In 2005, in his first bid for public office, he became the first African-American governor of Massachusetts. During his eight year tenure, Patrick helped revive a battered economy through the expansion of affordable health care to more than 98 percent of state residents, launched initiatives stimulation clean energy and biotechnology, won a national Race to the Top educational grant, steered the state to a 25-year high in employment, and made unprecedented investments in Massachusetts public schools. By the end of Governor Patrick’s term, the state ranked first in the nation in student achievement, energy efficiency, veterans services, and entrepreneurship.
From April 2015 to December 2019, he served as a Managing Director of Bain Capital LLC, where he focused on investments that deliver both a competitive financial return and significant positive social impact. He is the Founder & Chairman of TogetherFUND, a political action committee supporting progressive politics and grassroots groups working to drive turnout and engagement among disenfranchised and marginalized voters.
Patrick is a Rockefeller Fellow, a Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute, and the author of two books, A Reason to Believe: Lessons from an Improbable Life and Faith in the Dream: A Call to the Nation to Reclaim American Values.
Opening Keynote Speech
Saturday, March 27th, 2021 9 a.m. EST
Mariana Mazzucato (PhD) is Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London (UCL), where she is Founding Director of the UCL Institute for Innovation & Public Purpose (IIPP). She received her BA from Tufts University and her MA and PhD from the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research. Her previous posts include the RM Phillips Professorial Chair at the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at Sussex University. She is a selected fellow of the UK’s Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) and of the Italian National Science Academy (Lincei).
She is winner of international prizes including the 2020 John von Neumann Award, the 2019 All European Academies Madame de Staël Prize for Cultural Values, and the 2018 Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought. She was named as one of the ‘3 most important thinkers about innovation‘ by The New Republic, one of the 50 most creative people in business in 2020 by Fast Company, and one of the 25 leaders shaping the future of capitalism by WIRED.
She is the author of three highly-acclaimed books: The Entrepreneurial State: debunking public vs. private sector myths (2013) which investigates the critical role the state plays in driving growth; The Value of Everything: making and taking in the global economy (2018) which looks at how value creation needs to be rewarded over value extraction; and the newly released Mission Economy: a moonshot guide to changing capitalism (2021).
She advises policy makers around the world on innovation-led inclusive and sustainable growth. Her current roles include being Chair of the World Health Organization’s Council on the Economics of Health for All and a member of the Scottish Government’s Council of Economic Advisors, the South African President’s Economic Advisory Council, the OECD Secretary General’s Advisory Group on a New Growth Narrative, the UN High Level Advisory Board for Economic and Social Affairs, Argentina’s Economic and Social Council, Vinnova’s Advisory Panel in Sweden, and Norway’s Research Council. Previously, through her role as Special Advisor for the EC Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation (2017-2019), she authored the high-impact report on Mission-Oriented Research & Innovation in the European Union, turning “missions” into a crucial new instrument in the European Commission’s Horizon innovation programme.
Fireside Chat with Mariana Mazzucato, in conversation with Dani Rodrik: Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism
Saturday, March 27, 2021, 4 p.m. EST
A tri sector executive leader with extensive and broad national and international experience in government, social profit and for-profit sectors. For the past twenty-five years, Farah has worked alongside politicians, entrepreneurs, business leaders, philanthropists and change-makers, including Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai.
Having travelled to over 64 countries spanning 6 continents, she offers a rich global perspective on different cultures, nuances and how to navigate and negotiate with governments, private and social profit entities in Canada, USA, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Russia, Australia, Turkey, China, Germany, Pakistan, Brazil and Iraq.
Farah’ areas of expertise include:
Highlights from her previous roles include:
As CEO, Malala Fund, Farah led an international team to deliver on Malala’s mission to see every girl in school. She brokered partnerships with Apple, Citi Bank, Starbucks, Air BnB and other private and public sector partners. Farah negotiated and managed the Yousafzai family’s first trip home to Pakistan since the attack on Malala’s life. Among her memorable moments was sitting at the table with G7 Leaders in 2018 to make the case for a $3.8 billion investment to support quality education for women and girls living in crisis and conflict-affected and fragile states.
As Founder & CEO of G(irls)20, Farah was among the first to elevate the argument for increasing female labour force participation with an increase in a country’s GDP. The organization cultivates a new generation of female leaders while working with G20 leaders to keep their commitment to create 100 million new jobs for women by 2025. She is also the creator of Girls On Boards and cultivated a global network on young leaders around the world.
As Senior Vice President, Toronto Region Board of Trade, Farah led the organization through its response to COVID-19 on behalf of its 10,000 members, transitioned the Board’s summit series to be a revenue generator, ushered in a new policy framework and restructured and expanded the Public Affairs department.
During her time in Canadian politics Farah served as the Chief of Staff to the Honourable Paddy Torsney (Justice, Finance and Environment) and then as Director of Communications for the Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan who was also Minister of Justice, Health. During this time Farah was a chief spokesperson on 9/11 and SARS.
Farah is a passionate volunteer and was recognized for her service to Canada with a Meritorious Service Medal from Canada’s Governor General & Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. She was also recognized by the Public Policy Forum (2019), London’s Top 1000 Most Influential People (2018), BBC (Top 100 Women), Women of Influence (Top 25 Most Influential Women in Canada), SALT (100 Most Inspiring Women in the World), EY (Nominee for Social Entrepreneur of the Year) and Diversity 50.
She currently serves as a Board Member for Music Canada, RefugePoint and G(irls)20 and is a Global Advisor for Apolitical Academy. She was a Board Member for The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, the Ontario Science Centre, Ontario Trillium Foundation, Canadian Club of Canada and the Co-Anchor, Clinton Global Initiative’s Network on Investing in Girls and Women. Farah was born in Uganda and in 1972, her family fled when Uganda’s dictator, Idi Amin gave Asian Ugandans 90 days to leave the country. She and her family sought refuge in Canada. She lives in Toronto.
Keynote Speech
Sunday, March 278h, 2021 8:45 a.m. EST
Fireside Chat with Mariana Mazzucato, in conversation with Dani Rodrik: Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism
Saturday, March 27, 2021, 4 p.m. EST
A Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award recepient, Tanvi works as an advisor, trainer and coach to social impact organizations and leaders across the globe. Tanvi founded an internationally recognized organization – Becoming I Foundation – which works towards revolutionizing education systems in India to transform marginalized communities from within. She serves on the board of Girls20 that focuses on elevating women’s participation in decision making spaces. She has also served as an International Fellow for the Global Fund for Children and was awarded the William J. Clinton Fellowship for Service in India through which she helped build programs targeted at women and children in high risk communities.
Tanvi has been awarded the Karamveer Puraskar for Justice and Citizen Action and her work has been recognized at the UN where she has been awarded for ‘Contribution to Humanitarian Development’. She has been invited to speak at the UN ECOSOC, UN WOMEN at the EU Development Days, the Clinton Global Initiative and at various TEDx conferences, alongside heads of state, social and business leaders from across the globe.
Keynote Speech
Sunday, March 278h, 2021 8:45 a.m. EST
As our society grapples with how to advance racial equity, growing businesses owned by people of color is an essential strategy to reducing employment, income, and wealth gaps. But how do we turn this increased attention by American business and policy leaders on inclusive entrepreneurship into meaningful, sustainable change for black and brown-owned companies? Learn about leading approaches to expanding access to capital, training, and markets that are delivering real impactful results for equitable entrepreneurial ecosystems. Hear from the nation’s leading thinkers and practitioners from banks, community development financial institutions, business support organizations, and advocates on how we can help entrepreneurs of color recover from the pandemic and grow at scale to build both a prosperous and inclusive economy.
Panel Block I
Saturday, 10:15am - 11:15am
In 2017, Kelly launched Founders of Color (FOC), a digital platform committed to helping minority entrepreneurs grow and scale their businesses. Today, FOC has more than 4K users in 40+ states, with members ranging from earlyistage tech startups to multi-million dollar companies. She is also the founding co-convener of the Black Innovation Alliance, a national coalition of ecosystem leaders committed to ensuring African-Americans have fair access to the innovation economy.
Kelly’s work has been featured in numerous publications, among them Tech Crunch, Fast Company and Essence Magazine.
In addition to her entrepreneurial endeavors, she has served as a regular contributor for HuffPost and currently serves on the Advisory Board for SXSW Pitch. She is a mentor for numerous entrepreneur communities including Praxis Labs and Echoing Green and is a very active voice on social media, with approximately 70K followers on Linkedin alone.
Kelly has two hard-earned degrees, a BA from Clark Atlanta University and a PhD from Emory University, both in Political Science.
Previously, Ms. Gambrell served as Director of the Treasury Department’s CDFI Fund, and in executive positions with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Currently, she is a board member for the following organizations: Southern Bancorp, Little Rock, Arkansas, which is one of the nation’s largest CDFIs; Association for Enterprise Opportunity, a membership organization for microbusinesses; Opportunity Finance Network, a CDFI trade association; The Low Income Investment Fund, a national CDFI focused on education; and Raza Development Fund, the largest Latino CDFI in the country.
How will the world build emotional resilience to overcome the COVID-19 Pandemic? What skills and support do the most vulnerable children and youth need in the new normal? Mental health and wellbeing has been an ongoing concern globally since the drastic shift in workspaces and education occurred in 2020. In this context, what can be done, to move the needle beyond just a conversation? There is a need to relook at wellbeing from the lens of skill building, systems change and equity. Join this engaging panel discussion to learn about some pathbreaking programs initiated by governments, multilateral organizations and philanthropy to ensure wellbeing for young people across the world.
Panel Block I
Saturday, 10:15am - 11:15am
During his tenure as Education Minister, a significant transformation has taken place in the infrastructure and quality of education provided by Delhi government schools. Mr. Sisodia doubled the budgetary allocation to Education which is now constant at almost 25% of the entire state budget. This was a historic step and has since been followed by the launch of a full-fledged reform process in public education. Sisodia has gained a reputation around the country as one of the best education administrators and educationists in government.
Recently, he has candidly given a detailed account of this journey as Education Ministry in his book “Shiksha ― My Experiments as an Education Minister”. It is Mr. Sisodia’s vision that has resulted in path breaking innovations such as the Mentor Teacher Programme, Mission Buniyaad, Happiness Curriculum and the Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum. For his phenomenal work in improving the government education system in Delhi, he has been awarded ‘Finest Education Minister’ in 2017 and ‘Champions for Change’ in 2019.
Prior to his political career, Mr. Sisodia was one of India’s foremost Right to Information (RTI) activists having co-founded the non-profit Kabir and had a successful career in journalism spanning a decade.
Erin’s has been recognized as a World Economic Forum’s Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur (2014), a Global Impact Featured Member for 2017 by the Young Presidents’ Organization, and was named one of Fast Company’s Extraordinary Women (2012). Before co-founding Room to Read, Erin worked at Goldman Sachs & Co, Unilever and several technology start-ups. Erin holds a combined bachelor’s and master’s degree in international relations and economics from The Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C.
Social Enterprises start in the country context where the need for solving a problem is greatest. This panel will discuss Social Entrepreneurship in the context of International Development and will delve into the following three questions: What unique resources and challenges need to be considered in developing country contexts? What models for funding are most prevalent? What lessons should we draw from successful social enterprises persevering through the past year of Covid 19 and continuing to create a vital impact in the lives of their stakeholders?
Panel Block I
Saturday, 10:15am - 11:15am
Most entrepreneurs go through challenging times. When things are not going well, how do you keep a clear and creative mind to keep going? How much do you push or adapt? whom do you ask for help? In this panel, we will hear stories from successful entrepreneurs and the lessons they learned from getting through the tough times.
Panel Block I
Saturday, 10:15am - 11:15am
Stephanie was on the founding team of Cambridge Technology Partners (CTP), a visionary startup in the tech space that went public and was one of the first entities to foresee the transformation from mainframe-centric solutions to client-server architecture and packaged solutions. She previously was Co-Founder, CEO, and Director of Surebridge, a web-based software provider that was ultimately sold to Time Warner.
She has served as Acting Executive Director at the Tobin Project, a nonprofit organization that sits at the forefront of major research initiatives that address some of society’s most pressing problems and helps transform public policy debates, inspired by economics Nobel laureate James Tobin. She currently serves on their Board of Directors. Stephanie received a “Top 40 under 40” award from the Boston Business Journal in 1999. She serves on the President’s Council of Cornell Women and is a co-Master of Cabot House at Harvard University. She has consulted with clients ranging from early-stage to established organizations in the nonprofit, technology, and healthcare sectors and serves on several social enterprise boards.
She received her BS in Applied Economics with a concentration in International Relations from Cornell University, an MBA from the Harvard Business School and an MPP from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
In 2000 she began her acting career. After participating in 15 productions and her last leading role in the Tvshow “Three Miracles”, she retired from acting to dedicate and to work in prisons.
In 2012 she created a theater group at the women’s penitentiary “El Buen Pastor” in Bogotá, where she began her involvement in prisons. To date, she has worked in 31 prisons in Colombia, benefiting more than 30,000 inmates.
In 2017, she began her involvement with the juvenile prison sector.
``Ecosystem builders`` that go beyond providing funds play a critical role in the development of social entrepreneurship ecosystems that are young but growing in many countries. They often provide the ``public goods`` in the nascent sector: from capacity building, policy advocacy, impact measurement and standardization, among others. How do we define the expansive, if vague, role of ecosystem players? In the past decade, what have we learned about the effective roles they play (or not), across sectors and countries ? What's next?
Panel Block I
Saturday, 10:15am - 11:15am
Isabel is an economist that worked at the World Bank for most of her professional life, including as VP for South Asia where she managed a 39-billion-dollar portfolio between 2008 and 2013. Before that she was a Country Director for Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Mexico, Peru and Paraguay where she oversaw large education projects, especially in India, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.
Isabel studied economics at Catholic University in Peru and at the London School of Economics. She studied psychoanalysis at the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute. She is a Board member of the UN University and it is a frequent commentator on CNN Dinero.
Vineet believes in building impact ecosystem to deliver real Impact as enshrined in the vision of Aavishkaar Group “We exist to bridge the Opportunity Group for the Emerging 3 Billion”. Vineet believes that Impact Investing has the potential to change the world of finance irreversibly.
The Group’s ecosystems include Aavishkaar Capital – the Impact fund manager focused on Global South, Arohan – One of India’s largest & most digitally advanced microfinance institution (MFI) targeting low income households, Ashv Finance – a Phygital NBFC, offering unique cash flow based business loans to Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises and IntelleCap – Global Impact advisory firm providing Consulting, Investment banking and an Inclusive networking platform, Sankalp for engagement around impact investing.
Aavishkaar Group has 7000 employees, manages assets in excess of US $ 1.2 Billion while trying to serve needs of entrepreneurs from debt of US $ 150 (INR 10 thousands) to equity of US $ 15 Million (INR 100 Crore) while aligning the group to 13 out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals or SDG’s.
Vineet has received numerous awards including the TiE Hall of Fame 2018, the Impact Investor of the Year by News Corp for 2016, Porter Prize for Strategic Leadership in Social Space, 2016, CNBC TV 18 Award for being the Catalyst Fund for India 2016, G 20 – SME Innovation in Finance Award 2010 in Seoul South Korea, UNDP-IBLF –ICC World Business Award in 2005 and Lemelson Award for Social Venture Investing.
He is an Ashoka Fellow and Honorary Member of XLRI Alumni Association. Vineet recently featured on the cover of Forbes India, January 2018 issue. Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever endorsed Aavishkaar Intellecap Group for its efforts in furthering inclusive development. Vineet was invited by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for consultations on doubling the income of the farmers in September 2017 as part of his champions of change program. Vineet also serves as Commissioner at the Business Commission for Sustainable Development, as Senior Advisor to Blended Finance Working Group at OECD and as an Advisor to United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Science Technology and Innovation Advisory Board.
Recently Vineet Rai and Swati Rai (Co-Founder) was awarded the Faces of Vibrant Bharat 2021 by Grant Thorton Bharat.
Driving on Indian roads is one of his passions and he tries to cover 50,000 KM every year.
Despite a growing pipeline of women and minority entrepreneurs, only 13% of venture backed founders are women, less than 4% are Latinx, and less than 2% are Black. Additionally, of all venture capital investors, only 21% are women, 5% are Latinx, and 3% are black. This panel will discuss what is driving the gap in VC funding and how we can begin to close the gap.
Panel Block II
Saturday, 11:45am – 12:45pm
Mandela SH Dixon: Silicon Valley’s #1 Fundraising Coach for Underrepresented Founders
Mandela SH Dixon is a founder, investor, and startup ecosystem leader, who has trained hundreds of entrepreneurs around the world on how to build successful businesses. As the Founder and CEO of Founder Gym, the premiere online training program for underrepresented founders, Mandela and her team have helped over 500 founders raise more than $80 million in startup capital in less than three years.
Prior to Founder Gym, Mandela was the founding Portfolio Services Director at venture firm Kapor Capital, the Global Director of Startup Weekend Education, and one of the first Black women to raise venture capital from Silicon Valley investors in 2012.
Mandela is an inaugural member of First Round Capital’s Angel Track program, composed of select angel investors from Silicon Valley’s most prominent tech companies. Mandela is a respected thought leader, who has shared her frameworks for success on over 100 stages and in more than 100 publications. Mandela has received various recognitions, including being named to Entrepreneur Magazine’s 100 Powerful Women list, Forbes 30 Under 30 list, as well as LinkedIn’s Top 10 Voices in Venture Capital and Startups. You can follow Mandela onInstagram,Twitter,LinkedIn, and Medium.
Recent Press + 2021 Highlights:
Our mission is going to be featured on stages across the world this year, as we speak at events like NBA All-Star Weekend, SXSW, Harvard‘s annual business conference, and more!
Javier Saade is Managing Partner of Impact Master Holdings, a VC focused on working with companies creating values-driven value, and a Venture Partner at Fenway Summer Ventures, a VC that has backed 60+ enterprises innovating at the intersection of finance and technology. He also currently serves on the Board of Directors of SoftBank Vision Fund Investment Corp. (NASDAQ: SVFA), Board of Directors of Porch Group (NASDAQ: PRCH) and as Chairman of the Board of GP Funding, Inc., a Rothschild and Presidio-owned financial services company.
Previously, Javier was appointed by President Obama to serve as Associate Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and was its Chief of Investment and Innovation. He was one of the highest-ranking Latinos in government and a national leader focused on sustainable investing, inclusive finance, innovation and economic development. Javier was also a full-time member of the Biden-Harris Transition Team focused on Treasury and several cross cutting economic issues.
Prior to public service he spent over twenty years in investing, entrepreneurial, operating and C-suite advisory roles at organizations that include, but are not limited to, McKinsey & Company, Bridgewater Associates, GEM Group and Air America, a company he co-founded. Throughout his career, Javier has also served on several private equity and venture-backed boards and as Mentor at Kauffman Foundation’s Fellows Program and Techstars. Javier was also recently on the Board of Advisors of Harvard’s Rock Center for Entrepreneurship.
He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MS in Operations & Technology from Illinois Institute of Technology and a BS in Industrial Management from Purdue University.
Sergio Marrero is an investor and serial entrepreneur who graduated from the Harvard Business School and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He previously worked at Gotham Ventures, PepsiCo, Teach For America, and Deloitte Consulting. While in graduate school he conducted his thesis on venture studios and accelerating impact innovation at the intersection of business and government. He set up operations for two emerging venture capital funds each seeking to raise $100M, produces a VC and CEO LiveStream Series called RBL1 Live, and is Founding Partner of Rebel One – a double bottom line investing fund and investor network accelerating rebel founders innovating for a better world.
``Edutainment`` (Educational Entertainment) is increasingly attracting more and more learners, a trend swiftly accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Educators and technologists alike are innovating to enable anyone, anywhere to learn better and faster, all the while having fun. In this panel, we will discuss innovations in the space, strategies to keep learners engaged, ways to measure efficacy and impact, and limitations of this space.
Panel Block II
Saturday, 11:45am – 12:45pm
Bron has been engaged in educational community and gameful practices in learning development for the past 15 years. She has worked to explore virtual worlds, games in learning and how we can cultivate identity, agency, citizenship, leadership, and community. She is a postdoctoral research fellow of the Arizona State University Center for Games & Impact and is a leader in the field of gamification for cultivation of community and identity. As a global Minecraft mentor and for that past 10 years has consulted to Departments of Education, Health and Transport on ways Minecraft in particular can enhance their community outreach and educational agendas. Bron supports youth enterprise and is on the board of several game-savvy startups. Bron’s overriding drive is to understand how games support learning and cultivate community for learners of all ages.
https://about.me/bronstuckey @bronst
Deborah currently serves on the boards of Aakash Educational Services Ltd (a leading tutoring and test preparation company in India), Ascend Learning (a portfolio company of Blackstone and CCCP), ClassEDU, Create and Learn, Degreed, The Educational Testing Service (ETS), Intellispark, Mighty, PhotoMath, QuillBot, Remind, Stride, Turnitin (an Advance Communications company) and Valenture Institute. She is a board observer at CLI Studios, CreativeLive, Fairygodboss, Lightneer, Outlier.org, RaiseMe, and Toucan. She is a member of the boards of The Common Ground Foundation, The Falling Walls Digital Education Jury Board, The Khan Academy Thought Leadership Council, The New Profit Prophets Education Advisory Group, Oriental Education Institute (OEI), Steppenwolf Theatre Company and The Strada Institute for the Future of Work Advisory Committee. She previously served on the board of a number of education organizations including The Chicago Board of Education (CPS) and KIPP: Chicago.
Deborah graduated cum laude with a BA in history from Princeton University in 1982 and an MBA from Harvard University in 1987.
In this panel, we will explore critical, pressing issues facing the field of philanthropy today. We bring together perspectives from four different philanthropic approaches: big philanthropy, venture philanthropy, community philanthropy, and collective philanthropy. Panel themes include the roles and responsibilities of philanthropy, the impact of philanthropic collaboration, and philanthropic organizations' response to COVID-19. Panelists will discuss how their organizations approach balancing the need to respond to urgent crises vs. longer term issues, how they have confronted challenges regarding racial equity and power dynamics, and how they work with other philanthropic organizations and across sectors to maximize impact.
Panel Block II
Saturday, 11:45am – 12:45pm
Prior to that, he was the director of programs at The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) in London where he oversaw a cross-cutting portfolio of programs focused on health, nutrition, education, and climate change across Africa and South Asia, and led CIFF’s efforts in designing and performance managing investments with grantees.
He also served as principal at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where he focused on healthcare, financial services, and social impact projects. Before that, Ankur was a lecturer of Economics at the University of Chicago. He also worked briefly at Goldman Sachs, the Industrial Development Bank of India, and the Bhabha Atomic Research Center in India.
Ankur holds a PhD in Economics from The University of Chicago, along with a Masters in Economics and Bachelors in Computer Science from Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani, India. He currently sits on the boards of Innovations for Poverty Action and Global Health Labs.
Currently she is helping to envision and give momentum to the Inter-generational Feminist Forum in Nepal.
Alex serves on the Massachusetts State Board of Higher Education and the nonprofit boards of Innovate Public Schools in California, Valor Collegiate Schools in Tennessee, 4.0 Schools in New Orleans, and Saga Education in Boston. Alex is also a Pahara Aspen Education Fellow and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
Prior to New Profit, Alex served as Chief of Staff, Strategy and Execution at KIPP Houston, as a Regional Director of Growth and Sustainability at the KIPP Foundation, and as a Manager with the Bridgespan Group. Alex started his career in for-profit management consulting, working for clients in financial services, telecommunications, private equity, and state government.
Alex has published works on mergers and collaborations in the nonprofit space, nonprofit best practices in being data-driven and mission-focused, and multiple articles on how philanthropy can support enduring parent power and systems change in education.
Alex has an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School, and a BS in Political Science from Columbia University. Originally from New Orleans, he currently resides in Brookline, MA.
Silvia is the former Global Head of Philanthropy Advisory at UBS where she led a team of specialists helping wealthy families realize their philanthropic aspirations. Prior to that, she was an Associate Partner at the global strategy consulting firm Monitor Group and also worked for the Organization of American States and Amnesty International, among others. Silvia holds degrees from the London School of Economics and Political Science and Harvard Kennedy School.
Originally from Lima, Peru, Silvia has visited and worked in over 70 countries across five continents. She lives with her husband and two children in Zurich.
Mark co-founded FSG in 1999 with Professor Michael Porter, now a 150-person global social impact consulting firm, that includes the Shared Value Initiative, the Collective Impact Forum, and Talent Rewire. In 2021, Mark stepped back from active management at FSG to create an impact investment firm, currently in formation.
Mark also serves as a Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School, a member of the Aspen Philanthropy Group and an advisor to Kimberly-Clark, Maple Leaf Foods and Nestlé.
Previously, Mark served as President of the private equity firm Kramer Capital Management. He is a graduate of Brandeis University, The Wharton School, and the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
How to become purpose-driven one step at a time. Or rather, one person at a time. In this panel, we will explore how to build a culture of purpose, how to shape and execute an ESG strategy throughout an organization, and how this may change in 2021 and beyond. Hear how companies can make the cultural shift towards ``doing good`` -- and why they should.
Panel Block II
Saturday, 11:45am – 12:45pm
Her publications include Leading Sustainable Change: An Organizational Perspective, and Accelerating Energy Innovation: Lessons from multiple sectors. For several years she taught “Reimagining Capitalism: Business & the Big Problems”, a course that grew from 28 students to over 300 and that is the basis for the newly released Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire – a book that has just been shortlisted for the FT/McKinsey 2020 Business Book of the Year Award.
Prior to joining Starbucks, he spent 22 years at Levi Strauss & Co. where he served as Vice-President of Sustainability. Michael has also served as Vice-President at Business for Social Responsibility. Prior to that, he spent nine years at The Asia Foundation, where he supported human rights and economic development in Bangladesh, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Michael is a lecturer in corporate sustainability at the Haas Business School, University of California at Berkeley. He is also the Executive Producer of Utopia Theatre Project, an artist-led social justice theater company.
Michael has served on a number of boards and advisory commissions, including the Cotton Board, Better Cotton Initiative, Sustainable Apparel Coalition, ILO Better Work, Levi Strauss Foundation, and The Asia Foundation.
Michael received his A.B. in Asian Studies and Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley, where he also received his Masters’ Degree in Public Policy. He also spent a year studying at International Christian University in Tokyo and studied sustainable finance at Oxford University.
More than $23 trillion assets globally are subject to a non-traditional (environmental, social, and governance and impact) screen, about 25% of all professionally managed assets. There is an increasingly broad-based sentiment in the financial sponsor community that asset owners should include ESG and impact criteria in their investment process.
In this panel, we speak to leaders of organizations positioned across the impact investing landscape – large asset managers, non-profit social financing, and for-profit social impact investing – to discuss trends in the social investing space, including but not limited to: funding landscape and impact of new entrants; impact measurement and tracking across social investing strategies, and near-term and lasting pandemic-driven changes.
Lunch Break Panel
1:00pm - 2:00pm
A serial social entrepreneur, prior to Candide Group she was the founding CEO of Toniic, a global impact investment network, co-founder of Transform Finance, a non-profit organization building a bridge between finance and social justice, and also founding ED of the Responsible Endowments Coalition, educating and organizing over 100 campuses across the country.
She received a B.A with High Honors in Economics and Political Science from Swarthmore College, and serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate Program at Middlebury College. More on Morgan at www.morgansimon.com.
Andrew Chen is a Vice President on the Social Investment team. His work at Social Finance includes oversight of the UP Fund, sustainability and resiliency projects, and data partnerships. Previous to this role, Andrew spent over 25 years as an entrepreneur and impact investor. He was a Managing Director at BlueHub Capital overseeing the firm’s community development venture capital activities. He invested, monitored or served on the boards of portfolio companies including Zipcar (IPO and now a division of Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ: CAR)), Acelero Learning, SelecTech, CASTion (acquired by ThermoEnergy), TracRac (acquired by a PE firm), and geoVue (acquired by Versata). He also served as the founding CEO of WegoWise, a building efficiency analytics platform that integrated building performance data with sustainable real estate management practices. WegoWise was acquired by AppFolio (NASDAQ: APPF). Andrew graduated from Johns Hopkins with a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering. He then traded the Baltimore humidity for the Boston cold and received his S.M. and Ph.D. from MIT where his research focused on materials processing and technology commercialization.
40% of start-ups are founded by women... Yet only 2.2% of women receive venture funding in the United States. Why the gap? In this panel we will explore the disparity that exists in VC funding, its implications and ways to resolve it. We will hear from successful female entrepreneurs and VCs.
Panel Block III
Saturday, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Alicia received her M.S. and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She previously worked as an economist with the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the Office of Economic Research in the SBA. She is a prolific author on the topics of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial finance. In addition to numerous journal articles and book chapters, she is the co-author of A Rising Tide: Financing Strategies for Women-Owned Businesses and The Next Wave: Financing and Investing Strategies for Growth-Oriented Women Entrepreneurs published by Stanford University Press, as well as Race and Entrepreneurial Success published by MIT Press. She teaches workshops on angel investing and investor readiness around the globe. She is an active angel investor, a limited partner in three early-stage venture funds, a mentor to various young firms, and a board member for several groups, including the Deming Center Venture Fund, the Kachuwa Impact Fund, Good Food Institute, Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary, and Vegan Investors.
Alicia was awarded the prestigious Hans Severiens Award in 2020, ACA’s annual award recognizing one individual’s work in advancing the field of angel investing. She splits her time between Glenwood Springs, Colorado and Tucson, Arizona with her husband, Mark, and a menagerie of rescued animals.
In a career spent at the intersection of business and philanthropy, John has demonstrated practical ways to leverage capitalism for social change, holding firm to the idea that the private sector can be both “tough-minded and tender-hearted.”
In the 1990s, he co-founded Pura Vida Coffee, a social enterprise and one of the first companies to sell fair-trade coffee nationwide. Under John’s leadership, Pura Vida Coffee achieved dual goals of scaling business while delivering economic benefit for coffee farmers and families around the world. Prior to Pura Vida Coffee, John led strategic initiatives as part of management teams at Microsoft, Starwave (a media company purchased by Disney), and Starbucks, where he drove the development of the Starbucks Foundation’s long-range strategic plan.
John received his MBA from Harvard University after earning a Bachelor of Arts with Honors from Stanford University, where he wrote his thesis on modern strategies for fighting hate groups. He is a former guest lecturer at Harvard Business School and an Ashoka Fellow, an honor that recognizes entrepreneurs using business to transform society.
John and his wife, Shelly, live in Seattle and have three sons: Jackson, Nick, and Matthew.
In 2015, Michele became the youngest judge on CBC’s Dragons’ Den (Canada’s Shark Tank), and has been a ‘Dragon’ for the last six seasons. A prolific investor, Michele was recently named Fortune’s 40 under 40, a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women and Canada’s Angel Investor of the Year.
Michele has created digital solutions for many of the world’s leading brands, including P&G, Netflix, Starbucks, and Cirque du Soleil. In the media, Michele’s work has been profiled in Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune, TechCrunch, and The Globe and Mail.
Michele is a director for Vail Resorts, Freshii, BBTV and League of Innovators. Previously she was a director for Whistler Blackcomb, SHAD International. Michele also co-founded the Canadian Entrepreneurship Initiative non profit with Sir Richard Branson.
Esha Sahai is a venture capitalist, entrepreneur, and educator. She is Founding General Partner at
Flamenco Ventures. As the Founder of Girls Who Venture, she is working towards gender equality in
entrepreneurship and venture capital, particularly in emerging markets. She is an Entrepreneur In
Residence at Xcelerator at UC Berkeley. Esha is also an advisor at Viell and Skydeck Berkeley, and a
mentor at Manush Labs and Alchemist Accelerator. She is the founder of Rio, a startup that develops digital business cards, and was a finalist at Alchemist Accelerator in 2019. Esha was an Entrepreneur In
Residence at the College of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of Massachusetts,
Amherst. As a serial entrepreneur, Esha co-founded and worked at startups funded by a16z, DARPA, and
the Foundry Group.
Previously she was an investor at Varidus, Zane Venture Fund, Alumni Ventures Group, a member of
Microsoft’s Corporate Strategy and Development team for the Cloud & Enterprise and AI divisions, and an investor at M12 (previously Microsoft Ventures). Before joining Microsoft, Esha served as a Legatum Fellow at MIT, where she worked on multiple for-profit and non-profit ventures. Her mobile startup Curious Learning was a semi-finalist in MassChallenge & MIT’s 100K. Past stints include Oracle Corp., edX, LearnLaunch Accelerator, and a Techstars startup. Esha has served on the boards of Tesseract Inc. (acquired by Reliance Industries), Ant Bicycle. Girls Inc., Circle of Women, UMass Amherst’s Maroon Ventures Fund, GetMAGIC Corp, and SOWCoders.
She was a Bay State Fellow at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she received her B.S. and
M.S. degrees in computer science in 2002 and 2004, respectively. Esha has a degree in management and
engineering from MIT’s Sloan School of Management and MIT Engineering.
The COVID pandemic has introduced disruptions to city life, causing issues like mass evictions and food insecurity that prompted a migration toward suburban or rural parts of the world. At the same time, the emergence of technologies and norms enabling remote work has expanded workers' flexibility over where they live. This paradigmatic shift in how we see work and life calls into question the presumed benefits of urban living, and the costs associated with them. It also highlights the necessity of improving sustainability of life in our cities. This panel invites leading social entrepreneurs tackling the pain points of urban life from different perspectives, to share their views on the road ahead for more sustainable living.
Panel Block III
Saturday, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Today he is founder and CEO of Factory OS, an ambitious effort to ease the housing challenge by scaling the off site production of multifamily housing. Factory OS is a new approach to housing construction, integrating the design and build processes, powered by local union labor and pioneering in-house research and innovation. Having successfully developed the largest prefab home construction project in San Francisco history, Rick knows firsthand how powerful this technology can be.
Before Sidewalk Labs, Shaina served as the Chief of Staff to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s Economic Council in Chicago. In that role, she created the city’s economic development agenda for both terms under Mayor Emanuel’s leadership. Upon his election and with the support of over 150 leaders in Chicago, Shaina led the creation of the Plan for Economic Growth and Jobs, a comprehensive plan for the city to build economic clusters, foster small business growth, invest in critical infrastructure and develop a 21st century workforce. In this capacity, Shaina led job creation efforts leading to the relocation of major corporations into Chicago. She advised on critical infrastructure financing projects that leveraged public money with private investment, including the build of the Riverwalk, a $800M investment, a $200M energy retrofit program, and led the creation of the Chicago Infrastructure Trust. To build the innovation ecosystem in Chicago, Shaina helped Chicago leverage private capital and federal dollars to launch a med-tech incubator, MATTER, a hardware incubator, MHUB, and a $350M applied R&D institute for digital manufacturing.
Prior to her role in Chicago, Shaina was a consultant at McKinsey and Company where she worked with local governments around the world on economic development efforts, workforce development efforts, retail growth and transforming higher education.
Shaina has served on several civic non-profit economic development boards, including Accion Chicago, a nonprofit organization that supports underserved entrepreneurs with capital, and the Zoning Board of Appeals for the City of Chicago. She holds an MBA from Northwestern University and a BS from the University of Notre Dame. Shaina lives in Minneapolis with her husband and three daughters.
Embarking on a career in finance is an ethically complicated undertaking for individuals who want to have a positive impact on society. On the plus side, the development of financial markets is linked to a society’s economic development and a reduction in inequality. But only up to a point. Recent studies have found that the US financial industry gets a large amount of its profits from rent extraction and unsustainable financial innovation disconnected from the real economy. How can an individual pursue a career in finance and ensure they have a positive impact on customers, employees, and society?
J. C. de Swaan has long sought an answer to this question through his Princeton course on ethics in finance. He channels the forces of well-intentioned finance professionals to improve finance from within and help restore its focus on serving society. During this interview, we will hear from de Swaan as he proposes a framework for pursuing a viable career in finance while benefiting society and upholding humanistic values. In doing so, he challenges traditional concepts of success in the industry.
Panel Block III
Saturday, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
JC de Swaan received his B.A. from Yale University, an MPhil from the University of Cambridge, and a Master in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School. He is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the author of Seeking Virtue in Finance: Contributing to Society in a Conflicted Industry (Cambridge University Press).
It is a paradox that while the social enterprise ecosystem seeks to apply the practices of private market-based mechanisms to social problems, these problems are in fact perpetrated by the fault-lines of capitalism. Modern capitalism has thrived on inequities in access to wealth, resources, and power, and experts have variously called for “saving capitalism from the capitalists” or “reimagining capitalism.” If we don’t confront these questions, social enterprises will merely be providing band-aid solutions to these deep challenges. For the social enterprise ecosystem to be more profound in its impact, it must cease to be an ancillary player and instead, engage more directly with this project of reimagining capitalism. This panel will bring together experts – researchers, funders, business leaders – to talk about how capitalism itself must be recalibrated so that it doesn’t perpetuate the complex challenges we are trying to solve.
Panel Block III
Saturday, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Chris serves in advisory and/or governance roles for ANDE, Blue Haven Initiative, the Catalytic Capital Consortium, the Collaborative for Frontier Finance, Social Finance US, the Tipping Point Fund, and the US Alliance for Impact Investing.
Prior to joining the firm, Chris was director of global partnerships at USAID’s Global Development Lab, where his team managed the Global Development Alliance, USAID’s flagship model for building shared value partnerships with the private sector. Chris also oversaw the Lab’s entrepreneurship and impact investing portfolio, including the Partnering to Accelerate Entrepreneurship (PACE) initiative. He also led an effort to create the Scaling Off-Grid Energy – Grand Challenge for Development, a multi-donor partnership focused on scaling the household solar sector in sub-Saharan Africa, in support of President Obama’s Power Africa initiative. Chris previously served as director of global programs for Accenture Development Partnerships (ADP), Accenture’s not-for-profit international development consulting practice, where he oversaw ADP’s global portfolio of work with over 50 NGOs and donor agencies. Additionally, Chris has experience working in Bolivia with the IFC, in Poland with a microfinance network, and with a range of nonprofit organizations across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Chris has a Master’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and a B.A. in economics and international studies from Miami University, where he was a Truman Scholar.
Jim Knight works in education, medtech and as a legislator. He’s the chief education and external officer at Tes Global Ltd., a news, training, jobs and resource sharing service for teachers, where he’s responsible for Tes resources, communications and public affairs. He founded Tes Institute in 2014, which is now the fifth largest qualifier of teachers in England. Knight is also a founder of XRapid, an innovative business that uses artificial intelligence to power the diagnosis of malaria and asbestos fibres using iPhones. As a UK government minister, his portfolio includes rural affairs, schools, digital and employment. He was a member of former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s cabinet from 2009-2010, before joining the House of Lords after the 2010 general election. He’s also a visiting professor at the Knowledge Lab of the UCL Institute of Education and chair of Whole Education.
How do you measure an enterprise’s real impact? Join us to discover the Impact-Weighted Accounts Project, a research initiative led by George Serafeim at Harvard Business School. The IWA mission is to drive the creation of financial accounts that reflect a company’s financial, social, and environmental performance. Our ambition is to create accounting statements that transparently capture external impacts in a way that drives investor and managerial decision making. As a thought partner, BlackRock’s Global Impact Team and Investment Stewardship Team are piloting the Impact-Weighted Accounts methodologies to test practicability, relevance, and scale within the investment industry.
Panel Block III
Saturday, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
As a generalist, Ariel is responsible for proxy voting; engaging with senior executives and board members of portfolio companies on matters related to corporate strategy, governance, and environmental and social issues; and contributing to the development of engagement and thought leadership strategies to enhance sustainable financial performance.
Prior to joining BlackRock, Ariel worked at Rabin Martin, a global health strategy firm, where she was responsible for the execution of communications, thought leadership, and advocacy initiatives for Merck & Co.’s flagship corporate responsibility program. She started her career at UNICEF, where she supported organizational learning and development efforts to strengthen the technical expertise of employees across all programmatic and business functions.
Ariel earned a BA in Government from Cornell University and an MPA in International Development Policy & Management from the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
Prior to joining BlackRock, Quyen worked as the sustainable investment strategist for Wellington Management. She guided the development of the firm’s flagship impact strategy in public equities and the strategy to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Previously, Quyen worked as a senior investment consultant at Cambridge Associates where she advised endowments and foundations on investment strategy and she headed the training program for analysts globally. At Fidelity Investments, Quyen was a director of investment analytics covering global equities.
Quyen earned her MBA from Harvard Business School and her BA, cum laude, in philosophy from Mount Holyoke College. She studied abroad at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in Sarnath, India. On a volunteer basis, she taught English as a classroom teacher in Vietnam and worked for the advancement of grade-school children in the US.
Prior to joining the Global Impact team, William was a research associate responsible for covering the energy industry for BlackRock’s Value and Income team. William’s
passion for impact investing came from his focus on the transition to clean energy and the electric vehicles industry.
William graduated Cum Laude from Hofstra University, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in finance and minored in economics.
Prior to joining BlackRock, Danny was a research associate at Wellington Management, where he worked as an equity analyst on the firm’s flagship Global Impact equity strategy, and as a sector specialist covering financial services. Before Wellington, Danny spent the first two years of his career in New York City at Morgan Stanley conducting credit analysis to support the underwriting of leveraged loans.
Danny graduated Magna Cum Laude from Northeastern University, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting and a minor in economics in 2016. Outside of his career, Danny is active in community and philanthropic work, including running Boston Marathons to raise awareness and cancer research funding for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Join us for a dynamic workshop and discussion on impact investing in public equities! We will discuss the criteria for impact, the difference between impact and ESG investing, best practices in impact measurement, and important characteristics of portfolio construction as you build an impact portfolio. You can put yourselves in the position of being an impact investor in public markets, a complementary asset class in the impact investing ecosystem.
Case 1: Impact or Not? An interactive discussion and voting on whether 5 companies qualifies as impact
Case 2: Measuring Impact – Applying Best Practices in Public Equities
Case 3: Building a diversified impact portfolio
Workshop
Saturday, 3:00pm - 4:15pm
Eric Rice, Managing Director, is Head of Impact Investing. He works as a portfolio manager and is the architect of the world’s first diversified public-markets impact investing strategy, Global Impact. Global Impact is an alpha-oriented strategy that invests in companies whose goods and services help address the world’s great problems as defined by the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Eric also collaborates with other investors at BlackRock to help germinate additional impact and sustainable investing strategies.
Eric joined BlackRock from Wellington Management in 2019, where he had been an investor for over 20 years. Previously, he worked as a World Bank country economist and a diplomat in Rwanda with the US Department of State.
Eric earned a PhD in economics from Harvard University and a AB degree in economics from the University of California at Berkeley. He lives in San Francisco, CA.
Prior to joining BlackRock, Quyen worked as the sustainable investment strategist for Wellington Management. She guided the development of the firm’s flagship impact strategy in public equities and the strategy to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Previously, Quyen worked as a senior investment consultant at Cambridge Associates where she advised endowments and foundations on investment strategy and she headed the training program for analysts globally. At Fidelity Investments, Quyen was a director of investment analytics covering global equities.
Quyen earned her MBA from Harvard Business School and her BA, cum laude, in philosophy from Mount Holyoke College. She studied abroad at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in Sarnath, India. On a volunteer basis, she taught English as a classroom teacher in Vietnam and worked for the advancement of grade-school children in the US.
Flora Cameron Watt is an impact analyst for the Impact Investing strategy with Blackrock’s Fundamental Active Equity group. Flora focuses on Impact analysis, the Impact universe, and the Impact Team’s engagement strategy, working alongside the impact investment analysts, to engage with companies.
Flora joined Blackrock through the Blackrock’s Graduate scheme in London, England. She worked on the European Equity Team and the Nutrition Team, covering multiple sectors including business services, food delivery and Infant Milk formula. Flora also completed an Industrial Placement year in Blackrock’s Fundamental Equity Team during her third year of university.
Flora graduated from the University of Bath, where she earned a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Politics and International Relations. Flora is a keen runner and coxswain, competing at Henley Royal Regatta for her university and coaching others in the sport. Her philanthropic work is mostly focused on the inclusivity of education and is currently training for her first marathon.
Prior to joining the Global Impact team, William was a research associate responsible for covering the energy industry for BlackRock’s Value and Income team. William’s
passion for impact investing came from his focus on the transition to clean energy and the electric vehicles industry.
William graduated Cum Laude from Hofstra University, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in finance and minored in economics.
Max Zamor is a product strategist for the Fundamental Equity Impact Investing Team, covering the Global, US and International Impact strategies. He is responsible for driving commercial success for US-based Impact strategies by planning strategic direction, aligning with distribution partners, and representing the teams’ investment capabilities to external & internal clients. Mr. Zamor was previously a product strategist within BlackRock’s Systematic Active Equity (SAE) group where he was responsible for supporting the growth of SAE’s investment platform.
Prior to his role in SAE, Mr. Zamor worked in Strategy and Planning as an Assistant Vice President at PNC’s Asset Management Group. There, he collaborated cross functionally with different teams and senior leaders to drive the strategic initiatives of the $11 Billion business segment. Mr. Zamor also worked as a Venture Associate with Investors’ Circle, an early-stage impact investing network. He was responsible for developing an enhanced and dynamic client reporting system while focusing on building a robust growth strategy for the firm. Mr. Zamor was also a Summer Associate at JP Morgan’s Global Wealth Management group and started his professional career as a New York City Mathematics Teacher for four years.
Mr. Zamor holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and a master’s degree in Mathematics Education from CUNY Hunter College. Mr. Zamor also holds an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
Prior to joining BlackRock, Danny was a research associate at Wellington Management, where he worked as an equity analyst on the firm’s flagship Global Impact equity strategy, and as a sector specialist covering financial services. Before Wellington, Danny spent the first two years of his career in New York City at Morgan Stanley conducting credit analysis to support the underwriting of leveraged loans.
Danny graduated Magna Cum Laude from Northeastern University, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting and a minor in economics in 2016. Outside of his career, Danny is active in community and philanthropic work, including running Boston Marathons to raise awareness and cancer research funding for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
According to recent studies, “companies in the top-quartile for ethnic/cultural diversity on executive teams were 33% more likely to have industry-leading profitability.`` However, while black people account for 13.4% of the US population, just 8% of managers and 3.8% of CEOs are black. In the Fortune 500 companies, there are currently only three black chief executives. And at the 16 Fortune 500 companies that report detailed demographic data on senior executives and board members, white men account for 85% of those roles. As the racial wealth gaps continues to widen, come hear from cross-sector leaders on how each of us can create more diverse, equitable, and inclusive organizations that both increase the access for and success of marginalized communities in the US. We will have speakers with expertise spanning many sectors, including non-profits, public sector, healthcare, client services, tech and more.
Panel Block IV
Sunday, 9:30am - 10:30am
Dr. Nita Mosby Tyler is the Chief Catalyst and Founder of The Equity Project, LLC – a consulting firm supporting organizations and communities in building diversity, equity and inclusion strategies and The HR Shop, LLC – a human resources firm designed to support non-profits and small businesses. She is the former Senior Vice President and Chief Inclusion Officer for Children’s Hospital Colorado – the first African American woman to hold that position in the organizations 100+ year history. She is also the former Executive Director of the Office of Human Resources for the City and County of Denver – the first African American woman to hold that position in the 63+ year history of the agency. Dr. Mosby Tyler, a consultant accredited by the Georgetown University National Center for Cultural Competence and recipient of the Cornell University Diversity & Inclusion certification, is nationally recognized for her equity work with non-profit, community, government and corporate organizations.
In her work, Dr. Mosby-Tyler specializes in the development and delivery of leadership, equity, diversity, cultural responsiveness and inclusiveness strategies and training programs. Some of her clients and collaborative efforts include the University of Colorado Hospital, The Aurora Police Department, The Center for Trauma and Resilience, The Centers for Disease Control, Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, Agency for Human Rights and Community Relations – The City and County of Denver, The ACLU of Colorado, ProLogis, Willis Towers Watson, Kaiser Permanente, The GLBT Community Center of Colorado, The Boulder County AIDS Project, The Mayor’s Commission on Aging, Denver Police Department, Colorado Convention Center, Jefferson County Sheriff Department, Colorado State Patrol, RedLine, Earth Force, the Blue Bench, The African Community Center, the Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance, Denver Office of Strategic Partnerships – The City and County of Denver, Donor Alliance, Nurse-Family Partnership, Denver Sheriff Department, Denver Fire Department, The Denver Foundation, Community Resource Center – Denver, The Crisis Center, cityWILD, Kid’s In Need of Dentistry (KIND), Mental Health America-Colorado, Denver Mayor’s African American Commission, Bringing Back the Arts, the National Coalition on Donation, Donor Awareness Council, Colorado Bar Association Leadership Training, Kalamazoo Community Foundation, Regional Institute of Health & Environmental Leadership, Denver Mayor’s GLBT Commission, 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, The Aurora Chamber of Commerce, JeffCo Public Health and many more.
Dr. Mosby Tyler has a vast, 32-year background in human resources, diversity & inclusion, training and operations management. She has held leadership roles at AT&T, Kaiser Permanente in both Georgia and Colorado-regions, the McKesson Corporation and Statline (a subsidiary of the Musculoskeletal Tissue Foundation).
In the community, Dr. Mosby Tyler has received appointments by former-Mayors Wellington Webb and John Hickenlooper to serve as a member of the Career Service Authority Board for the City and County of Denver, by Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper to the Tony Grampsas Youth Services Board of Directors and by the Executive Director/Chief Medical Officer of the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment to the Colorado Health Equity Commission. Dr. Mosby-Tyler has also served as the Diversity Chairperson for the Human Rights Campaign at both local and national levels and is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., the Links, Inc. and the Phi Delta Kappa International education professional association. She is a former board member of the One Colorado Education Fund. In addition, she has served on the Colorado Tobacco Review Committee, the Black Health Collaborative Education Committee and the Disparities Action Committee. She currently serves as chair of the Denver Foundation Board of Trustees and also serves on the boards of the Bonfil-Stanton Foundation and Craig Hospital.
Dr. Mosby Tyler, the 2019 9News Leader of the Year, has received many local and national awards for her service and leadership accomplishments including recognition from U.S. Department of Health And Human Services, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Denver Business Journal, United Healthcare, ACLU of Colorado’s Carle Whitehead Memorial Award, Aurora Chamber of Commerce, Human Rights Campaign, Community College of Denver, National Diversity Council, Colorado Women’s Chamber, Mountain Region Black Economic Summit, City and County of Denver, Aurora Police Department, Denver Health, Denver Sheriff Department, Colorado Black Women for Political Action and the Urban Leadership Foundation.
Dr. Mosby Tyler holds a doctorate in the field of Organizational Leadership, a Master of Arts degree in Management and a Bachelor of Science degree in Education.
In 2001 Adrienne focused her career internally and began managing all people related functions for Bain in the Chicago office. In 2005 she stepped into a newly created role as Director of North American Human Capital. This new role was created to support the Office Heads and local office talent leaders in the region to oversee HR operations and to lead strategic talent initiatives and projects. In 2011 Adrienne was promoted to Senior Director and her scope was expanded to include all Bain offices and employees in the Americas region.
Adrienne is a native of Chicago’s south side. She grew up in the Jackson Park Highlands and attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools from Kindergarten through High School. Today she lives in Hyde Park’s Kenwood area with her husband and three sons. She sits on multiple charitable boards including the University of Chicago Women’s Board where she is currently serving as a member of the Steering Committee.
Brooks was most recently visiting professor of social ethics, law, and justice movements at Boston University’s School of Law and School of Theology. He was a visiting fellow and director of the Campaign and Advocacy Program at the Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics in 2017. Brooks served as the 18th president of the NAACP from 2014 to 2017. Under his leadership, the NAACP secured 12 significant legal victories, including laying the groundwork for the first statewide legal challenge to prison-based gerrymandering. He also reinvigorated the activist social justice heritage of the NAACP, dramatically increasing membership, particularly online and among millennials. Among the many demonstrations from Ferguson to Flint during his tenure, he conceived and led “America’s Journey for Justice” march from Selma, Alabama to Washington, D.C., over 40 days and 1000 miles.
Prior to leading the NAACP, Brooks was president and CEO of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, where he led the passage of pioneering criminal justice reform and housing legislation, six bills in less than five years. He also served as senior counsel and acting director of the Office of Communications Business Opportunities at the Federal Communications Commission, executive director of the Fair Housing Council of Greater Washington, and a trial attorney at both the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the U.S. Department of Justice. Brooks served as judicial clerk for the Chief Judge Sam J. Ervin, III, on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Brooks holds a J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was a senior editor of the Yale Law Journal and member of the Yale Law and Policy Review, and a Master of Divinity from Boston University’s School of Theology, where he was a Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholar. Brooks has a B.A. from Jackson State University. He is the recipient of several honorary doctorates including: Boston University, Drexel University, Saint Peter’s University and Payne Theological Seminary as well as the highest alumni awards from Boston University and Boston University School of Theology. Brooks is a fourth-generation ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Alana Cheeks-Lomax is a mission driven strategist with over 10 years of consulting experience providing management and strategy solutions to non-profits, public, and private sector organizations looking to achieve their strategic objectives through business transformation, organizational growth, and social impact. She is passionate about bringing innovative ideas to the intersection of business and society, using her experiences to solve an organization’s most challenging problems.
Alana currently works at Square, Inc. where she leads Inclusion & Diversity for their Cash App business unit. In her role at Cash App, Alana is responsible for developing the strategic direction of the I&D work, and partners closely with the leadership team to drive a culture of inclusion across the global ecosystem. Prior to joining Square, Alana worked at Microsoft where she led the company’s Diversity & Inclusion reporting strategy including the analysis of diversity data, identification of trends and patterns in data, and communicating insights to the CEO and his executive team. She was also responsible for partnering with the company’s Center of Excellences to drive the Diversity & Inclusion strategic planning process while supporting the global strategy and implementation. Prior to Microsoft, Alana spent seven years at Deloitte Consulting as a strategy manager, leading several projects in the healthcare space. During her time at Deloitte, she co-founded Communities of Color from Coast-to-Coast (C2C), a program which champions user-centered design and grassroots inclusion practices that promote the retention, advancement and well-being of global talent, starting from the viewpoint of black women.
Alana currently sits on the Young Executive Council for the Global Good Fund, a social enterprise in Washington, DC that provides coaching and capital to entrepreneurs around the world. She is also a proud alumna of Carnegie Mellon University where she holds a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences, and Masters in Healthcare Policy and Management from the Heinz School of Public Policy.
Almost certainly, we all know what it feels like to be stressed; yet when one is tasked with a social endeavour that focuses on improving the lives of others, the question arises about how often one forgets to look after the self. In this panel we will hear from leaders who are making a difference in their respective fields. They will discess personal stressors they have faced; and what steps they take to identify, manage and overcome them.
Panel Block IV
Sunday, 9:30am - 10:30am
She started ‘The Food Medic’ blog in 2012, as a medical student, in a bid to bridge the gap between conventional medical advice and the latest thoughts and developments in nutrition and other areas of lifestyle. The blog has now extended to various other platforms and publications including social media, two books, The Food Medic and The Food Medic for life, and a podcast where she interviews leading experts on how we can live healthier lives. Dr.Hazel is also a qualified personal trainer and is passionate in the use of exercise as medicine, which was the topic of her TEDX talk.
Hazel is currently working as a COVID doctor during this pandemic, treating patients acutely unwell with COVID and seeing patients in follow-up clinic with Post COVID syndrome (aka. Long COVID).
Hazel studied Medical Sciences (BSc Hons) at the University of South Wales between 2009 – 2012, graduating with first-class honours and an award for the highest academic achievement in her year cohort. Following her undergraduate degree, Hazel pursued a 4-year graduate degree in Medicine (MBBCh) at Cardiff University. During her time at medical school, she also gained her level 2 and level 3 qualification as a personal trainer. She has recently completed a masters degree in Clinical Nutrition and Public Health nutrition at University College London.
Her debut book ‘The Food Medic” was released on May 4th, 2017 and made both the UK and Irish Bestseller lists (at number 3 and number 1 respectively). Her second book “The Food Medic for Life” was released the following year in April 2018, which also made the bestseller charts. Hazel hosts her own podcast “The Food Medic” interviewing leading experts in their field and sharing actionable advice on how we can live healthier lives. Hazel is a columnist for Health and Wellbeing magazine and features on James Martin Saturday Morning Kitchen as their resident doctor.
In September 2017, Hazel was chosen as the Health Food Manufacturers’ Association ‘Blogger of the Year 2017 and in February 2018, was awarded the Wellness Blogger of the Year Award at The Wellness Awards 2018. The Food Medic was also ranked as one of the top 10 best Nutrition Blogs in the UK. In 2020 she also launched her own The Food Medic menu with the PAUL across the UK.
Before joining HCZ Hayling was a strategy consultant at FSG, where he developed the firm’s systems change practice, advised social sector clients on education initiatives, and helped launch collective impact efforts around the country. Prior to joining FSG Hayling worked as a federal advocate promoting public policy impacting youth and families. Through this work he supported the rollout of the federal Promise Neighborhoods initiative, providing advocacy support and technical assistance to cradle-to-career efforts nationwide. Hayling received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania. He also received his Master’s in Business Administration from Harvard Business School and Master’s in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.
“We value what we can measure.” Across both the private and non-profit sectors, there have been numerous efforts to better measure impact. This includes: the stunning growth of impact and ESG investing in the private sector, the rise of causal studies such as RCTs to measure impact more rigorously, and innovative technology-driven approaches to collect new forms of data. This panel explores the innovations and limitations in how we currently measure impact, and potential future directions.
Panel Block IV
Sunday, 9:30am - 10:30am
Prior to co-founding 60 Decibels, Sasha worked for 12 years at Acumen, most recently as Chief Innovation Officer. Sasha is also a noted speaker and blogger on generosity, philanthropy and social change.
Sasha holds a BA from Harvard College, a Masters in Public Administration in International Development from Harvard’s Kennedy School and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
The technology we use mirrors existing societal structures and creates new ones. Who is responsible for the impact of these structures? What is the role of the private sector, the government, and individuals? What should a partnership look like? This panel brings together technology and government practitioners to reflect on these questions and discuss the interconnectedness of technology and society.
Panel Block IV
Sunday, 9:30am - 10:30am
In this fireside chat, we will talk to the CEO of Code for America, Amanda Renteria, about navigating the public/private sectors to foster an environment conducive to social enterprise, and lessons learned from a long career in public service!
Panel Block V
Sunday, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Ernesto Sirolli, in his famous TEDx talk titled Want to help someone? Shut up and listen!, asks a thought provoking question: ``why don't we...instead of arriving in the community to tell people what to do..., listen to them?`` This panel discussion seeks to explore how end users can be ``listened to`` to increase social impact and mitigate possible unintended negative consequences. The panelists come from varied backgrounds - social impact consulting, human centred design and impact investing - but are united in their passion to use customer feedback to increase impact.
Panel Block V
Sunday, 11:00am - 12:00pm
A core project for Ekouté is staffing Listen4Good, a capacity building initiative of the Fund for Shared Insight that focuses on strengthening organizations’ efforts to listen and incorporate feedback from those they serve into their work. As Listen4Good’s founding director, Valerie led the initial design of the offering and now oversees a coaching and central product and program team that supports more than 500 organizations.
Valerie brings significant expertise in data-driven decision-making, strategy, and impact measurement to her work. Prior to starting Ekouté, she was founding director of the Center for Effective Philanthropy’s (CEP’s) YouthTruth project—one of the first national efforts to gather comparative feedback from students about what’s working and not working in their schools. Prior to joining CEP, Valerie was part of the core business team that built a successful start-up biotechnology company, Momenta Pharmaceuticals. Valerie holds a joint MBA and MPP from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
Twitter @lixindex
Vikram is the Founder of Asha Impact, an impact investing platform and is a Senior Advisor to The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. He is a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) since 1997 and has been a part of the New York, Hong Kong and Mumbai chapters. He has spent 23 years in investment banking at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School (Class of 1989) where he was designated a Baker Scholar, and a B.Com with high distinction from the University of Mumbai. He is also a qualified Chartered Accountant.
From Larry Fink's Letter to Shareholders to the Business Roundtable statement, the past few years has seen a wave of business leaders speaking about the need for businesses to be good social and environmental stewards. But how can we be sure these statements aren't just window dressing? And what do businesses need to do to truly help the world's most vulnerable? We'll hear from human rights defenders, business leaders taking action, and investors on what they are doing to ensure businesses are being held accountable for creating a more equal and sustainable world.
Panel Block V
Sunday, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Technology transfer and open innovation across sectors has the potential to drive outsized value creation. During the COVID-19 crisis, we've seen how companies are finding new ways to solve pressing problems by collaborating at an unprecedented level.
Panel Block V
Sunday, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Ashley is a Managing Director with Accenture. Ashley has spent her career at the intersection of business and IT strategy, helping companies to get the most out of their IT investments. At Accenture Ashley is the Global Market Engagement Lead for Technology Innovation. She spends her days with clients, startups and account teams, driving strategies to help clients leverage the next generation of start-up partners to accelerate their business transformation. Previously Ashley was the Director for the Accenture San Francisco Innovation Hub. In 2019 Ashley was named Top 40 Under 40 by the San Francisco Business Times. Ashley holds a BA in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego.
Tiago C. Peixoto is a political scientist and a Senior Governance Specialist at the World Bank. Since joining the institution in 2010, Tiago has been working with governments to develop digital solutions for better public policies and services. Prior to joining the World Bank, he managed projects and consulted for a number of organizations such as the European Commission, OECD and United Nations. He has been honored by TechCrunch as one of the 20 Most Innovative People in Democracy, and by Apolitical as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Digital Government. He is also a recipient of the Louis Brownlow Award of the American Society of Public Administration for the best article written by a practitioner. Tiago’s work has featured in both mainstream and specialized media, and he has published in The British Journal of Political Science, Electoral Studies, Journal of Information Technology and Politics, UCLA Law Review, Governance, Public Administration Review, and European Journal of eParticipation, among others. He is also the co-editor and co-author of Civic Tech in the Global South (edited with Micah Sifry), and more recently he co-authored with Tom Steinberg the World Bank report Emerging Digital Technologies & Citizen Participation.
Dr. Tina P. Srivastava is an innovator, entrepreneur, and technology expert. She earned her PhD in Strategy, Innovation, and Engineering, a masters in System Design and Management, and a bachelors in Aeronautics and Astronautics, all from MIT. She is co-Founder of a venture-backed security company, Badge Inc. She previously served as Chief Engineer of electronic warfare programs at Raytheon. Her previous cybersecurity startup was acquired by a public company and global leader in network assurance and security. Dr. Srivastava is an FAA-certified pilot and instructor of MIT’s Pilot Ground School course. She teaches at MIT in the areas of technology roadmapping, aerodynamics, meteorology, and flight planning. She serves on the Board of Directors of INCOSE (International Council on Systems Engineering). Dr. Srivastava has received national recognition and awards for her technical innovation. She is an inventor of multiple patents, publications, a book on engineering and program management, and she recently authored the book Innovating in a Secret World: The Future of National Security and Global Leadership, in which she discusses the need for open innovation as a requisite to maintain technological superiority. Her book was featured in articles and events by organizations such as MIT, the National Defense Magazine, NDIA, the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA), the Army Innovation Command, the London Metropolitan Police Service, London Enterprise Tech Meetup, and others.
Katya Klinova directs the strategy and execution of the AI, Labor, and the Economy Research Programs at the Partnership on AI, focusing on studying the mechanisms for steering AI progress towards greater equality of opportunity and improving the working conditions along the AI supply chain. In this role, she oversees multiple programs including the AI and Shared Prosperity Initiative.
Prior to PAI, Katya’s graduate research focused on examining the potential impact of AI advancement on the economic growth prospects of developing countries. She worked at the UN Executive Office of the Secretary-General on preparing the launch of the SG’s Strategy for New Technology, and at Google in a variety managerial roles in Chrome, Play, Developer Relations, and Search departments, where she was responsible for launching and driving the worldwide adoption of Google’s early AI-enabled services.
Katya holds an MPA in International Development from Harvard University (USA), a B.Sc. cum laude in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science from Rostov State University (Russia), and a Joint M.Sc. in Networks and Data Science from University of Reading (UK), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece), and Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Spain), where she was a Mundus Scholar.