The Ellen Jaffe Story--Finding Your Passion

By Lynnette Horn

Ever since graduating from the University of Missouri in 1976, Ellen Jaffe's mission in life has been to make a difference in people's lives. That passion carried her into broadcast journalism, where as an award winning consumer reporter she exposed corruption in businesses, government and public school systems.

In 1990, she decided to leave her profession and concentrate on raising her three small children, Rebecca, Jessica and Aaron. But the retirement was short lived. In 1996, a turn in family finances pushed her back in front of the camera--this time as local news anchor during Good Morning America for the ABC-TV affiliate in St. Louis.

During her six-year hiatus the industry had changed. "Before, truth prevailed," Jaffe explains. "The chances of getting sued were minimal as long as what was reported was truthful." When she returned, Jaffe discovered that truth was no longer a safety net. The mentality had switched to how large a settlement the station would have to pay for running a story about a business operation. The fear of lawsuit was pulling the rug out from under consumer journalism.

The new constraints were hard for Jaffe to work under. She couldn"t go after the stories that would make a difference and she no longer felt like she was accomplishing what she had set out to do. In addition, at 44, Jaffe was the third oldest broadcast journalist in the St. Louis market. To stay on top in this industry, many journalists succumb to plastic surgery to keep their youthful appearance. Jaffe didn't want to go down that road. She knew the time was nearing for her to look for another career.

The challenge was to find a career where she could still make a difference, yet have the flexibility needed for her family. After much research, Jaffe jumped to financial consulting with Salomon Smith Barney. It hit her that if she had known more about saving and investing, she might not have had to return to work. A new passion began to emerge, a passion to empower families with the information they need to make knowledgeable financial decisions.

Jumping from broadcast journalism to financial consulting may seem like a major leap, but Jaffe believes otherwise. "What transfers well," she says, "is boiling tons of information down into a simple story." Financial consulting in its most basic form is simply communication.

A month into her licensing the heat was turned up on her passion when she discovered socially responsible investing. Not only could she empower families to take charge of their finances, but also she could match them to investments to reflect their own values. Various screens can be put in place to choose or reject securities for any number of social issues, such as tobacco, alcohol, animal testing, human rights violations, charitable giving, commitment to diversity or innovative employee benefits and programs. She learned that you don't have to sacrifice a good return to invest according to your values. Since its inception, the Domini Social Index (DSI), which monitors socially screened securities, consistently has matched or outperformed the S&P 500.

Armed with this knowledge and the extensive resources at Salomon Smith Barney, Jaffe knew she found her niche.  "Life is a smorgasbord," Jaffe says. "You pick and choose as you go down the line and when you find something you like devour it." That is exactly what she has done with socially responsible investing.

With the ink barely dry on her license she approached the Missouri Botanical Gardens and the Missouri Humane Society, to tell them how non-profit organizations could invest along mission statement lines. The response was encouraging. Both organizations co-sponsored with Salomon Smith Barney separate seminars on the topic. Jaffe's new career was launched.

First published in Progressive Woman Magazine, 2001