Stephen Robert is the former chairman and CEO of Oppenheimer Group Inc. Securities in New York City. He and his wife, Pilar Crespi Robert, are founders of the Source of Hope Foundation, an organization that supplies water, food, health care, and education to people in need. Stephen Robert is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations in the Foreign Policy Program at the Brookings Institution.
Brookings' Foreign Policy Program is a prestigious center of policy-relevant scholarship that examines the major powers' reordering of geopolitics and the unstable relations between transnational actors and states. The aims of the Foreign Policy Program include observing changes in world affairs and the difficulties they may constitute to the foreign community, and guiding principles and organizations in the United States and beyond that support continuous peace, safety, and wealth. Often, international challenges create instability and affect the interests of the United States in the regions. Therefore, one of the Foreign Policy Program's areas of focus is in redefining security through a fresh understanding of international engagement and competence.
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Stephen Robert is the founder of Source of Hope Foundation and the former Chairman and CEO, Oppenheimer Group Inc., with over 25 years of investment banking experience. With a background in political science, Stephen Robert serves as chairman of the board at the Watson institute of international studies, and the council on foreign relations at the Brookings Institution. He emphasizes the role of foreign relations in promoting world peace.
One of the aims of foreign or international relations is to promote world peace, especially with the creation of the United Nations. Through diplomatic visits to other countries, most countries have stabilized relations among themselves, solidifying and safeguarding their national interest while tackling developmental issues and effectively promoting world peace. The UN, created to foster relations among its over 190 members, has been a powerful instrument in promoting world peace. It encourages friendly relations and has helped prevent disputes between some member states from escalating into wars, promote diplomatic conflict resolution, and restore peace during war outbreaks. The importance of promoting world peace is reflected in most countries' foreign policy and is one of the UN's guiding principles. That is why member-states contribute human resources and funds for the UN peace-keeping missions. Source of Hope Foundation was set up by Stephen Robert along with his wife, Pilar, to be more involved with philanthropic efforts. Stephen Roberts has used this foundation to fund alleviation efforts in the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian hit it in 2019. These efforts involved the provision of medical supplies and equipment, essential supplies, and drinkable water supply.
Living in a hurricane-prone area means one must prepare adequately for hurricanes and tropical storms. This preparation must be done well before the hurricane season starting with a written emergency plan. This plan should include an evacuation route and ways of communicating with loved ones during the hurricane. It's also important to review your homeowner's insurance policies, ensuring they adequately cover home repairs and replace lost/damaged belongings. Businesses should do the same, and put in place a continuity plan. Securing important documents and making copies is important as electricity will likely be affected by the hurricane. It is crucial to have an emergency supplies kit nearby. Items should include flashlights, portable radios to get vital information, extra batteries, non-perishable food and bottled water, extra money, clothing, toiletries, first aid supplies, medication, repair tools, and blankets. Put off the electricity and appliances. Protect the exterior of your homes and businesses by putting shutters on the windows and glass doors, ensuring the doors are hurricane proof, removing weak plants, trees and branches, and sealing exterior wall openings. It's essential to have extra fuel supplies for your car and portable generator. Stephen Robert and his wife Pilar are known for their philanthropic work with the Source of Hope Foundation. As the former chairman and CEO of the Oppenheimer Group, Stephen Robert possesses extensive experience in dealing with different cultures. He uses this experience as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).
A nonprofit nongovernmental organization, CFR was set up in 1921 to focus on American foreign policy and international affairs. With nearly 5,000 members, the organization comprises government administrators, military intelligentsia, accomplished professionals, academics, and business leaders. One of CFR's purposes is providing an unbiased analysis of global happenings through its internal debates, analysis, and meetings with government members. CFR also offers recommendations to policymakers, international organizations, and the diplomatic community on America's foreign policy and international affairs. Additionally, CFR educates the public on foreign policy and global issues through the information it publishes on its website and in its magazine. This work is performed alongside numerous studies that CFR carries out to promote a better understanding of the various influences on global affairs. CFR also contributes to global peace through its interventions in international conflicts, providing forums and roundtables for the resolution of these differences. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Stephen Robert is a financial executive, philanthropist, political journalist, and academic. Stephen Robert and his wife Pilar founded the Source of Hope Foundation. Their philanthropic work at the foundation has exposed them to some of the global issues that ravage developing nations, including famine and civil war.
The number of people suffering from hunger is on the rise. Today, more than 800 million people do not have access to enough food. One of the ways to tackle this problem is to reduce food waste. Approximately one-third of the food produced in the world today is wasted. That's an estimated 1.3 billion tons of food wasted annually. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, this amount could feed about two billion people every year. Therefore, taking appropriate actions to end food waste is crucial. Another measure that could help end global hunger is climate-smart agriculture. Persistent climate issues around the globe negatively affect farmers' output, especially in developing nations. By encouraging climate-smart agriculture, farmers can adapt to unexpected weather conditions and improve their production. Biofortification (increasing the nutritional value) of crops, food donations, and urban farming are other measures that can help eradicate global hunger. Accomplished financial executive Stephen Robert was the CEO and largest shareholder of the Oppenheimer Group before he retired. He and his wife set up the Source of Hope Foundation to channel their philanthropic activities. Stephen Robert is also on the board of several charities.
Private philanthropy on a global scale is increasing. Recently, the amount of money given through private philanthropic foundations increased by 50 percent, from $5.1 billion in 2013 to $7.8 billion in 2018. Additionally, a rise in the number of globally focused charitable foundations has taken place, with more than 75 percent set up between 1993 and 2018. Most of these foundations are located in Western Europe and North America. They range in size from small outfits with no staff members and expenditures below $1 million to global organizations with billions of dollars in disbursements. Their activities are concentrated in countries in sub-Saharan Africa, South East Asia, and Central America. The majority of giving focuses on developmental activities, with health and education sectors getting the most significant shares. The foundations also provide investment finances (such as microfinancing) in the economies of the recipient countries. Private foundation philanthropy provides 4-5 percent of the annual official development assistance to many countries. Stephen Robert, former chairman and CEO of the Oppenheimer Group, founder of the Source of Hope Foundation, and former chair of Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, is also a proud Brown alumnus and chancellor emeritus. His involvement with the school culminated in the 2019 dedication of Stephen Robert Hall at the Watson Institute, which now provides expanded space for events, lectures, and exhibits with a focus on public policy.
The Watson Institute sees the arts as part of its mission of fostering high-level conversation on social issues and public policy. Recent arts-connected exhibits at Stephen Robert Hall have included Histories of Consequence: Works by Sandra Mayo, which ran in the first half of 2020. The Mayo exhibit featured manipulated monoprints using several media that address large-scale global events - natural disaster, political upheaval, forced migration, walls and barriers - and their multi-generational effects on ordinary people. The Argentinian artist makes use of techniques such as coding and mapping to distill the essences of complex situations into approachable stories focused on the lived experiences of individuals. Other recent events and exhibits in the new space include a screening of the film Albatross, director Chris Jordan’s attempt to address the overwhelming problem of plastic pollutants in the world’s oceans, and The Blink of Our Lifetimes: The Ecology of Dusk, artist Pamela Petro’s moved-camera, light-and-shadow photographs of some of the world’s most ecologically sensitive regions. The former chairman and CEO of the New York City-based Oppenheimer Group, Inc., Stephen Robert is also the co-founder of the Source of Hope Foundation. Leading the foundation along with his wife Pilar Crespi Robert, Stephen Robert has directed Source of Hope’s anti-poverty work across the globe.
With projects in places like Ethiopia, Palestine, and Columbia, Source of Hope also funds domestic projects. For example, the foundation made a generous financial contribution to establish the Stephen Robert and Pilar Crespi Robert Rapid Medical Evaluation Center at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. Located in a low-income on the west side of Manhattan, more than half of Columbia Presbyterian Hospital’s patients are either on Medicare or uninsured. Since many uninsured patients use the emergency room as their primary source of care, the emergency room at Columbia Presbyterian was overcrowded before the expansion, with patients waiting up to nine hours for care. The 8,000-square-foot rapid medical evaluation center is equipped with 22 new treatment bays, new bed-side diagnostic equipment, and a full staff of doctors and nurse practitioners. The addition of the new space has improved patient care by allowing medical staff to make diagnoses faster and treat and release patients more promptly. An alumnus of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, Stephen Robert is the co-founder of the Source of Hope Foundation, an organization dedicated to poverty relief. Also the former chairman and CEO of Oppenheimer Group, Inc., Source of Hope Founder Stephen Robert serves as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).
A leading foreign policy organization of the most prominent individual and corporate leaders in international affairs, CFR oversees multiple programs, including the Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy (CSMD) program. CSMD program aims to increase global transparency and accountability amid worldwide corruption problems that result in more than $1 trillion in criminal proceeds flowing annually into Western banks, real estate, and luxury goods. With an end goal of promoting more stable and prosperous societies, the CSMD program studies how different countries across the world enforce the rule of law, with a special focus on efforts to combat corruption through implementing judicial, law enforcement, and bureaucratic reforms. The CSMD program also analyzes the political and societal shifts happening in response to the globalization of the supply chain and how the emergence of new technologies impacts foreign policy, popular uprisings, and even counterterrorism strategies. The former CEO of Oppenheimer Group, Inc., Stephen Robert also co-founded the Source of Hope Foundation, an organization dedicated to poverty relief. In addition to founding Source of Hope, Stephen Robert is a former chancellor of Brown University and a significant benefactor of the institution.
A private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, Brown University features a strong economics and business curriculum with a focus on training the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. The University offers more than 30 entrepreneurship-oriented class choices for undergraduate students. Students have the chance to follow their passion by exploring the entrepreneurial process in a variety of fields, such as medicine, the arts, social enterprise, and sustainability. With a focus on staying on the leading edge of thought and social change, some of the Brown entrepreneurship classes include Justice, Gender and Markets; Computer Science for Social Change; and Critical Perspectives on Immigrant Entrepreneurship in the U.S. To emphasize its commitment to education in the field of entrepreneurship, Brown recently approved a new undergraduate certificate in entrepreneurship. The new program will be jointly overseen by the School of Engineering and the University’s Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship. |
AuthorThe former owner, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Archives
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