Rick Larson

Rick joined The Conservation Fund in 2007 to assist with TCF’s natural resource-based business lending programs. As ShadeFund Director, he heads up ShadeFund’s lending activities nationwide, working with potential borrowers and preparing recommendations for the ShadeFund Loan Committee. He is also NC Program Director for the Natural Capital Investment Fund, The Conservation Fund’s business lending arm that provides patient capital to triple-bottom-line natural resource-based businesses in six Southeastern states.

His prior experience includes: Managing Director of SJF Ventures, a $45 M mission-driven venture capital fund based in Durham, NC; National Director, REAL Enterprises, a nationwide entrepreneurship education program for rural youth and adults; and shop floor supervisor and financial controller for the Cummins Engine Co. He is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School and UNC Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, where he teaches courses on Impact Investing and Financing Social Ventures.

He serves on the Board of Fair Trade USA, which certifies Fair Trade products in the US. Rick lives in Durham, NC with his wife Gair and is the proud father of two sons, Justin (a St. Olaf College sophomore) and David (a 7th grader). He earned an MBA from the Yale School of Management and a BA in History and French from Amherst College.