How We're Structured

Anuradha Mittal, currently serving as the Chair of the Independent Board of Ben & Jerrys, has been with the company since 2007. Founder and executive director of the Oakland Institute, Anuradha is an internationally renowned expert on human rights, agriculture, development, and conservation policies issues. She also serves on the board of the Environmental Defender Law Center and the Blue Planet Project.

Under Anuradha's leadership, the Oakland Institute has unveiled land investment deals in the developing world to expose a disturbing pattern of a lack of transparency, fairness, and accountability. The dynamic relationship between research, advocacy, and international media coverage has resulted in an amazing string of successes and organizing in the US and abroad.

Anuradha has authored and edited numerous books and reports. Her articles and opinion pieces have been published in widely circulated newspapers including the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Bangkok Post, Houston Chronicle, and the Nation. Anuradha Often testifies before the US Congress, the United Nations, given several hundred keynote addresses including invitational events from governments and universities, and is frequently interviewed on CNN, BBC World, CBC, ABC, Al Jazeera, and National Public Radio.

Recipient of several awards including the 2022 Feyerabend Award, 2022 All in for Justice Award, Endow the Future Award from Responsible Endowments Coalition, Anuradha was named the Most Valuable Thinker by the Nation magazine.

Anuradha is a fan of every Ben & Jerry’s flavor and her all time favorite is Cherry Garcia!

Aseel Najib is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History at Dartmouth College. She writes and teaches about the history of the Islamic world, focusing on questions of law, land, and empire. Her scholarship recovers histories that can serve as tools to illuminate our own societies and build a more just future. Aseel has also taught Creative Writing in prisons and federal detention facilities in New York through the Justice-in-education program. 

Aseel received her PhD from Columbia University’s Middle Eastern, African, and South Asian Studies Department, her MA from Harvard University, and her BA from Columbia. She was previously a postdoctoral research fellow at Yale Law School. Recipient of several renowned fellowships, she has conducted research in Jordan, Morocco, Turkey, Palestine, and Egypt. 

Aseel divides her time between New York and the Upper Valley. She enjoys running, loves a good ghost tour, and cannot for the life of her choose one favorite flavor of Ben and Jerry’s.

Chivy Sok, Executive Director of the Tikva Grasssroots Empowerment Fund, is a long-time human rights educator, researcher, and trainer. Her work at Tikva Grassroots includes a diverse set of portfolios, including environmental justice, community-centered conservation, human rights, corporate accountability, and sustainable agriculture. The Fund supports organizations in different parts of the world to advance justice and sustainability.

Chivy has worked on a number of human rights projects with different organizations during the last 30 years including the Steering Committee of the Ginetta Sagan Fund of Amnesty International USA and co-founding the Devata Giving Circle, the first Cambodian American women philanthropic circle in the US. She is the former Program Director of Columbia University's Center for the Study of Human Rights and former Deputy Director of the University of Iowa Center for Human Rights.

Chivy completed her B.A. in Political Science at UC Santa Barbara where she received the University Award of Distinction upon graduation and a Master of International Affairs degree from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs.

Her lifetime of passion for human rights work is deeply connected to her late mother Sayonn and their survivorship of the Khmer Rouge Killing Fields. Like all other Cambodians during that period, she and her family lived through one of the most heinous atrocities inflicted upon an entire country. After surviving this period, her mother risked the long journey by foot toward Thailand where refugee camps were being set up by the United Nations. There, they found refuge and eventually made their way to the Bay Area as refugees and new Americans. This childhood resulted in her fierce dedication to social justice and her commitment to living life with joy and gratitude. Her mother’s boldness and courage not only gave her strength to survive but to thrive as a young woman in her newly adopted country. She is now raising two fierce young feminists of her own with her husband.

When not working on issues of justice, Chivy can be found on the sidelines cheering for her two daughters who are fierce competitive volleyball players. When not at volleyball tournaments, you can find her nurturing her succulents, fruit trees, and vegetables with agroecological practices. She loves Latin music and dance and dabbles in martial arts (she holds a black belt in taekwondo).

Managing Director, Illumen Capital

Daryn is a passionate advocate of social and economic justice, especially for disadvantaged and marginalized groups. His work with impact investors, private equity funds, Fortune 100 companies, universities and foundations has been viewed through the lens of addressing the world’s most pressing social and environmental problems.

Daryn is the Founder and Managing Director of Illumen Capital, an impact fund of funds that seeks to increase gender andracial equity within the financial markets. Illumen Capital invests in the top growth, private equity and venture impact funds, and then provides coaching and tools to fund managers designed to reduce implicit bias. Daryn previously led the Special Equities Program as a consultant to the Board of the Calvert Funds, a $15 billion pioneer of the impact investing field. Through this vehicle, Calvert maintains a portfolio of more than 40 funds on five continents, representing over 350 underlying portfolio companies. Prior to serving as a consultant to Calvert, Daryn served as Director of University and Corporate Partnership for The Idea Village, where he created a platform engaging leading private equity firms, business schools, and Fortune 500 companies to invest over 100,000 hours and $2 million into more than 1,000 New Orleans entrepreneurs post-Hurricane Katrina.

Daryn is the co-author of published research that examines the influence of race in financial judgements of asset allocators, and currently serves on the board CFA Institute’s Future of Finance Advisory Council, New Venture Fund, and is an investment committee member of Impact Assets. He earned his M.B.A. from Stanford, where he served on the Dean’s Management Board, and his A.B. from Duke University.

Detavio Samuels serves as CEO of REVOLT, America’s fastest growing Black-owned media company.

Detavio sits at the intersection of culture and content and is one of corporate America's youngest and most accomplished senior executives. With his unique background as a millennial with over a decade of executive experience, he has helped a decorated roster of top global companies like Walmart, McDonalds, AT&T, Chrysler, the NBA and Johnson & Johnson build impactful brands with deeper connections to their consumers.

In March 2021, Detavio was appointed CEO of REVOLT, the nation's leading creator and distributor of Hip Hop and Black culture content. Under his leadership, REVOLT aspires to shift the narrative around Black people globally by building the world’s largest and most powerful ecosystem for Black storytelling.

Tasked with managing a growing bi-coastal team and spearheading the daily operations of the company, Samuels is focused on rapid growth and digital expansion to further position REVOLT as the preeminent driver of global culture. Samuels is dedicated to helping Millennials and Gen-Z better understand the shifting world and ignite change by using Hip-Hop as a lens to explore the Black experience globally.

Samuels has been recognized for his work as a marketing executive, receiving several honors including being named TV Executive of the Year by Digiday, one of the top 100 Content Leaders by CableFax, and a Trailblazer in Media by 100 Black Men of NY. In addition to his notable work within creative industries, Samuels is also an Amazon best-selling author.

Samuels received his B.A. from Duke University, along with an MBA and Master's degree from Stanford University all by the age of 25. Samuels remains poised to redesign the modern media landscape and empower creators by building innovative platforms aimed at advancing Black culture.

Favorite Ben & Jerry's Flavor: Phish Food & Change the Whirled

Music: Afro-Pop; Brazilian Samba; Ol’ School Hip Hop & anything Motown

Book/Movie: Art of War (Sun Tzu); The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho) and Entire Marvel Universe Movie Collection (The Avengers; Black Panther; Iron Man, Spiderman; all the superheroes!)

Quotes: “It always seems impossible until it is done. ” Nelson Mandela “To create David, I removed all that wasn’t David from the statue.” Michelangelo

NPO or Social/Environmental Cause: I spent my childhood living in several countries as part of a military family. Travel was a broadening and life-shaping experience. My parents continually encouraged me to become a global citizen --- embracing the diversity of people and cultures while seeking common ground. I knew that I was destined to spend my life working for peace, justice and equity. As an organizer, I received a rich education from an amazing set of people committed to securing basic human rights for everyone: community activists in Mississippi fighting for equal access to voting; migrant and seasonal farmworkers in North Carolina demanding clean drinking water in the fields; homeless women and their families in Philadelphia redeveloping abandoned buildings into affordable housing; enterprising teenagers in the South Bronx running their own farmers’ markets. Over the past four decades, I have worked as a justice and equity co-conspirator with people who are marginalized socially, economically and politically. I am fortunate to live my passion as a strategist/coach to organizations, communities, businesses and leaders advancing progressive policies in the areas of racial equity, civil rights, affordable housing, accessible health care, quality education and community economic development.

A little background... How long have I been on the BOD: Since 1996

My History with Ben & Jerry’s: I met Ben, Jerry and Jeff at the beginning of the One Percent for Peace Campaign. I had been working for years with Jobs for Peace to achieve a 25% transfer of military dollars to much-needed domestic spending on education, jobs, health and housing. The two efforts were naturally aligned. Soon after working as a volunteer on the One Percent for Peace Campaign, I was asked to help think through the organization of the Ben & Jerry's Foundation. With advice from progressive activists and organizers from around the country, the Foundation established the employees as the decision-makers for grant making. After several years of working with the company on a number of projects, I was thrilled to be nominated and voted onto the Ben & Jerry's Board of Directors.

Why am I passionate about Ben & Jerry's?: Ben & Jerry’s is the ultimate unicorn. Who else could have possibly envisioned a business being the ideal vehicle to advance social justice?!? The company’s three-part mission boldly states that business can and must operate in a way that is simultaneously ethical, sustainable and profitable. And it actually works! I believe that the company’s best ideas, practices, policies and victories are ahead. I am confident Ben & Jerry's will continue to evolve, re-invent and challenge itself in order to ultimately realize the vision of a just and caring world. What unique capabilities do I bring to Ben & Jerry's and the BOD?: I have more than 40 years of experience in the fields of community economic development, urban and rural public policy advocacy, organizational development and social enterprises. These skills have been called upon as the company has 1) developed ways to partner with nonprofit organizations; 2) considered the community-wide implications of major business decisions; 3) reviewed marketing campaigns that relayed a strong position on issues like Fairtrade; and 4) requested support and encouragement to the CEO and senior staff in their visioning and planning.

I have worked with stakeholders, including businesses, to create shared wealth and prosperity both inside businesses and within the larger community. This includes specific skills in strategic planning; organizational development; leadership development; team building; social, political and economic justice advocacy; and collaboration. Combining my background in journalism and politics, I have identified and connected community-based and national nonprofits to the company's activism campaigns and values-led efforts. Several of these relationships have resulted in strategic partnerships with the company.

As a board member, I have used this combination of skills to support the design of strategies that amplify the company's social movements for equity, justice and fairness. Through my work on the board, I have modeled the power of storytelling as a strategy to engage diverse constituencies of our fans. Storytelling is now recognized as a uniquely Ben & Jerry’s way to convey powerful messages, amplify marginalized voices and increase mutual understanding.