Amy Kommer Minella has had a decades-long, distinguished career in investment management.  After a post-Stanford stint in corporate finance at Merrill Lynch, Amy rose to Managing Director at Deltec Asset Management.  In 1995, she co-founded Cardinal Capital Management and retired as its Managing Partner in 2013. 

Despite an intense work schedule and the demands of raising four children, Amy has always made time for non-profit work.  She recently agreed to co-chair Project Redwood with fellow GSBer Dave Fletcher.  Here, Amy discusses why she chose Project Redwood as a focus.   She also describes her other non-profit involvements, including compelling work at the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota.

What motivated you to spend more time with Project Redwood?

When I retired, I knew I would be able to devote time to something I believed in. There were a number of options I could have chosen, but I chose Project Redwood because of our mission and the people I get to work with every day.  It is fun to see how each person uses his or her skills to contribute to the organization and to see the continued dedication of Stanford Business School alumni.  For me, Project Redwood hits all the right buttons:  having a real impact in the world, leveraging my international philanthropic dollars, hands-on work, working with smart people, and reconnecting with Stanford.  I have renewed friendships and made many new ones.  I now “winter” in Florida for the month of February with our classmate Rick Agresta and his wife, Joan. The bonds one forms by doing this kind of work are strong. We were great back when we were in business school, but we are even better now!

What other non-profit work have you been involved in?

Non-profit work has always been important to me, even as a kid growing up in New Jersey. I believe that we all have certain skill sets that can help other people, and I believe we should give back. For me, I think I get much more from giving than the people that are receiving. When you think something is important, you make time for it, so I just added my nonprofit duties on to my career and bringing up four children. It wasn’t always easy, but it always made life interesting. In some cases, I was able to combine the two, as in taking my daughters to Nicaragua on service trips.

I also was on the board of my kids’ school, The Masters School, in Dobbs Ferry, New York. Given my background in finance and money management, it was a natural for me to be on the finance committee and, in addition, to eventually chair the investment committee. I enjoyed learning about the inner workings of the school and loved meeting interesting people including the educators, administrators, alumni and other board members.

I was involved in my church on all levels, working on committees, then chairing committees and then being Chairman of the Board for a term of two years. I feel like I have real operations experience!

When I knew I was going to retire from my money management business at the end of 2013, I started thinking about what I would do in retirement, and, of course, non-profit work was at the top of the list. I decided it would be interesting to be involved with my local hospital in Greenwich, Connecticut, which is affiliated with Yale New Haven Hospital. I had always had an interest in medicine and hospitals, so here was a chance to be on the inside. I was on the board of the hospital for over four years and learned so much about the medical system in our country (and, yes, it really is a mess, but probably not why you think it is). I was on the investment and finance committees. I was able to again work with smart, interesting people and learn by working with first-rate management. It is a tough business, since you start every year with the challenge of how can one offer the same or better medical care to the patients but at less cost.

When I moved to Jackson, Wyoming, I looked at what the biggest problems were in this small resort community. It was easy to see that quality affordable housing was the biggest issue. I researched what organizations were doing what in town, met with the heads of those organizations, talked to other concerned citizens and read all I could on what had been done in affordable housing in the area. From that research, I determined that the Jackson Hole Community Housing Trust was the place I could have the most impact on the problem. It has been a very interesting area to be involved in because it involves county and local politics, and the projects are big, involving millions of dollars. I am hoping my financial skills can contribute to the organization.

How did you find Project Redwood grantee Simply Smiles?

Simply Smiles is located in Westport, Connecticut.  In 2014, its President and Founder, Bryan Nurnberger, came to speak at my church in Greenwich about their work on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota.  Brian had a good story to tell about why his work on the Reservation was important.

The other work Simply Smiles does is in Mexico, where they run an orphanage in Oaxaca.  In the hills of that region, they also work on eradicating parasitic intestinal worms. Project Redwood funded $24,000 to help with the parasite problem in 2015. It was a successful project. You can learn more about it at: http://www.simplysmiles.org/mex-medical-care/ .

The church has taken a group of people to South Dakota for a week each summer for the last four years, including teenagers and adults. This has provided a life changing experience for these teenagers, and many of them have actually gone back to intern with Simply Smiles. I love it when you can have an impact on two fronts! Simply Smiles has groups stay on the Reservation every week during the summer, and the volunteers build houses for residents or work on the community center in town. They also provide a camp for the kids during the summer and at least three meals to all residents during the week. Bingo night is a favorite! Giving people a reasonable place to live is the first thing that needs to be done in order to affect change in people’s lives.

What is life like on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation?

Unless you go and stay on the Reservation, it is difficult to fathom how a group of people in the United States can be living in such economic poverty. Hope is a commodity that can be as difficult to find as employment. The work of Simply Smiles is intended to bring that hope to the small, 200-resident town of La Plant on the Reservation.

The Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota is an autonomous nation within the borders of the United States. In an area of 1.45 million acres (roughly the size of Connecticut), the Reservation is home to approximately 10,000 residents from four bands of Lakota Indians.

The poverty there can be staggering. The reasons are many and complex. Simply Smiles has been welcomed into this community and change is beginning to take hold. Many United States government agencies have tried to make Reservation life better over the last many decades, but in my opinion, they usually make it worse, and then they leave. How? By perpetuating a cycle of dependence that began with the creation of the Reservation system generations ago. The difference is that Simply Smiles has actually forged a relationship and a partnership with the people of the town of La Plant, and Bryan and his staff actually listen to what they say their needs are as opposed to telling them what they need, which never works.

For many, daily life in La Plant can be bleak. The town consists of a couple of streets of houses, an underfunded school and a community center that Simply Smiles has renovated. There are almost no job opportunities there, so unemployment is over 95%. The weather can be forty below in the winter and above 100 degrees in the summer.

The geographic, economic, and historical realities on the Reservation have made it a challenging place to grow up and live. Too many residents struggle just to survive and to cope. Alcoholism is a major problem and the recent prevalence of methamphetamine abuse has led the tribe to take the drastic measure of banishing from the Reservation anyone caught distributing meth. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the second leading cause of death for Native Americans between the ages of ten and 34. In recent years, La Plant has lost three children, all under the age of 13, to suicide.

The obstacles are great. But I do feel strongly that if you can intervene and give the kids hope that there are opportunities available to them in the future, then we have a chance to make a difference in the kids’ lives. Simply Smiles offers full-ride college scholarships to youth living on the Reservation.

How have you contributed to the working trips you’ve made to the Reservation?

I have gone for a week in each of two summers over the last four years. The working group usually consists of 15-20 volunteers, five interns, and five Simply Smiles staff members.

On the first trip, my sister who lives in Seattle came with me and loved it. She came again the second time, as well as a niece. Ann McStay, a 1980 classmate, also came the second time. She had always wanted to see what life was like on a Reservation, even though she knew she’d be sleeping on the floor of the community center, not taking a shower for a week, and using a latrine. She was a real trooper!

The first summer, our group built a basketball court and a town sign, and put in the footings for a shed. The second summer, the group split in two, and we worked on two houses that were going to be occupied by deserving families. The house Ann and I worked on was at the stage where we were caulking windows, sanding walls, painting and putting in flooring.

The typical day is getting up at 8 am or before and having breakfast. We might go for a walk around the track at the school (the school has no funding for a track team) and get the people from town to join us.

We worked at building a house in the morning. My main job was laying cement the first summer and painting the second summer. Then we ran a camp for the kids in the afternoon. In the middle of the week, we took the kids to the Missouri River, a half an hour away, for a swim.

During the week, the group serves a breakfast and a couple of dinners for the townspeople. We all pitch in to set up and clean for these meals. At meal times we get to sit with the residents and hear their stories of growing up on the Reservation.

I love doing manual labor, so even when it was really hot, it was fun to do, but it is hard sometimes, given the heat. Working with the kids can be heartbreaking (seeing some of the conditions they live in) or exhilarating (when they bond with you and smile). Many of the families in town are close and try to do the best they can for the kids in their family.

I’ve learned so much on the Reservation, from how to use tools to how to listen to people and work in groups. It is a great feeling to be able to contribute directly to someone being able to live a better life, especially if it involves children. At the end of the week, we take a picture of the group with the new owner on the porch of the house. To see them smile – that’s a good feeling.

Go to this link to read more about a volunteer day: http://www.simplysmiles.org/volunteer-crst/.

What aspects of your experiences at the Reservation stand out for you?

The best experience is just being there and seeing the beauty of the land. It is very flat, so you can see the sky forever. There are usually some gorgeous cloud formations and sunsets. On the drive to the river one summer, we saw the bales of hay on the fields while the sun was setting – so beautiful!

The hard part of the trip is seeing how the people live and realizing that we are there just for a week, but they have to be there all year, even when it is forty below and there’s lots of snow.  

How can potential volunteers not specifically affiliated with Simply Smiles get involved?

As always, any donations to Simply Smiles are welcomed (for both the Mexico orphanage and for the Reservation work). Also, anyone can sign up to go for a week on the Reservation or to Mexico, but it is usually better to go with a group that you are affiliated with. Taking a group that includes teenagers can provide a life-changing experience for them. Just contact Bryan Nurnberger through the Simply Smiles website.

I continue to be involved with the leaders of Simply Smiles. There are so many needs on the Reservation – building materials, dollars, assistance for kids in education (computers) or opportunities of any kind. If there was some kind of business that could provide employment there, that would be a game changer.

Just recently, I put the Simply Smiles leaders in touch with people I knew at the Grand Teton National Foundation – it turns out that the Foundation has an intern program for Native Americans. We are working on getting some of the kids from the Reservation into that program. If you know of any other programs that give opportunities to Native American teenagers, let me know.

Among all of your non-profit involvements, which accomplishments are most important to you?

I think the hands-on experiences are the memories that have stuck with me the most. It is easy for me to lend my expertise on a finance or investment committee, but the tears come when you finish a house for a single mother of three in Nicaragua and she is thanking you. Or when a six-year old girl on the Reservation gives you a hug. I felt so good after I finished painting the bathroom in the house on the Reservation knowing that the people living there would have better living conditions.

What’s been happening in your personal life?

I had a year of transition in 2017.

I officially moved to Jackson, Wyoming where I will live from May through October. I also bought a house in Charleston where I will live from November through April. Both places are wonderful places to live. Jackson Hole has beautiful mountains and natural beauty, while Charleston is full of great restaurants, the beach, and golf, even in the winter. Being in Charleston also makes it a bit easier to get up and down the East Coast to see friends and family.

My four children have been launched, and they are each pursuing their careers in New York City, the District of Columbia, Los Angeles, and Jackson.

I am loving retirement! I now get to sleep, pursue nonprofit work, and play bridge and golf. Rick and Joan Agresta and I will be renting a house for a month in Sarasota in February (our second time), so come visit if you are in the area!