Paul D. Merrill Lecture Series - Video

Joe is President and Chief Executive Officer of Pax World Funds and its investment adviser, Pax World Management LLC, as well as its majority-owned subsidiary, Pax Ellevate Management LLC. Under Joe’s leadership, Pax World has become one of the leading innovators and asset managers in the rapidly growing field of sustainable investing. Prior to joining Pax World, Joe was President of NewCircle Communications, a strategic consulting and communications firm specializing in corporate social responsibility and public policy-oriented communications. He served as Senior Adviser for Strategic Social Policy at Calvert Group from 2003-2005 and as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Citizens Advisers from 1997-2000. He is a former member of the Board of Directors (2000-2006) of US SIF, the trade association representing asset managers and investors engaged in sustainable investing throughout the United States. Joe has written and spoken widely on the subjects of sustainable investing and women’s empowerment. Recent thought leadership papers include “Gender Equality as an Investment Concept” and “Women and Impact Investing.” He is Co-Chair of the Leadership Group for the Women’s Empowerment Principles, a joint program of the United Nations Global Compact and UN Women and also serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of Women Thrive Worldwide, a leading non-profit organization shaping U.S. international assistance and trade policy to help women in developing countries lift themselves out of poverty. Joe was named by Ethisphere Magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics” in 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012 and 2015. In 2012, he was recognized by Women’s eNews as one of “21 Leaders for the 21st Century,” where he was the sole male honoree and in 2014 Joe was honored at the United Nations as one of five recipients of the Women’s Empowerment Principles Leadership Award. In 2015, Financial Times named him one of its “top feminist men” for his work helping women succeed in business and beyond. He is a former Democratic Nominee for United States Congress in New Hampshire’s First Congressional District and a former Chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party and member of the Democratic National Committee. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the College of the Holy Cross and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.

As president of Hancock Lumber Company, Kevin Hancock leads a sixth-generation family business that has operated since 1848. Headquartered in Casco, Maine, the company has 10 retail stores and three sawmills, and employs 425 people. The company also owns and manages 12,000 acres of timberland in Cumberland and Oxford counties. In 2014, Timber Processing Magazine recognized Kevin as its forest products industry “Person of the Year.” He is past chairman of the Northeast Retail Lumber Association, 
the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association and the Bridgton Academy Board of Trustees. Under his leadership, Hancock Lumber has been recognized as the Maine International Trade Center’s Exporter of the Year and the Maine Family Business of the Year. Additionally, the company received the Governor’s Award for Business Excellence and most recently became a 2014 “Best Places to Work” recipient. A graduate of Lake Region High School and Bowdoin College, Kevin travels often to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, where he has connected with residents and key organizations. Kevin has created a nonprofit called “The Seventh Power” to support initiatives on the reservation and is currently writing a book, titled Not For Sale: Finding Myself in the Land of Crazy Horse, about the history and modern day life of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.

Paul D. Merrill Business Ethics Lecture Eli Pariser, Author of "The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding from You" Eli Pariser is an author, online organizer, and the co-founder of Upworthy, a new startup focused on making content that matters go viral. During his time at MoveOn.org, from 2001 to 2008, the organization grew by 10 times and collected nearly $120,000,000 in small donations. His book, The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding from You, is a New York Times bestseller, and his TED talk on the same topic has been seen over 2 million times and was called one of the top talks of the year by TED curator Chris Anderson. Pariser also helped start Avaaz.org, a global online movement with over 24 million members in every country on earth, and has served on the boards of the Open Society Foundations' US Programs, the New Organizing Institute, Avaaz, MoveOn, Access, and a number of other organizations. Pariser grew up in Lincolnville, Maine, and attended Bard College at Simon's Rock. He now lives in Fort Greene in Brooklyn, NY.

Chicken is in David Barber’s blood. He has lived and breathed the family business his entire life, starting at a young age by regularly going into work with his father, Gus, who started the family business with his wife, Marjorie, 55 years ago. David started working summers at Barber Foods at the age of 12 and joined the company full time 1981 after receiving a bachelor of science degree in marketing from Babson College in Wellesley, Mass. He has worked in every aspect of the business including, boning chicken, truck driving, maintenance, quality assurance, product development, human resources and operations. As the need for sales became more important, David assumed this responsibility in 1984. In 1987, David and his brother Steve became the second generation managers as their father Gus stepped back from day to day operations. They initiated aggressive expansion of the family business focusing on national distribution. As vice president of sales and marketing, David’s responsibilities grew to include Barber Foods’ Retail, Club, Food Service and National Account divisions In his position as executive vice president, David played an integral role in multiple areas of the business in addition to his focus on sales and marketing. David also insures that his late father Gus’ legacy of an unshakeable commitment to quality, service and associates continues. Barber Foods produces close to 70 percent of all the stuffed chicken sold in the United States. Their retail and foodservice products can be found across the country and Canada and in some foreign markets. In 2010, David became president and CEO of the company, leading it through an acquisition with AdvancePierre Foods, an Ohio-based company with 11 plants in four states. During this time he has been instrumental with the integration of Barber Foods into the significantly larger AdvancePierre Foods. David grew up in Cape Elizabeth, where he currently resides with his wife and two sons. He enjoys living in Maine and takes advantage of all it has to offer with activities such as boating, skiing, hiking and swimming. Growing up in the food business, David enjoys cooking with his family and friends.

Diana Henriques, author of the best-selling The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust, and a contributing writer for The New York Times, spoke on "What Bernie Madoff Can Teach Us About Business Ethics" on Apr. 12, 2012 as part of the UNE's annual P.D. Merrill Business Ethics Lecture Series.

Matthew R. Simmons, M.B.A., author, co-founder of the Ocean Energy Institute and chairman emeritus of Simmons & Company International, spoke on "Our Fragile Energy System: Is It sustainable? If not, Where Do We Turn Next?" on Apr. 8, 2010.

Chris Argyris, Ph.D., James Bryant Conant Professor of Education and Organizational Behavior at the Harvard Grad School of Business, spoke on "I-Traps, Leadership, Culture" on Mar. 27, 2008 as part of the UNE's P.D. Merrill Business Ethics Lecture Series.

Robert A. G. Monks, pioneering shareholder activist and one of the founders of the field of corporate governance, spoke on "Shareholder Responsibility" on Feb. 26, 2009 as part of the UNE's P.D. Merrill Business Ethics Lecture Series.