> Return to the Forty under 40 index
Rebecca Darr, 38Senior Fellow, Corporate Programs
The Aspen Institute
By day, Forty Under 40 Award winner Rebecca Darr, 38, of Brunswick, is a senior fellow at The Aspen Institute Business & Society Program, working for systems change in capital markets and business education. By night, she’s a “Jill of all trades†as cofounder and co-owner of Atayne, an apparel company that makes high performance outdoor and athletic gear from trash.
Outside of work, Rebecca is immersed in global and local communities. She is a reading judge for the William James Foundation’s socially responsible business plan competition, is a contributor to Common Good Ventures’ Springboard Friday sessions for nonprofits and is active with the Unitarian Universalist Church of Brunswick in its efforts to rebuild after a fire destroyed the church in 2011.
This go-getter is inspired by a number of people, including her mother, her aunt and uncle, and her childhood friend, Cayce. “In 11th grade, Cayce encouraged me to apply to Rice University, and I am where I am today largely because of listening to that advice. Cayce continues to inspire me with her perseverance, optimism, introspection, and smarts (as a trained physicist, lawyer, and working mom).â€Â
Jeremy Litchfield, co-founder of Atayne, says The Aspen Institute’s work on capital market “shorttermism,†which Rebecca co-leads, is garnering considerable recognition, including by none other than former President Bill Clinton, who in his new book “Back to Work†recommended reading the 2009 Aspen statement “overcoming shorttermism.â€Â
Rebecca has achieved much in the first four decades of her life and, no doubt, will continue to make her mark in the years to come. She is fond of the Mark Twain quote: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.â€Â
> Return to the Forty under 40 index