Social Impact Now is owned and operated by BIPOC, Women, Veteran, and Queer people.
Our diverse team brings invaluable amounts of knowledge, professional expertise, and lived experience to help you and your business flourish and grow!
At Social Impact Now, we believe that the most effective solutions are those that are designed for your organization and the best ideas come from within the organization.
We empower your teams to openly share their knowledge and ideas, unlocking valuable insights that can guide the crafting of personalized strategies just for your impact goals. With our trusted and supportive space, your organization can harness its full potential for impact and growth.
Meet the team
Get to know the leadership at Social Impact Now.
Y. Elaine Rasmussen
Founder and CEODriven by the mission to mainstream impact investing and democratizing access to capital Elaine founded SISG in 2016. Rasmussen creates equity-centered strategies for that power positive, sustainable social impact. Grounded in her work as a mediator, a communications and finance professional, Elaine has extensive experience in building transformational relationships in a wide range of sectors: for-profit, philanthropy, government, education and finance.
Rasmussen has been recognized for her innovation in driving impact & organizational effectiveness. She is a Cordes, Boston Impact Initiative and RSF Social Finance Integrated Capital Fellow where her Integrated Capital Fund project was named a MetLife Foundation Inclusion Competition semi-finalist. Rasmussen was featured in Fearless Commerce Magazine and received the NAWBO Achieve! Innovation Award for her work on inclusive economic development. Rasmussen was named Finance and Commerce’s Top Women in Finance, AARP/Pollen’s 50 Over 50. Rasmussen’s board service includes Minnesota Diversified Industries (MDI) and serves on the investment committees of Opus Group, Nexus Community Partners and Swift Foundation. Her overarching goal? To move billions of investment dollars in Black/Brown and rural communities. #MovingBillions #MoneyMoves
Elaine has worked for large and small organizations such as Shearson/Lehman Bros., Native Americans in Philanthropy, Warner Bros!, Dreamworks and the US State Department, and social enterprise ventures. She has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and international business from Woodbury University, as well as a masters degree in conflict analysis and resolution from Nova Southeastern University.
Elaine is an avid traveler. From her hometown of Los Angeles, California to the seas of Bosporus in Turkey and the Native American tribes across Turtle Island (United States). Elaine always seeks the strength of people, place, and culture—always making sure to break bread and foster connections. In her free time, you can find Elaine unwinding by crocheting, or with a glass of wine in hand, as a fire serenades a symphony of crackles at her feet.
Kateri Ruiz
Business DevelopmentKateri Ruiz worked in a corporate environment for almost 20 years before launching the MAIA Experiment and writing, One Bull, (publishing soon). MAIA tested out the systemic barriers for women entrepreneurs and the collaborative nature of women to help foster a more women-centric economy.
She has had P&L ownership up to $42M with multiple operating units across domestic geographies.
She has toured thousands of facilities in the US designing workforce solutions and onboarding programs, the majority in Finance, Trade, Manufacturing, Healthcare, and Oil & Gas.
Kateri is a certified Executive Presentation Skills trainer and it was her time in this industry that brought her the most professional joy.
Kateri’s first love for operating systems and high-performing teams stemmed from being the youngest of 12 children on a family farm in the Midwest, the beauty of interdependence and interconnectedness to achieve a common goal still drives her today.
Alex Gambeck
Project Administration LeadAlex Gambeck is a military veteran who has served and recently returned from a year-long deployment to Africa.
Alex is driven by the mission to create and establish generational wealth as well as make an impact in underserved or traditionally marginalized communities by investing and improving access to affordable, safe, and comfortable housing.
His overarching goal?
To move thousands of investment dollars in Black/Brown and rural communities with the plan of creating a long lasting and sustainable impact within areas of long-term divestment.
Gambeck spent his youth working side-by-side local entrepreneurs to manage and renovate real estate investment properties across the Twin Cities.
Gambeck continued to be inspired through the experiences he obtained while serving in the Army for almost a decade, most notably his most recent assignment in Africa assisting in the process of building new homes for those in poverty.