Rodney Foxworth
CEO, Common Future
“I believe we can rethink how our economy works and put equity first.”
Leadership: Rodney Foxworth is a social entrepreneur and nonprofit leader finding new ways to shift capital into economically marginalized communities to help close the racial wealth gap. He leads Common Future (formerly the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, or BALLE), a national network and intermediary that has channeled more than $250 million into building economically empowered communities. He helped develop a new strategic direction for the organization, which now aims to mobilize $100 billion into alternatives to traditional business and economic development over the next decade.
Rodney writes on racial equity, impact investing, and philanthropy, and he serves on the board of Nonprofit Finance Fund and the steering committee of Justice Funders.
Vision: Raised in West Baltimore, Rodney saw firsthand how systems too often intentionally fail black communities. He is centering new approaches to economic development on addressing root causes and ending—not just ameliorating—wealth inequality.