Penelope Douglas is co-founder and partner at The Heritas Group, a pioneer in community development and impact investing. Douglas serves as Chair of Mission Hub LLC. The organization includes Impact Hubs in San Francisco, Berkeley, Philadelphia, and New York City, and the annual SOCAP event. SOCAP connects leading global innovators–investors, foundations, institutions, and social entrepreneurs– to build a market at the intersection of money and meaning.
Previously Douglas co-founded and served twelve years as CEO of Pacific Community Ventures. PCV’s mission is to invest human, intellectual, and financial capital in small businesses for the benefit of economically underserved communities.
During her tenure Douglas helped create 5,000+ jobs for lower-income workers at 250 small businesses and secured $60 million of committed capital.
For three decades Douglas has applied her strategic acumen and dedication to social change for organizations including New Resource Bank, Wells Fargo, Ernst & Young, Morrison & Foerster, Odwalla, New Mexico Community Capital, San Francisco’s Larkin Street Youth Center, and others.
Her work as a pioneer of “compassionate capitalism” has been profiled by the New York Times, NPR, the San Francisco Chronicle, and California magazine. Douglas is a recipient of the Robert A. McNeeley Trailblazer Award, the highest award bestowed annually to an individual who demonstrates visionary work and strategic leadership in the field of economic development.
Douglas is an athlete who has competed in ultra marathons and Ironman distance triathlons, twice qualifying for the World Championships. She is an artist whose paintings and drawings have been exhibited publicly. Penelope is a native Californian and graduate of Smith College.