Sr. Nora Nash, OSF

Sr. Nora Nash, OSF, the nun who speaks truth to power, will receive an honorary degree from Neumann University and address the graduates on Saturday, May 16, on the South Lawn of the university campus. The ceremony begins at 12:30 p.m.

An advocate of peace, reconciliation and social justice, Sr. Nora has become known as the conscience of Wall Street for taking on corporate powerhouses such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, CitiGroup, Mellon, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo. She and her colleagues at the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) argue that banks should protect consumers, roll back executive salaries and promote a just economy.

The ICCR is a multi-denominational group, which monitors investments from an ethical and moral perspective, and buys just enough shares in corporations to have a voice at shareholder meetings.

Her goal of injecting morality into boardroom discussions doesn’t stop with the world of finance. She and ICCR associates have met with executives from Walmart, McDonald’s, Hasbro, BP, Boeing, General Electric and others to discuss issues that range from nuclear arms and childhood obesity to farm workers’ rights and the minimum wage. She is also very involved with the issues of human trafficking and hydraulic fracturing, advocating passionately on behalf of those without a voice in the legal and corporate spheres of influence.

Recognized internationally for her shareholder advocacy work, she has been the subject of news coverage by The New York Times, the Guardian, Time magazine and National Public Radio.

Born in County Limerick, Ireland, Sr. Nora was professed as a Sister of St. Francis of Philadelphia in 1961 and then served as a Catholic school teacher or administrator until 1993. She is a graduate of Neumann University and currently serves as director of Corporate Social Responsibility for the Sisters of St. Francis, the congregation that founded Neumann in 1965. She manages the congregation’s assets for responsible investment and supervises community development loans and social justice grants.