We are excited to announce that Kat Taylor will be a keynote speaker at our 2019 Getting to Zero Forum. Kat is Co-Founder and CEO of Beneficial State Bank, a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and certified B Corporation whose mission is to bring beneficial banking to low-income communities in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner – and to change the banking system for good. Kat believes it’s not enough to dream that our philanthropic resources could clean up damage after the fact; we must instead get fundamental institutions, including business, aligned with the public interest in the first place.

Beneficial State Bank is the result of aligned mergers between OneCalifornia Bank, which Kat and her husband, Tom Steyer, founded in Oakland, CA, ShoreBank Pacific, Pan American Bank, and Albina Community Bank. The bank operates 17 locations throughout California, Oregon, and Washington. Beneficial State Bank’s revolutionary ownership mandates that any distributed profit be invested in the low resourced communities it serves and the environment upon which we all depend. With strong organizational commitments to diversity, inclusion and environmental justice, Kat’s work is focused on advancing a fair, regenerative, and prosperous economy for all.

Kat is also a Founding Director of TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation (TKREF), dedicated to inspiring a sustainable food system through ranching, training, tours, research, and school food and garden programs. TKREF owns the social enterprise LeftCoast GrassFed, humanely raising cattle and other livestock for the benefit of healthy soils. Kat serves and has served on many non-profit boards including, Ecotrust, Good Samaritan Family Resource Center, ProPublica, CuriOdyssey, CBDA, and Forager.