Dan Apfel, Executive Director

Dan has been an advocate for social and environmental issues for nearly ten years, and was an advocate for responsible investment while in college. At REC, Dan works with the staff, board, and student steering committee. He works with allies in advocacy organizations, industry, and the university community, and directs REC's work.

Prior to joining the REC Dan served as a Program Officer at the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions, where he worked with credit unions serving diverse low- and moderate-income communities around the country. He managed a coalition of 16 credit unions running free tax-preparation sites that filed over 3,500 returns for low-income people in 200 and co-administered the New York State Coalition of Community Development Financial Institutions. While living in Rochester, NY Dan also lived in and served on the boards of two student housing cooperatives, the EcoHouse and the Ant Hill Cooperative.

Dan is passionate about creating democratic institutions that serve their communities. He loves the outdoors, and aside from changing the way the world invests its money, Dan dreams of sailing around the globe. Email him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Martin Bourqui, National Organizer

Martin coordinated a responsible investment campaign at Tufts University with the help of REC, and now in turn supports movements on campuses nationwide as REC's national organizer. He was born in England, raised in Texas, educated in the Boston area, and now lives in New York City. Prior to REC, he was the office manager at the College Club of Boston, a historic bed and breakfast in Boston's Back Bay, and working with Citizens for Voter Choice, a grassroots campaign to propose instant runoff voting on the Massachusetts ballot. He has also worked with the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts and at Americans for Democratic Action in Washington, D.C. When not discussing our political, economic, and educational systems, Martin enjoys playing the piano and guitar, and looking for the next big ideas that will shape our society's future. Email him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Angela M. Mootz, Development Associate

Angela is the Development Associate at the Responsible Endowments Coalition. Working with REC staff and board, Angela develops and executes campaigns to increase awareness among internal and external communities, promoting donor engagement and participation. Angela is a graduate of Rutgers University and holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations (with Distinction) from The University of Kent in Brussels. Prior to joining the Responsible Endowments Coalition, Angela was the Development Coordinator for the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, one of New York City’s premier think tanks in international affairs and globalization studies. Angela worked to raise awareness and funding for the Carnegie Council’s varied programs, 70+ annual public seminars, quarterly academic journal and several online magazines and websites. She recently completed her Certificate in Fundraising from NYU and her interests include foreign languages, international travel and migration theory. She has lived extensively in Europe and speaks fluent German and French. Email her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Lauren Caruso, Field Organizer

Lauren hails from upstate New York and has been dedicated to social and environmental change for many years. As a college student, Lauren combined both her academic and activist work by participating in and leading several environmental, good government, and feminist groups on campus and in the community. Since receiving her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Women’s Studies in 2006, Lauren has organized and trained student advocates with the New York Public Interest Research Group, the state’s largest environmental and consumer advocacy organization. Lauren has also served as an HIV prevention educator for a community based AIDS service organization and she is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Public and Nonprofit Management and Policy at New York University. In her spare time, Lauren enjoys time with her dog/friends/family, gardening, photography, experimenting with food, and connecting with music. Issues that Lauren is particularly passionate about include gender and sexual equality, environmental sustainability, and education reform. Email her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Student Organizers

Each year REC recruits a team of Student Organizers to help support the work going on at our coalition schools and beyond. Meet our 2009 - 2010 Student Organizers below:

Greg Caplan, Midwest Student Organizer

Greg Caplan is a junior at the University of Michigan majoring in Business with a minor in the Environment. On campus, he is the co-chair of the Environmental Issues Commission as well as University of Michigan Earth Week. He has also worked for two summers at Granite Creek Partners, a private equity firm in Chicago and one summer at OfficeMax Inc. in corporate social responsibility. Greg is excited to merge his interests in business and sustainability to bring about change! Email him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Jay Cassano, Northeast Student Organizer

Jay is a senior at Hampshire College and is concentrating in philosophy and anthropology, with a particular interest in the history of systems of thought. He was born in Camp LeJeune, North Carolina, and has lived in various places throughout the United States east coast. Prior to attending Hampshire, he graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy with a Classical diploma. His non-academic activities include participating in an independent, collective record label called, Fall of the West; and activist work, primarily focused on workplace democracy and Palestinian solidarity. Jay is also a vegetarian who passes the time playing soccer and the violin. Email him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Olivia Grugan, Northeast Student Organizer

Olivia Grugan is a sophomore “feb” student at Middlebury College in Vermont. She is decidedly undecided, but knows that she wants to work on social justice. She got involved with the college’s Socially Responsible Investment club during her first semester at Middlebury. Being involved in SRI provided Olivia with a way confront many of the issues that she struggled with her senior year of high school. Olivia spent that year as an elementary school English teacher in Guatemala. For the first time in her life she began to fully appreciate her privilege and how that translates into responsibility. Much of her current motivation to do social justice work stems from her work in Guatemala.

At Middlebury, Olivia’s social justice work has focused on environmental issues. She attended Powershift 2009 and began to brainstorm ways to directly incorporate environmental issues into her SRI work. When Olivia is not working on these issues—or when she just needs a break—she dances. She prides herself on dancing everything from swing, to salsa, to modern. In her free time Olivia enjoys playing piano and guitar, calling home to her four younger siblings, and exploring her surroundings. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Illai Kenney, Southeast Student Organizer

Illai is a junior at Howard University in Washington DC and a leader within the powerful Black Youth Vote movement working to increase civic participation. She co-founded Georgia Kids Against Pollution when she was 12 and has traveled the world advocating for environmental justice. She has been featured in the NRDC ONEARTH Magazine, the NAACP Crisis Magazine, BBC News, Teen People Magazine, Time Magazine, Pick Up and Go and received the 2003 Brower Youth Award, the nation's most prestigious recognition of environmental activists between the ages of 13 and 22. She was the youngest delegate at the UN World Conference on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg South Africa; participated in the Africa Futures Forum in Dakar, Senegal; helped to establish KAP environmental clubs in Africa, and presented testimony before the EPA in Washington, DC. She is also a member of the Environmental Justice Climate Change Climate Corps advocating environmental sustainability on HBCU campuses, as well as the National Council of Negro Women. Email her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Maura Rendes, Pacific Northwest Student Organizer

Maura is a junior Public Affairs/Non-Profit Leadership major at Seattle University (SU) in Washington. Originally from Redding, California, she is active in the Oxfam SU chapter; the co-executive director of Up ‘til Dawn at SU; a new Student Mentor within the Millie Brown Russell Leadership Community; and a Sullivan Leadership Scholar. This past year, Maura worked to launch a SU Committee on Responsible Investment, and plans to continue encouraging RI at her university next year, working with trustees and social justice student organizations. Maura loves reading, the outdoors, and most of all traveling! Email her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Mary Schellentrager, Mid-Atlantic Student Organizer

Mary is a senior at American University in Washington, DC majoring in Anthropology. She hails from the snowbelt of northeast Ohio but has recently studied on the equator at the University of Ghana. She is active on campus with the Community Action and Social Justice Coalition, and in the clubs Solidarity and Justice Not Jails. Her greatest campaign victory was winning the right for her school's shuttle bus drivers to unionize. When not organizing around corporate responsibility, Mary works at the National Abortion Federation. She especially enjoys drum circles, craft projects, singing, potlucks, blowing bubbles and spending time with her housemates. Email her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Tahiya Sultan, California Student Organizer

Tahiya is a sophomore at the University of California, Berkeley, pursuing a major in Peace and Conflict Studies. Born in Montreal, Canada, Tahiya grew up in San Diego, California. She has worked closely with organizations such as STAND and Amnesty International, organizing benefit events to address social justice issues. In 2006, she was invited to attend a Global Poverty Fighting Summit in New York City, where she interacted with other student activists and met United Nations representatives. In her free time, Tahiya enjoys shopping, spending time with friends and family, writing, reading and playing basketball. Email her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it