Rich Tafel is the Director of Marcum Social Capital Advisors and has over twenty-five years of experience as a champion for civil rights and social change. Mr. Tafel came to Marcum via the Firm’s merger with Raffa, P.C., one of the nation’s preeminent public accounting and business consulting firms, specializing in nonprofits. He joined the Firm in 2016 to create the social capital practice, where he works with social entrepreneurs and nonprofits seeking help in developing their strategy, pitch, and fundraising. The social capital team helps social ventures create a successful back office accounting system and navigate public policy strategies. The team interfaces with social impact investors interested in finding social ventures with the appropriate accounting and strategy. Mr. Tafel is a pioneer in the social impact space, launching the nation’s first statewide social entrepreneur competition in Michigan in 2013. He coauthored an early definition of social enterprise that ran in Stanford Social Innovation Review. In addition to coaching and strategy, Mr. Tafel has founded numerous organizations. He co-founded the Workplace Wellness Council of Mexico, which has over one hundred of Mexico’s leading corporations as members. In 2003, he helped provide strategic advice to the PEPFAR program which delivers AIDS drugs to Africa. He is also a co-founder of ConsejoSano, the nation’s first Spanish-language telehealth company, which helps underserved populations receive healthcare. Additionally, he founded the Log Cabin Republicans in 1993, where he played key leadership roles in the battle for gay marriage and aided in ending America’s AIDS crisis. In 1999, he authored “Party Crasher” where he called for more inclusive American politics (published by Simon & Schuster). Mr. Tafel is the pastor of the Church of the Holy City in Washington, DC, where he hopes to launch the first Spiritual Entrepreneur Incubator. He is ordained in the Swedenborgian Church and serves on the governing board of the National Council of Churches, where he co-chairs the Christian-Muslim dialogues each year. He’s also the co-director of the American Project out of Pepperdine School of Public Policy, which was launched in January 2017 with support from the Democracy Fund and focuses on the future of the conservative movement in American politics. Mr. Tafel is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School and served as Assistant Minister at Harvard’s Memorial Church. He holds a BA from East Stroudsburg University.