A New Model for Change in Impact Investing
A Conversation Between Rhia Ventures CEO, Erika Seth Davies & Rhia Ventures Co-founder, Ruth Shaber
By Tara Health Foundation
When longtime colleagues and confidants, Erika Seth Davies, CEO of Rhia Ventures, and Ruth Shaber, Co-Founder and Board Chair of Rhia Ventures (and Founder and President of Tara Health Foundation), sit down together to talk about the innovative impact investing model behind Rhia Ventures, you can feel the strong sense of trust, relationship, and thought partnership between them.
In their conversation, they discuss the need for new financial models and products to serve both the market and movements, and dive deep into their respective journeys designing such new models, including how Rhia Ventures introduces a fundamentally different way of thinking about capital and strategies and centers those who have been historically marginalized.
Note from Tara Health: We hope you’ll join us in watching this video conversation with Erika and Ruth. In this video’s article you’ll find we’re trying something new! Below you can now read through the conversation in transcript form, with links and resources to dive deeper and learn more throughout. We welcome feedback on this new format.
RUTH SHABER:
So when we first met, Rhia Ventures (Rhia) was already off the ground and the fund was starting to take off. I was so impressed by your background and that you had already been working at the intersection between foundations, financial markets, and communities— particularly communities of color. How could we create systems that would work better?
ERIKA SETH DAVIES:
I came to Rhia because I was curious about how decision-making changes when a nonprofit effectively owns a venture fund.
Throughout my career, I had been looking at the ways that no one really interrogated decision-making processes— they were just assumed to be neutral.
It was also assumed that the financial decision-making of foundations—the endowments—didn’t matter in the same way that grantmaking did. But it was always clear to me, and I think it’s clear to anyone, that if
you’re investing in things with the expectation that they will grow, and those things are creating the need for your grantmaking, then your grantmaking will never be successful.
I felt there were ways we could do things differently in that pursuit of profit—ways that would bring to light other opportunities for closing gaps, for bringing different people into the process, and for intentionally considering the health concerns and experiences of people who have historically been pushed to the margins.
So how do we bring [people that have been pushed to the margins] to the center? I understand the harms of capitalism, particularly to Black women, Indigenous women, and immigrant communities. I want to offer solutions that acknowledge that harm and redirect the way decisions are traditionally made. How do we do this differently?
RUTH SHABER:
Have you had the experience of seeing someone’s perception shift—an “aha” moment about what you’re offering?
ERIKA SETH DAVIES:
Yes—the aha moment. We’ve become a trusted partner. People working in the movement come to Rhia, come to me, with questions. We recently launched a community advisory council, and the applicants were incredibly curious—about the role of venture capital, about different models, and about how we’re trying to bring new approaches forward.
That curiosity is leaning into the work we do at Rhia, and I believe it’s because we’re trusted. At the same time, we want to make sure resources are flowing in ways that truly support the work—work that centers, or can more intentionally include, those who have been historically marginalized. Being grounded in that history has been incredibly helpful in these conversations.
RUTH SHABER:
This community advisory group feels like a huge breakthrough. How do you intend to use them as you build new products?
ERIKA SETH DAVIES:
The Community Advisory Council serves in two key ways. First, they help us understand where opportunity exists—who we should be paying attention to, and how we can better serve both the market and the movement. They also inform our programming.
Second, they provide accountability. It’s very easy to think we have the answers and that we’re doing things right—but I want to know when we’re not. I want to know if I’m leaning too far into market language or prioritizing investors without being clear about our broader stakeholders.
I don’t know that you ever fully “get it right,” but the question is: are we on the right track? Are we doing what we say we want to do? That kind of feedback is essential, and to me, accountability is the most important role of the council.
RUTH SHABER:
What do you see for the future of Rhia Ventures?
ERIKA SETH DAVIES:
I see our next fund vehicle—the Catalytic Capital Fund—as an innovative model for participatory decision-making. It’s about strengthening impact measurement and accountability, and intentionally weaving an equity lens into diligence and company support.
That’s incredibly exciting. It’s also a long-term opportunity—five to ten years—and I’m really looking forward to it.
Beyond that, we’ll continue bringing forward new ideas, strategies, and resources around a fundamentally different way of thinking about capital. That has always been the intention: to develop ideas, apply them, and then teach others so they can bring them to the broader market.
RUTH SHABER:
Because the capital we’re investing at Rhia is relatively small—but if those models can be replicated and influence much larger flows of capital, that’s where the real impact happens.
ERIKA SETH DAVIES:
Exactly. That’s how we change systems.
That’s fundamentally how I see the future of Rhia. Because of Tara Health Foundation’s work—and the broader work in gender equity and gender lens investing—we now have a women’s health innovation ecosystem that didn’t exist before.
Our role is to continue growing that ecosystem and ensuring that equity is consistently part of the conversation, so we don’t repeat the mistakes of past movements. The goal is to make this the norm—the standard way of investing.
RUTH SHABER:
You could work yourself out of a job.
ERIKA SETH DAVIES:
That’s the goal. We do this work so well that it becomes the default—and we’re no longer needed. That would be amazing.
Rhia Ventures works at the intersection of racial equity, women’s health, and capital to drive systems change, innovation, and financial and social returns. Learn more about their work →
Interested in Diving Deeper?
Listen to Erika and Ruth talk about 100% Mission Alignment →
Listen to Tenesha Duncan and Maria Nakae the growing ecosystem of movement-led funds →
Learn more about our 100% Mission Alignment →
Learn more about our approach to Impact Investing →
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