Social Enterprise Conference, Capital for GoodDigital Event Series

Robert Rooks
Chief Executive Officer of REFORM

Robert Rooks is one of the nation’s premier criminal justice reformers with more than two decades of experience as a grassroots organizer, strategist, and movement leader. He is an expert in building and scaling social justice organizations and has been instrumental in winning groundbreaking criminal justice reforms across the country.

Robert’s work is rooted in his experience growing up in Dallas, Texas and seeing his community decimated by the crack cocaine epidemic. Devastated by the pervasive violence and incarceration, distraught by the absence of support, and driven by the desire to give her children greater opportunity and access to education, sports and services, Robert’s mother moved him and his siblings to a suburban community. This gave Robert a unique lens into two worlds. Motivated to heal these wounds and create change for the next generation, Robert dedicated his life to advocating for and changing policies on behalf of crime survivors, people in the justice system, and formerly incarcerated people.

Under Robert’s leadership, REFORM is promoting smart reforms that reduce unnecessary supervision and create pathways to work and wellbeing. REFORM has won major legislative reforms to transform probation and parole systems in states as diverse as California, Georgia, and Mississippi and lifted up the experiences of people on supervision to educate the public and build support for broader change.

Prior to joining REFORM, Robert co-founded and served as the CEO of Alliance for Safety and Justice (ASJ), the largest state-by-state public safety reform organization in the nation. Read more about Robert Rooks here.

Deborah Dugan
Strategist for Social Impact

Deborah Dugan is a chief strategist for Social Impact at Handshake Consulting. Prior to this, she served as CEO of (RED), President of Disney Publishing, and CEO of the Recording Academy.

Featured in Forbes “100 Most Powerful Women,” named by ELLE as “Top Women to Help Change the World,” Deborah, with (RED), also received PTTOW’s “Nelson Mandela’s Change-Maker Award.”

Deborah resides in New York City.

Aron Betru ’06BUS
Chief Strategic Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Trident;
Senior Fellow at Milken Institute

Aron Betru is the chief strategic officer and chief operating officer at Trident. Joining Trident in summer 2021, Mr. Betru is responsible for social impact initiatives for Trident and portfolio companies, key strategic partnerships, and leads fundraising efforts. Mr. Betru is also a member of Trident’s investment committee. Mr. Betru has more than 20 years of financial sector, strategic consulting, and social impact experience. Prior to Trident, Mr. Betru was the managing director of the Milken Institute’s Center for Financial Markets, leading a financial markets public policy team with a focus on financial innovations for social good. Mr. Betru was a member of the steering group for the Blended Finance TaskForce launched by the Business & Sustainable Development Commission as well as co-chaired the Partnership for Lending in Underserved Markets, a joint initiative with the U.S. Small Business Administration. Prior to the Milken Institute, Mr. Betru was the co-founder and chief executive officer at Financing For Development, specializing in innovative financing solutions for international development. Mr. Betru’s extensive experience includes economic development roles at the United Nations Foundation, TechnoServe, and Dalberg Global Development Advisors, as well as private sector experience at McKinsey & Co. and Goldman Sachs. Mr. Betru is a member of board of directors for Calvert Impact Capital, National Bankers Community Alliance, FHI360, African Leaders Malaria Alliance, and FHI Foundation, as well as a senior advisor to Milken Institute, Financial Health Network, and Wells Fargo MDI Investment Committee. He holds an MBA from Columbia University, an MA from Johns Hopkins SAIS, and a BA in economics and international studies from Northwestern University.

Jorge Guzman
Assistant Professor at Columbia Business School

Dr. Jorge Guzman is an assistant professor at the Management Division in Columbia Business School. Jorge received his PhD from the Sloan School of Management at MIT, and was previously a postdoc at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and a lecturer at MIT Sloan. His research focuses on entrepreneurship policy, regional entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurial strategy. He was previously involved in the Boston startup ecosystem, and has been an advisor to numerous startups on varied topics, and to regional and national policy agencies on the design of entrepreneurship ecosystems.