustainably. Forbes called Inspiring Capital’s flagship program “a Teach for America for MBAs interested in nonprofits and social enterprises”. Nell teaches Impact Investing at NYU and co-founded Global Good Sports, which helps corporate clients develop messaging and programs about their community responsibility initiatives. She can’t say no to opportunities to evaluate and advise purpose-driven startups.
Previously, Nell was founding director of Tomorrow's Youth Organization, a nonprofit supporting children and women in the Middle East. She studied psychology, education, and entrepreneurship at Harvard, Columbia, London Business School, and Cambridge. Nell has spoken about business-minded social change at Columbia, Harvard, Yale, the World Bank, UN, CFA Institute, and other global stages, alongside President Bill Clinton, former First Lady Cherie Blair, and Sir Ronald Cohen. She has lived and worked on four continents, and speaks fluent French and Italian, as well as enough Arabic, Japanese, and Brazilian Portuguese to raise eyebrows.