Honoring:
Katherine Collins and Shigeatsu Hatakeyama
In 2022, our Gala honored two individuals whose impact, from Sustainable Investing to Ecological Restoration, continues to inspire green initiatives worldwide.
Gala Co-Chairs:
Megan Gates and Bill Whelan
Bill Hunt and Yuko Kageyama Hunt
Special Performance:
Shuichi Kotani
Soba Master - TOWARI New York
Junko Kobayashi
Odaiko New England
Katherine Collins
Katherine Collins is Head of Sustainable Investing at Putnam Investments and Portfolio Manager for Putnam's Sustainable Leaders and Sustainable Future Portfolios. She is also Founder of Honeybee Capital, the precursor to Honeybee Capital Foundation.
After many years serving as portfolio manager and head of research at Fidelity Investments, Katherine set out to re-integrate her investment philosophy with the broader world, traveling as a pilgrim and volunteer, earning her MTS degree at Harvard Divinity School, and studying biomimicry and the natural world as guides for investing in an integrated, regenerative way that is beneficial to our communities and our planet. Katherine is also the author of The Nature of Investing: Resilient Investment Strategies Through Biomimicry.
A recognized thought leader, Katherine was featured on Forbes 2021 list of leaders “50 Over 50” who are shaping the future of finance. Katherine is a graduate of Wellesley College where she majored in Japanese Studies and studied abroad at Nanzan University in Nagoya. She serves on the nonprofit boards of the Santa Fe Institute, the Omega Institute, Harvard Divinity School Dean's Council, and Wellesley Centers for Women. She is also a devoted amateur beekeeper.
Shigeatsu Hatakeyama
Shigeatsu Hatakeyama (畠山重篤) is Chairman of the Mori wa Umi no Koibito (森は海の恋人 - The Forest is longing for the Sea, the Sea is longing for the Forest). Upon taking over his family's oyster farming business, he realized how essential it was to protect forests in upstream areas as well as the rivers flowing into the ocean in order to conserve the marine environment. He is known as "Grandpa Oyster," having spent more than 30 years developing and maintaining the forest environment that keeps Kesennuma city's Ōkawa River clean and its oysters healthy.
He is Professor of Field Studies and Practical Learning at the Field Science Education and Research Center of Kyoto University.
Shigeatsu Hatakeyama is the recipient of the Asahi Forestry Culture Award (1994), the Prime Minister's Award for Afforestation Promotion (2003), and the Kenji Miyazawa Ihatov Award (2004), and was chosen by the United Nations Forum on Forests as one of 2012's Forest Heroes Award winners.