Are you Impact investing–ready?

As social entrepreneurship rises as a global movement, impact investing is the new trend for those who want to make investments that deliver both financial returns and positive social impact.

Impact investing was first mentioned in 2007 by the Rockefeller Foundation. The Global Impact Investing Network, an organization of leading impact investors, defines it as “investments made into companies, organizations and funds with the intention to generate measurable social and environmental impact, as well as financial returns.” The famous “triple bottom line.”

We are experiencing a massive intergenerational transfer of wealth. How is the new generation of investors and philanthropists reshaping capitalism? What is role of capital markets in the face of global challenges such as poverty, inequality and environmental crisis? What are the implications and opportunities for companies seeking funding? Can we forecast impact investing becoming the “new norm”?

Join us on Tuesday, June 25 at our San Francisco Center at 6 pm to learn from an expert panel that will discuss these questions and share their experiences with you.

Agenda

• 6–6:30 pm: Registration and networking

• 6:30–7:30 pm: Panel discussion

• 7:30–7:35 pm: “Grand Témoin”

• 7:35–8 pm: Question & Answers
• 8–8:30 pm: Networking (food/refreshments provided)


Panelists

Kristin Hull

Nia Impact Capital Founder and CEO

 

Kristin is founder and CEO of Nia Impact Capital, a women-led Registered Investment Adviser leading the charge to change the face of finance by hiring and training women and people of color in sustainable and transformative investing. Kristin founded Nia Global Solutions, a gender-lens portfolio of solutions-focused companies, in her efforts to bring impact investing into the public markets. An Impact Investor since 2007, Kristin oversaw the investment process for one of the first family foundations as the organization moved its endowment assets into 100-percent alignment with its philanthropic mission. In 2010, Kristin went on to found Nia Community, a mission-aligned impact-investment fund focused on social change and environmental sustainability in her home town of Oakland, Calif. Kristin is also a co-founder of Impact Hub Oakland and of the North Oakland Community Charter School, and served on the founding board of George Mark Children’s House. Prior to devoting her career to transforming our financial system, Kristin was a full-time educator, teaching bilingual classes in Oakland and San Francisco. She earned her Ph.D. in Education at University of California, Berkeley; her Masters in Research in Bilingual Education from Stanford University; and her B.A. and teaching credentials from Tufts University.

Jenny Kassan

Jenny Kassan Consulting

Jenny has more than two decades of experience as an attorney and adviser for mission-driven enterprises. She has helped her clients raise millions of dollars from values-aligned investors and raised more than $1.5 million for her own businesses. Jenny is certified as a coach by the International Association of Women in Coaching. She is the author of Raise Capital on Your Own Terms: How to Fund Your Business Without Selling Your Soul (Berrett-Koehler, October 2017). Jenny earned her J.D. from Yale Law School and a master's degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of California at Berkeley. She served on the Securities and Exchange Commission Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies. She submitted the petition to the SEC that led to the passage of the 2012 JOBS Act and was present at the White House signing ceremony. Jenny Kassan Consulting is a certified B Corp. and member of 1% for the Planet.

Alexander Meek

Newday Impact Investing Founder and CEO

Newday is a FinTech, Asset Management and Banking firm for Impact Investing. Newday's mission is to democratize access to sustainable and socially responsible investing and that banking delivers significant positive financial returns alongside generating a positive impact in the world. Newday works to drive meaningful change in the way that investments in its portfolios adopt environmental, social and governance practices and policies. Alex is an entrepreneur, experienced operator and investment professional with a demonstrated history of working in FinTech, Consumer Goods, Media and Finance fields. He is skilled in operations management, startups, advising and venture capital. Alexander received his Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) with a Concentration in Entrepreneurship from Babson College Franklin W. Olin Graduate School of Business.

Ahmed Rahim

Numi Organic Tea Co-Founder and CEO , Chair of Numi Foundation Board

Ahmed is the Co-Founder, CEO, Chief Alchemist and Board chair behind Numi Organic Tea, one of the largest premium, organic, Fair Trade–certified tea companies in North America. Ahmed also chairs Numi Foundation board, with initiatives that focus on local and global programs, acknowledging and addressing the challenges within farming communities and in their backyard of Oakland, Calif., and his birth country of Iraq. Ahmed co-founded OSC2, One Step Closer to an Organic Sustainable Community, a national community of sustainable natural products. OSC2 strives to leave the Earth and humanity in better condition than we found it by inspiring natural products leaders to work in innovative and collaborative ways toward positive change. Ahmed co-founded Impact HUB Oakland, a community workplace for smaller businesses and nonprofits, as well as community events. Ahmed is an adviser and boardmember to entrepreneurs who are running sustainable businesses with emerging innovative product ideas in the CPG marketplace. Ahmed’s core mission is to be in service to those focused on caring for their community and creating positive change for our planet.

Moderator

Eddie West

UC Berkeley Extension Assistant Dean and Executive Director of International Programs

Eddie West will have the honor and pleasure to be the moderator of the evening. He is the Assistant Dean and Executive Director of International Programs at UC Berkeley Extension. Previously, he served as Director of International Initiatives at the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), Dean of Counseling and International Programs at Ohlone College, and Director of International Student Services and Recruitment for the Tseng College of Graduate, International and Midcareer Education at California State University, Northridge.

Grand Temoin

Jessica Brown

Fulcrum Creative Ventures Founder

Jessica Brown is a former dancer with a passion for international relations and development. She strongly believes in the power of the arts to serve as a tool for economic development, amplifying divergent voices and facilitating challenging conversations on social justice issues. She's particularly interested in the role of impact investing to provide access to industries and individuals that are "unseen" or overlooked by traditional philanthropy. She’s worked at the XPRIZE Foundation—Deloitte’s public-sector strategy practice—and the State Department, and has served as a speaker at conferences, an adviser at SXSW, and a consultant for groups like the World Bank, the Gates Foundation and the State Department. She has facilitated conversations with C-suite leaders on the impact of exponential tech trends on business, and has led strategy discussions, planned sessions and facilitated meetings with up to 150 participants. She recently started her own consulting firm, Fulcrum Creative Ventures, operating at the intersection of arts and impact.

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