Belle Michigan launches $20 million impact fund

Patricia Poppe, president and CEO, CMS and Consumers Energy; Kathleen McCann, chairman and CEO, United Road Services Inc.; Florine Mark, president and CEO, The WW Group Inc.; Andra Rush, founder, chairman, CEO and president, Rush Group; Terri Kline, president and CEO of Health Alliance Plan; Lisa Payne, who is chairman of Soave Enterprises and president of Soave Real Estate; and Mary Kramer, group publisher of Crain Communications Inc. Former General Motors Co. executive Nancy Philippart and Carolyn Cassin, president and CEO of Michigan Women Forward, a nonprofit that invests in low- to moderate-income female entrepreneurs without access to traditional capital, are the founders and general partners of the fund that is focusing its investments in areas in which its general partners have expertise, including technology, health care, manufacturing/supply chain, automotive and mobility.Since the first Belle Michigan fund launched five years ago, the number of women angel investors in the region has grown from less than 10 to 50 unique women angel investors, she said.Twitter: @SherriWelch New fund boasts talented team General partners and co-founders: * Carolyn Cassin, president and CEO, Michigan Women Forward * Nancy Philippart, general partner and co-founder Belle Michigan Limited partners include: * Lauren Bigelow, CEO, Growth Capital Network * Shelley Bird, managing director, Golden Seeds * April Boise, senior vice president, chief legal offi­cer and corporate secretary, Meritor Inc. * Mary Brevard, co-chairman and director, Chambers Island Capital Investors LLC * Susan Diehl, co-founder and partner, Trinitas Advisors LLC * Karen Ebben, founder, Global Marketing Impact LLC * Sue Ellen Eisenberg, attorney, Sue Ellen Eisenberg & Associates PC * Blanca Fauble, director of development, HAVEN * Joanne Faycurry, partner, Schiff Hardin LLP * Linda Forte, former vice president, business affairs, and chief diversity offi­cer, Comerica Inc. * Mindi Fynke, owner and CEO of EHIM * Terri Kline, president and CEO, Health Alliance Plan * Beth Konrad, multimedia journalism program director and professor, Loyola University * Mary Kramer, group publisher, Crain Communications Inc. * Ronia Kruse, president and CEO, OpTech LLC * Florine Mark, president and CEO, The WW Group Inc. * Alicia Masse, managing director, Alderney Advisors LLC * Kathleen McCann, chairman and CEO, United Road Services Inc. * Anne Mervenne, president, Mervenne & Co. * Leslie Murphy, president and CEO, Mu