The Hitachi Foundation Names Tides CEO Melissa L. Bradley to Board of Directors

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 15, 2011) – The Hitachi Foundation announced the addition of Tides Foundation CEO and social entrepreneur Melissa L. Bradley to its Board of Directors. Bradley brings extensive experience in financial services, socially responsible investing, and philanthropy to the Foundation.

“Melissa Bradley’s extensive background and successful track record is a compelling addition, one that is strategically aligned with the Foundation’s ongoing efforts to create transformative opportunities for low-wealth Americans, their families and communities through sustainable business practices,” said Barbara Dyer, president and CEO of the Foundation.

“My life’s work has been to create resources and opportunities for those society has deemed ineligible.” Bradley said. “The Hitachi Foundation understands the central role that business must play in this work. The Hitachi Foundation is poised to make game-changing contributions to the fields of social enterprise and corporate sustainability, and I am thrilled to play a part.”

Prior to joining the Tides Foundation as Chief Executive Officer, Bradley founded New Capitalist, an organization that leverages human, financial, and social capital to create sustainable and profitable individuals, businesses, and communities. In this role, she facilitated over $20 million in venture capital transactions for seed stage companies, generated an average of 20 percent return on behalf of investors, and created proprietary investment vehicles instrumental in capital sourcing for minority-owned firms.

Bradley is also the founder of Reentry Strategies Institute, the only national criminal justice intermediary focused explicitly on creating viable entrepreneurial ventures for formerly incarcerated individuals, and The Entrepreneurial Development Institute (TEDI), an international, non-governmental organization serving youth ages 7 to 21 and their families – the former was selected as the “Outstanding National Youth Entrepreneurship Program” by the Kauffman Foundation.

Bradley currently holds board positions with The Corporation for Enterprise Development, Georgetown University Board of Governors, Victory Fund, and Grist, and previously with Green America, the Tides Network, and Tides Foundation.

The Hitachi Foundation was established as an independent nonprofit philanthropic organization by Hitachi, Ltd. in 1985.  Governed by a Board of Directors composed of highly accomplished Americans, the Foundation’s broad purpose is to discover and expand business practices that create tangible and enduring economic opportunities for low-wealth Americans, their families, and the communities in which they reside. To learn more about the Foundation, visit www.hitachifoundation.org.