Rock The Street, Wall Street Announces Three New Board Members

Rock The Street, Wall Street appointed three new members to its Board of Directors.

NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 18, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Rock The Street, Wall Street (RTSWS) is a Nashville-based 501(c)(3) organization that provides a financial and investment literacy program designed to bring both gender and racial equity to the financial markets and spark the interest of high school girls into careers of finance - discipline in the M of STEM. The program runs throughout the academic year, where female financial professionals provide first-hand instruction on saving, investing, and budgeting at their local high schools. Industry volunteers go into high school classrooms across 34 cities in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. and provide instruction on project-based learning techniques. These subjects include stock research and analysis, market assessments, saving and budgeting as well as college and career mentoring sessions. The program offers a Wall Street Experience field trip held at a local financial institution to learn about financial careers. Graduates of the program then have access to the newly launched RTSWS Internship and Job Portal to gain entry into the profession.

New to the Board of Directors:

• Olaolu Aganga, Senior Client CIO for Endowments and Foundations, BlackRock
• Michelle Borre Senior Portfolio Manager, Head of Fundamental Alternative Strategies, Invesco, Retired
• Penny Novick, Managing Director, Institutional Equity Division ("IED"), Global Co-Head of Prime Brokerage, Morgan Stanley

"We're thrilled to add these three strong female financial professionals to our Board who are committed to bringing gender and racial equity to the financial markets and are helping us expand our program to more students, cities and schools," said Maura Cunningham, Founder and CEO of Rock The Street, Wall Street. "To close the gender gap in wages, income, wealth accumulation and in the financial professions, we have to inspire girls to pursue the M in STEM by sparking their interest at a critical juncture in their lives, pre-college planning. STEM professions lift families out of poverty in one generation and we are grateful to our Board of Directors members for helping us make this mission possible."

Since its founding in 2013, more than 5,000 girls have gone through the RTSWS program. Upon completion of the program, students' comprehension of financial and investment concepts improve by an average of 78%, and their interest in pursuing a degree in finance, economics, or related field is five times higher than the national average of the average woman attending college. 73% of our students are from BIPOC populations and 48% are from low-income households.

About Our New Board of Directors Olaolu Aganga has expertise that spans across asset allocation, portfolio construction, advisory, derivatives, factor-based strategies, overlay strategies, and outsourced CIO. Olaolu is responsible for the investment performance on client mandates and for delivering the best of BlackRock's investment thinking. Prior to joining BlackRock in April 2018, Olaolu spent seven years at Goldman Sachs. While there, she advised institutional clients on a variety of investment solutions, including the use of factor-based strategies and derivatives to optimize their investment exposure. Prior to Goldman, she spent six years at Citigroup in various structuring, advisory and trading roles. Olaolu earned a BA in Mathematics from Smith College and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Olaolu served on the Stanford Graduate School of Business Alumni Board from 2019 – 2022.

Michelle Borré is an accomplished financial services professional, with expertise in investing, business strategy, and teaching. She is currently focused on financial education through non-
profit organizations providing personal finance instruction for young people and as the founder of a nascent financial education platform. Michelle was most recently Senior Portfolio Manager, Head of Fundamental Alternative Strategies at Invesco, a position she held following a merger with OppenheimerFunds, the firm she was with for 17 years. She spearheaded numerous diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Michelle holds a bachelor's degree from Barnard College, Columbia University Cum Laude, Dean's List and Departmental Honors and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School, Dean's List and membership in Beta Gamma Sigma, the international business honor society. Michelle was an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School for a decade and is a member of several professional organizations, including the CFA Institute, the CFA Society New York, and The Economic Club of New York.

Penny Novick is a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley within the Institutional Equity Division ("IED") as the Global Co-Head of Prime Brokerage and is a senior member of the management team serving within the Equity Operating Committee. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley in 2000, she held positions within PriceWaterhouseCoopers Consulting and Audit practices. She serves on three advisory councils for Cornell University, is on the Managed Fund's Association's Board of Directors as well as two MS Divisional Diversity Councils. Penny holds a BS from Cornell University, graduating with distinction, and an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business. She also holds a CPA license with the State of New York (inactive status).

About Rock The Street, Wall Street
Rock The Street, Wall Street is a financial and investment literacy program designed to bring both gender and racial equity to the financial markets and spark the interest of high school girls into careers of finance. Girls learn about positive money management habits and the capital markets, while simultaneously helping them see the real-world application of the math content they learn in the classroom. RTSWS programs are funded by sponsors; volunteers are female financial professionals who go into local high schools to teach the M in STEM, and serve as real-life role models and mentors for girls. RTSWS programs provide a strong focus on the barriers that need to be removed and the types of interventions that "lift" students' interest, commitment, and ability to persist in the M of the STEM fields. Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., RTSWS programs were in 51 high schools across 26 cities in the U.S. and Canada for the 2021-22 academic school year. In the fall of 2022, RTSWS will launch its first overseas chapter in London. RTSWS is a 501(c)(3) organization.

Media Contact

Emily Whitcomb, Rock The Street, Wall Street, 1 6307061308, [email protected]

SOURCE Rock The Street, Wall Street