ICCR Names Pat Zerega as the Recipient of its 2024 Legacy Award
NEW YORK, NY, TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2024 – ICCR’s Governing Board today announced that the 2024 Legacy Award winner is Patricia (Pat) Zerega, who recently retired from Mercy Investment Services. The ICCR Legacy Award was created to honor those whose work has provided a strong moral foundation and an enduring record of demonstrated influence on corporate policies. The breadth and depth of Pat’s dedication to amplifying the voices of those most affected by corporate activities and advocating corporate respect for human rights is a clear testament to her commitment to building a more just and sustainable world.
For more than 45 years, Pat has dedicated her life and career to serving and speaking out for the “least of these my brothers and sisters”. Her care and concern for the dignity of each person is at the core of her being, her faith, and her mission to advance corporate respect for human rights from the community to corporate boardrooms. Pat has been indispensable in her service to ICCR, both as a board member and as an active member and leader of several working groups.
In leading Mercy Investment Services’ work with mining companies, Pat emphasized the need to bring the voices of those most marginalized and impacted to the table. The Sisters of Mercy have a presence in Peru, and Pat met with them during a site visit to the country with other ICCR members and brought their concerns to the local mining companies. The visit included conversations with the local community to ensure that ICCR members were raising with Newmont Mining those issues that most adversely impacted the daily lives of residents. Pat was centering rights holders long before it came into fashion.
Pat’s work in the hospitality sector included engaging hotels and airlines to raise awareness of the signs of human trafficking. She also expanded Mercy’s human trafficking work into the trucking industry, collaborating closely with Truckers Against Trafficking to encourage companies to train their truck drivers to identify potential victims. Again, Pat placed the voices and concerns of survivors of trafficking at the center of her efforts and advanced better rights-respecting corporate practices.
Pat’s advocacy around the impacts of corporate environmental degradation also included the practice of fracking and flaring and she was instrumental in the shareholder dialogue that led Continental Resources to set a strong reduction goal in its flaring emissions in North Dakota’s Bakken shale region.
Pat’s passion for human rights also fueled her focus on supply chain labor, worker rights, and conflict-affected and high-risk areas (CAHRA). She has been a prominent voice in ensuring fair treatment of workers, child laborers, those detained in private prisons, and vulnerable populations impacted by conflict and authoritarianism.
As a respected leader at Mercy and ICCR and an invaluable source of wisdom and advice, Pat has been a friend, mentor, and guide to countless investors new to our shared field. Pat’s work and commitment have directly impacted Lutheran, Catholic, and Episcopalian congregations and indirectly affected many more. Her ability to connect people across communities, faiths, and beliefs has only strengthened the capacity and impact of our collective shareholder work.
Said The Reverend Brian Grieves, Vice Chair, Episcopal Church Committee on Corporate Responsibility, “As consultant to the Episcopal Church's CSR committee, Pat gave voice to its justice policies to multiple corporations on issues from climate to human rights to gun safety and more. Pat's incredible energy and organizing skills made her presence felt in hundreds of companies and across multiple issues. Pat's legacy is having charted a system of engagement with companies that produces corporate change. It is impossible to exaggerate her success that will enable others to follow her example.”
Said Kaari Reierson, Director for Corporate Social Responsibility, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, “Pat has worked to bring together multiple religious communities to work on issues of social justice in the corporate world. Her work spans decades, continents, and communities. In guiding the work of CSR in the ELCA, she laid an unassailable foundation in connecting ELCA social teaching and CSR through the excellent screens and issue papers upon which our work is based. As I review them years after they were written, I marvel at Pat’s intellectual rigor and the breadth of her knowledge.”
Said Katie McCloskey, Vice President of Social Responsibility at Mercy Investment Services, “In her ministry of shareholder advocacy, Pat has been a mentor, a leader, and an advocate for the faith-based investing community. She was tireless in her efforts to bring the issues impacting people and communities around the globe to companies, unwavering in her commitment to the shareholder advocacy process and being a voice for those who didn’t have a seat at the table. She shared her wisdom and experience freely, serving on the ICCR board and helping to raise up the next generation of shareholder advocates dedicated to systemic change. Pat created a legacy of shareholder advocacy that continues today, and we’re thrilled that she’s being honored with the Legacy Award.”
Said Richard Stazinski, Co-founder and Executive Director of the Heartland Initiative where Pat is a board member, “When times are tough -- and that’s a regular occurrence in a field defined by violence, repression, and conflict -- Pat’s support and humor bolster us when we need it most. When things are going well and we get distracted by the less pressing issues, she provides a firm hand, unambiguous guidance, and a clear reminder of the importance of our work to those we serve. Like so many others in the ICCR community, we owe Pat an unpayable debt of gratitude. Her legacy ripples out into the world through the work of everyone she has impacted through her lifetime of ministry.”
Pat’s passion and determination to create a more just and sustainable world drives her to push others to look at alternative perspectives and consider what unmet needs require responses. It’s a vast understatement to say that Pat is not one to sit quietly by if she sees an injustice or a more effective way to address it.
Pat will be honored at ICCR’s annual event on September 19th at Riverside Church in NYC.
About the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR)
The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) is a broad coalition of more than 300 institutional investors collectively representing over $4 trillion in invested capital. ICCR members, a cross-section of faith-based investors, asset managers, pension funds, foundations, and other long-term institutional investors, have over 50 years of experience engaging with companies on environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) issues that are critical to long-term value creation. ICCR members engage hundreds of corporations annually to foster greater corporate accountability. Visit our website www.iccr.org and follow us on Twitter/X (@iccronline), LinkedIn, and Facebook.
