Guest Speaker Explores Economics and the Environment

On Wednesday, January 15^th, Morristown-Beard students learned about corporate social responsibility and sustainable development from Ellen Brooks Shehata, a Partner for Business Development & Strategy at Aeon Strategy, a New York and Saudi Arabia-based consulting firm.

During her visit, she spoke with Mr. McCormick’s Environmental Economics class as well as members of the BFI (Business, Finance and Investment) Club.

In her current role with Aeon Strategy, Ms. Brooks Shehata conducts research and provides project and policy support on issues of energy and the environment. For more than 10 years, she worked in the Middle East in finance, investment advisory, fundraising, and policy; most recently a Vice President in JPMorgan's Private Banking division.

After earning a B.A. in Art History from UCLA, she moved to Egypt in 2009, a country that she considered “the most stable country in the Middle East at the time.” Just two years later, Egypt was embroiled in a revolution and President Mubarak resigned after 18 days of massive protests over corruption, underdevelopment and unemployment.  Ms. Brooks Shehata discussed daily life in Egypt during the revolution as well as entrepreneurship in the country after 2011.

She also gave the students an overview of ESG (environmental, social and governance) investing, which is an investment strategy that seeks to consider both financial return as well as the long-term impact on society, the environment, and the performance of the business.  Ms. Brooks Shehata said that the growth of ESG investing illustrates the power of the consumer, as investors are increasingly putting their money where their values are.