THURSDAY, MARCH 7
MORNING
7:30 AM | Registration opens
Location: Mezzanine
7:30 AM - 8:30 AM MST | Breakfast with Ad Hoc Discussions
Room: Prospector Suite
Climate Solutions Collaborative: Incorporating Climate Resilience into Investing Decisions
Organized with Fiduciary Trust and Pathstone
Room: Onyx
Climate adaptation and resilience are growing in urgency as the effects of climate change continue to increase. While climate disasters affect many, they disproportionately harm the most vulnerable. How can we incorporate climate resilience into investment decision-making? This conversation will explore ways to incorporate material climate risk with a focus on vulnerable populations. It will also explore opportunities to engage with sources of federal and state funding to build local climate resilience, such as the PREPARE Act.
Speakers:
Frances Aderhold, Sustainable Investing Research Analyst, Fiduciary Trust
Amanda Bamberger, Vice President, Ecosystem Integrity Fund
Aimée Christensen, Director, Christensen Family Office and Confluence Board Member
Jon Goldin-Dubois, President, Western Resource Advocates
Make (Proxy) Voting Great Again
Organized with the Active Owners Initiative Working Group Steering Committee
Room: Lodo
Every share that your foundation owns at every company in its portfolio is an invitation to express your values to shape corporate policies and practices. The board reports to shareholders, and if they remain silent or abdicate their power, then it will proceed with business as usual. However, when shareholders cast their ballots, they determine board membership, CEO compensation, and other mission-related issues such as how the company addresses climate change, racial justice, and political spending. This year, more than ever, proxy voting may even impact electoral votes. Join us for a discussion on the importance of proxy voting in our current political landscape.
Speakers:
Adam Cummings, Trustee, Nathan Cummings Foundation
Ashley Lyon, Principal, Boston Common Asset Management
Laura Nixon, Program Director, Reproductive Health & Justice, The Educational Foundation of America
Jon Scott, President & Director, Singing Field Foundation
Remembering Steve Viederman
Steve Viederman passed away this past season, leaving behind a beloved family and a powerful legacy in philanthropy. As a former President of the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation and Confluence Co-Founder, he was a tireless advocate for mission-related investing, corporate accountability, and shareowner activism. The Active Owners Working Group will take a moment during this session to remember and honor Steve’s powerful legacy. This tribute will be led by Sarah Cleveland, Chair of the Investment & Audit Committee at The Russell Family Foundation. All are welcome to join.
8:30 AM MST | Mainstage Sessions
Room: Grand Ballroom
8:45 AM MST | Welcome Remarks by Javier Alberto Soto, President and CEO, The Denver Foundation
9:00 AM - 9:30 AM MST | Riverside Chat: Catalyzing Public, Private, and Philanthropic Partnerships
From addressing climate change to alleviating poverty, ample opportunities exist for public, private, and philanthropic entities to collaborate on funding and investments. In this session, the Mayor of Denver, Mike Johnston, will be interviewed by Santhosh Ramdoss, President and CEO of Gary Community Ventures, an innovative Denver-based philanthropic organization that uses impact investing, political advocacy, and grantmaking to support Colorado’s youth. Their conversation will explore meaningful investment partnerships between sectors to address systemic issues.
Speakers:
Mike Johnston, Mayor of Denver
Santhosh Ramdoss, President & CEO, Gary Community Ventures and Confluence Board Member
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM MST | Plenary: Government Overreach or Oversight? Practices, Politics, and Ethics of Government Action in Investing
Organized with Pathstone
The government has inserted itself into the practices of the finance and investment industry more frequently in the past few years than at any other time in recent history. Examples include SEC regulations related to climate disclosures; state regulations on the inclusion of ESG factors in investment decision-making; and ERISA guidelines on the integration of ESG factors in pension fund investing. In this session, we will explore how these trends will expand or contract in the coming years and some of the practical, political, and ethical dimensions of governmental oversight and regulation at the local, state, and federal levels.
Speakers:
Susan H. Mac Cormac, Partner, Morrison & Foerster
Michael McAfee, President and CEO, PolicyLink
Sara E. Murphy, Chief Strategy Officer, The Shareholder Commons
Katherine Pease, Managing Director, Pathstone (moderator)
10:30 AM - 10:45 AM MST | Coffee Break
10:45 AM - 11:30 AM MST | Riverside Chat: Ethics, Restoration, and International Climate Resilience
From global wildfires and droughts to heat waves and floods, recent years have been marked with climate change-induced disasters. While many people and communities are impacted, outsized hardships are felt by the most vulnerable. The question is no longer whether to invest in climate resilience, but how. This session will explore opportunities to finance global climate resilience and community prosperity by partnering with Indigenous communities leading the way to solutions.
Speaker:
Solange Bandiaky-Badji, President, Rights and Resources Initiative
Marla Blow, President and Chief Operating Officer, Skoll Foundation
11:30 AM - 11:45 AM MST | Move to Concurrent Sessions
11:45 AM - 1:00 PM MST | Concurrent Traditional Sessions (choose one)
How to Leverage $27 Billion for Energy Transition
Organized with ImpactAssets
Room: Highlands
To meet net-zero targets by 2030, annual spending on clean energy needs to increase threefold to $4 trillion. With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the U.S. government is channeling significant funding to support a just energy transition. Now is the moment for private investors to join or double down on investments that build on the Inflation Reduction Act. Join us as we explore how impact investors are uniquely positioned to accelerate the transition to clean energy by bringing much-needed private-sector capital into underfunded and underserved markets.
Speakers:
John Balbach, Director, Impact Investments, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Musa Collidge-Asad, Chief Investment Officer, Inclusive Prosperity Capital
Dana Cotter, Managing Director of Impact, ImpactAssets (moderator)
Sonrisa Lucero, Special Advisor for Stakeholder Engagement, Office of Energy Justice and Equity, Department of Energy
Catalyzing Public-Private Social Sector Collaborations Through Philanthropy
Organized with Sonen Capital
Room: Lodo
The defining challenges of our age — from climate change to economic inequality — require multi-sector collaboration to achieve sustainable impact at scale. Learn from leaders across the private, public, and social sectors about lessons learned through building and partnering in public-private social sector collaborations.
Speakers:
Thea Chase, Board Chair, State of Colorado Venture Capital Authority
Adam Connaker, Director, Impact Investing, Surdna Foundation
Betty Francisco, CEO, Boston Impact Initiative
Srikant Vasan, Managing Partner, Avesta Fund (moderator)
Accelerating Equitable Climate Resilience Through Values-Driven Investments
Organized with Avivar Capital
Room: Tabor
The transition to a lower carbon economy is well underway in the U.S., though the effort has largely engaged and benefitted the nation’s more affluent communities. A just transition requires that all communities — but particularly low-income communities, rural and tribal communities, and communities of color — benefit from the environmental and economic benefits of EVs, renewables, energy-efficient homes, and more, while being protected from potentially harmful carbon reduction strategies. Urgency calls for financial intermediaries and strategic allies to innovate models that leverage public dollars to accelerate, sustain, and scale an equitable transition. Join a discussion with leading practitioners to chart the way ahead.
Speakers:
Greg Gaug, Sr. Vice President, Ulupono Initiative
Javier Hernandez, Director, Avivar Capital (moderator)
Ajulo Othow, Founder and CEO, EnerWealth Solutions
Roman Torres, Portfolio Manager, U.S. Energy, Impact Investments, The Schmidt Family Foundation
Ownership, A Path Towards Closing the Racial Wealth Gap
Organized with Gary Community Ventures
Room: Georgetown
The racial wealth gap is growing. If trends continue, the median wealth for Black Americans will fall to $0 by 2053, according to a study by Prosperity Now and the Institute for Policy Studies. The values-aligned investing community has a role and responsibility to step in to support emerging solutions and leaders focused on targeting this disastrous trend. This session will pair provocative, difficult questions with actionable solutions, tools, and strategies on the path to closing the racial wealth gap.
Speakers:
Amy Brakeman, Investor, Pluralize Capital
Phillip Reeves, Founding Partner, Apis & Heritage Capital Partners
Akobe Sandy, Head of First Fund, MassMutual (moderator)
Ishita Shah, Director, Catalytic Capital, Align Impact
Transparency into the Real Challenges of Decarbonizing Our Economy
Organized with Terra Alpha Investments
Room: Larimer
This session will engage in a deep analysis of the challenge of delivering on net-zero commitments faced by asset owners, asset managers, and public companies. The panel, which will include a company representative perspective, will provide insights into the challenges and opportunities companies face as they seek to meet their science-based targets (SBTs) and offer asset owners the chance to engage with them.
Speakers:
Timothy Dunn, Founder & CIO, Terra Alpha Investments (moderator)
Tom Mitchell, Partner & Managing Director, Cambridge Associates
Tamara Larsen, Partner, US ESG Investments Practice Leader, Mercer
Jeannie Renne-Malone, Vice President, Global Sustainability, VF Corporation
1:00PM - 2:30 PM MST | Lunch and Ad Hoc Discussions
Room: Promenade
1:00PM - 2:30 PM MST | Special Luncheon: Inclusive Prosperity: Strategies to Advance a More Just and Equitable Society
Room: Onyx
Individuals, donors, nonprofits, and institutions can all play a role in countering the discriminatory policies that drive economic inequality. In the face of competing priorities for capital and legal uncertainty following the June 2023 SCOTUS ruling against affirmative action, investors, nonprofit leaders, and other change-makers must adapt collective strategies to authentically advance racial equity that creates inclusive prosperity. Join us for a special luncheon discussion to hear from community leaders about a range of strategies to continue our commitment to investing in and fighting for racial equity.
Speakers:
Andrea Abrams, Executive Director, Defending American Values Coalition
Fatima Angeles, Executive Director, Levi Strauss Foundation, and Confluence Board Member (moderator)
Verónica Figoli, Chief Advancement Officer, Accion Opportunity Fund
Dana Laza, President and CEO, Confluence Philanthropy
Leslie Lindo, Managing Director, Olamina Fund at Candide Group
AFTERNOON
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM MST | Membership Meeting (Members Only)
Join the Confluence Board of Directors for Confluence’s Annual Membership Meeting. This is the time to pose questions, share ideas, and meet Confluence’s leadership.
Room: Grand Ballroom
Speaker:
Dana Lanza, President, CEO and Co-Founder, Confluence Philanthropy
3:30 PM | Conference Conclusion
3:30 PM - 5:30 PM MST | Post-Conference Events and Working Group Meetings
Making an Impact in Indian Country: How to Justly Resource Indigenous Communities Across Turtle Island
Organized with NDN Collective
Room: Highlands
Join NDN Collective to learn about Indigenous-led solutions that impact philanthropy, lending, and giving. Asset owners will receive tools and strategies to enhance giving practices toward Indigenous communities to ground a framework rooted in the three pillars of defend, develop, and decolonize. This session will include an open discussion to share lessons learned, success stories, and a vision for using philanthropy as a catalyst for rematriating wealth in Turtle Island and beyond.
Speaker:
Janene Yazzie, Director of Policy and Advocacy, NDN Collective
Power to the People: How Candidates and Their Supporters Can Build a Path to Public Office
Room: Lodo
The community of values-aligned investors is teeming with passionate, insightful, and civic-minded individuals — some of whom have successfully won elections for public office. Join us to delve into questions and factors to consider should you one day run for office, or would like to support another's campaign. This is a non-partisan, strictly 501(c)3 conversation.
Speakers:
Alex Cornell du Houx, President & Co-Founder, Elected Officials to Protect America
Patricia Farrar-Rivas, Vice-Mayor, City of Sonoma
Kristin Hull, Founder, Nia Community Foundation
Laurin Liu, Communications Program Director, Confluence Philanthropy, and former Canadian Member of Parliament
Workshop: Practical Tools for Ethical Technology Investing
Organized with the Ford Foundation and Media Democracy Fund