12:30 PM - 6:00 PM MST | Welcome Intensive (open to investors only)
Recommended for new members, those new to values-aligned investing, and Gathering newcomers.
Organized with AlTi Tiedemann Global and Global Endowment Management

Location: Gary Community Ventures

The Welcome Intensive provides an introduction to the concepts of values-aligned investing in an expert-led, small-group setting. This program is for asset owners new to values-aligned investing and offers a unique opportunity to dive into the Confluence community with a cohort of new peers and allies. Facilitators will lead an afternoon discussion about fiduciary duty, engaging investment advisors, and other topics critical to a new values-aligned investor. The Welcome Intensive will conclude with a special dinner hosted by the facilitators and Confluence staff.

Speakers:

• Jennifer Ayer​​​​, Managing Director/Co-Head of Impact Strategy, Wealth Management, AlTi Tiedemann Global

• Meredith Benton, Principal and Founder, Whistle Stop Capital

• Meredith Heimburger, Partner, Head of Impact, Global Endowment Management (GEM)

• Kristi Petrie, Co-Executive Director, AJL Foundation

• Tom Scriven, Senior Counsel, RPCK Rastegar Panchal

6:30 PM - 8:30 PM MST | Welcome Intensive Dinner (by invitation only)

6:30 PM - 9:00 PM MST | Gratitude Dinner: Confluence Philanthropy’s Annual Donor Appreciation Dinner (by invitation only)

7:30 AM MST | Registration opens

Location: Mezzanine

7:30 AM – 8:30 AM MST | Practitioners Institute Breakfast

Room: Central City

7:45 AM – 8:45 AM MST | Learners Institute Breakfast

Room: Grand Ballroom

8:45 AM - 12:00 PM MST | Practitioners Institute: The Future Is Transparent
Open to all Confluence Practitioner Member delegates. Pre-registration is required, and registration will be checked at the door.

Room: Central City

The Practitioners Institute is the flagship event at the Annual Practitioners Gathering. It is a three-hour strategic discussion for Confluence Practitioner Members to explore pressing social and environmental concerns and their impact on investor portfolios. The Practitioners Institute is a powerful space where members have shared emerging strategies or levied historic investor calls to action.

8:45 AM - 9:00 AM MST | Welcome Remarks

Transparency is the future. As our lives become increasingly intertwined with technology, transparency has also increased. Ever more information, previously kept out of the public eye, has become available. However surprisingly, distrust and social polarization, rather than public engagement and greater democratic participation, are on the rise. At this year’s Practitioners Institute, we will explore the importance of transparency in building public trust through ethical investing, a fair and free press, strengthening democracy, and portfolio reporting. Join us to learn more about what you can do in the years ahead.

Speaker:

• Dana Lanza, President and CEO, Confluence Philanthropy
  

9:00-9:30 AM MST | Keynote: Trust is the Ultimate Currency – The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer

Trust defines an organization’s license to operate, lead, and succeed – but today, it remains in short supply. The latest Edelman Trust Barometer, which surveyed over 32,000 individuals from 28 countries, has found that globally, government is seen as far less competent than business. Over two-thirds of respondents worried that they were being deliberately misled by government leaders, business leaders, and media spokespeople. Non-profit organizations now only earn 50% of the public’s trust. Join us to delve into this report and explore why transparency is so important in creating public trust.

Speaker:

• Kevval Hanna, Senior Vice President, Social Impact and Sustainability, Edelman Trust Institute

9:30-10:00 AM MST | Riverside Chat: Toward Ethical Investing

In 1984, Amy Domini and Peter Kinder authored Ethical Investing, outlining the practice of using ethical principles as the primary filter for investment selection. Ethical investing empowers individuals to allocate capital to companies whose practices and values align with their personal beliefs. Since the publication of this groundbreaking work, its concepts have evolved into the foundation of socially responsible and ESG investing practices — tools that provide greater corporate transparency and offer investors stronger selection criteria. However, it could be argued that investors still have a considerable distance to cover in fully centering ethical considerations.  In this reflective opening discussion, Greg Ratliff, Confluence Board Chair, and a Board Member of Domini Investments, will interview Amy about her pioneering vision and discuss how, 40 years later, we might finally find our way there.

Speakers:

• Amy Domini, Founder and Chair, Domini Impact Investments

• Greg Ratliff, Vice President, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and Confluence Board Chair

10:00-10:30 AM MST | Keynote: Democracy Now! Media & Public Trust

Denis Moynihan is the co-founder of the independent news program Democracy Now!, which launched in 1996. Since 2002, he has participated in the organization’s worldwide distribution, infrastructure development, and live broadcasts from many continents. He is a bestselling author and a syndicated columnist with King Features. He also founded the community radio station KFFR 88.3 FM in Winter Park, Colorado. Denis will share perspectives on how the media shapes public trust, ultimately catalyzing social movements – and why local journalism and community radio are now as important as ever.

Speaker:

• Denis Moynihan, Co-Founder and Special Projects Manager, Democracy Now!

10:30-11:00 AM MST | Riverside Chat: The Importance of Transparency & Ethics for a Healthy Democracy

Stacey Abrams is a political leader, voting rights activist, and New York Times bestselling author. After serving for eleven years in the Georgia House of Representatives, Stacey became the Democratic nominee for governor of Georgia in 2018, winning what was, at the time, more votes than any other Democrat in the state’s history. Stacey is not only the first black woman to become the gubernatorial nominee for a major party in the United States but also the first black woman and first Georgian to deliver a Response to the State of the Union. To fight voter suppression, she launched Fair Fight, which promotes fair elections around the country, encourages voter participation in elections, and educates voters about elections and their voting rights. Stacey joins us virtually to share her vision for building transparency in democracy in the lead-up to the next Presidential election. 

Speakers:

• Stacey Abrams, Political Leader, Entrepreneur, and Marguerite Casey Foundation Trustee (joining virtually)

• Carmen Rojas, President & CEO, Marguerite Casey Foundation (moderator)

11:00 AM - 11:15 AM MST | Coffee Break

 11:15 AM-12:00 PM MST | Plenary: The Emperor’s Robe: Transparency and Portfolio Reporting

For over 15 years, there has been significant talk, networking, and conferences about values investing. At the end of the day, has values investing made a meaningful difference on the environmental, social, and governance challenges we face? We will hear from a panel of investment advisors about why transparency is so important to answering this question, and how greater transparency safeguards ESG and values driven investors. Ultimately, would greater transparency build public trust in the NGO and philanthropy sectors, alongside business?

Speakers:

• Bruce Campbell, Chief Happiness Officer, Blue Dot Advocates

• Dana Lanza, President and CEO, Confluence Philanthropy (moderator)

• Marina Severinovsky, Head of Sustainability, Americas, Schroders

• Akasha Absher, Co-President and Head of Impact Investing, Syntrinsic

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM MST | Learners Institute
Open to all registered delegates. Pre-registration required.

9:00 AM - 9:55 AM MST | Unlocking Foundation Endowments for Mission & Returns
Organized with Social Finance

Room: Promenade

U.S. private foundations and family offices hold $3.1 trillion in assets. Although these organizations aren't required to align their endowment investment portfolios with their mission, they’re increasingly leveraging values-aligned investments while generating competitive returns. Yet persistent barriers to mission-related investments remain. Will values aligned investing compromise financial returns? Are there enough deals out there? Why bother in the first place? Join us for a discussion about the key motivations, challenges, and opportunities to shift more assets toward mission. It will leave attendees with inspiration and action steps to reimagine the impact their organization can make.

Speakers:

• Desiree Flores, Executive Director, General Service Foundation

• Mike Silvestri, Director, Social Finance (moderator)

• Rochelle Witharana, CFO, California Wellness Foundation, and Confluence Board Member

10:05 AM - 10:55 AM MST | Harnessing Shareholder Engagement to Promote Our Values
Organized with the Woodcock Foundation and As You Sow

Room: Promenade

Shareholder engagement is perhaps the most underutilized low-hanging fruit in the investor toolkit. In this session, we will unpack shareholder engagement and the catalytic role foundations can play in the shareholder ecosystem, grounded in real examples. We will explore the impact that shareholder engagement can have across several issues, with a focus on democracy. Proxy voting and shareholder activism are fundamentally democratic in nature with parallels to voting and issue activism in the political system. The session will include inspiring stories, including engagement on campaign finance expenditures that have promoted transparency and shifted corporate behavior.

Speakers:

• Andrew Behar, CEO, As You Sow

• Stacey Faella, Executive Director, Woodcock Foundation (moderator)

• John Powers, President, Prentice Foundation

10:55 AM - 11:10 AM MST | Coffee Break

11:10 AM - 12:00 PM MST | Concurrent Sessions (choose one)

Reimagining the “How” of Investing: A Toolkit for Participatory Investing
Organized with World Education Services (WES)

Room: Lodo

Investment decisions are regularly being made behind closed doors, often by individuals who have no relevant lived experience. Increasingly, funders are recognizing their duty to better serve communities by incorporating community input and sharing decision-making power around the allocation of capital. This action-oriented discussion will explore toolkits that serve as guides to integrating community voice and decision-making power into an institution’s investment functions.

Speakers:

• Donna Daniels, Senior Fellow, Partners for Rural Transformation/Heron Foundation

• Smitha Das, Senior Director, Investments, World Education Services (WES) (moderator)

Scaling Sustainable Climate Finance
Organized with Apparel Impact Institute

Room: Promenade

Despite the trillions of dollars many institutions have set aside to address climate, deployment opportunities that align with traditional underwriting criteria remain scarce. In this session, groups will examine philanthropy's role in creating and deploying innovative blended capital solutions, including first loss funds, lower interest rates, aggregating smaller investments into larger check sizes, and other risk mitigation measures, such as volume guarantees and concessionary capital. We will discuss the critical need for philanthropy to go beyond grants to move sustainable finance goals more rapidly and transition global supply chains, which are the biggest global contributors to CO2 emissions.

Speakers:

• Erin Kilmer-Neel, Executive Director & Chief Impact Officer, Beneficial State Foundation

• Lewis Perkins, President, Apparel Impact Institute (moderator)

• Sunit Shah, Director, Innovative Finance, The Rockefeller Foundation

12:15 PM - 4:30 PM MST | Field Trips

Advance registration is required and space is limited. Choose from four off-site field trips at conference registration.

Art, Creativity, Water, Community and Development
Organized with the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation & Community Capital Management

Art plays a critical role in science and social change work, explaining where we came from, engaging the community, helping us understand things, and facilitating societal transformation. This tour will introduce participants to two relatively new multi-partner community-driven collaborations where art has played an integral role. The Hydro building of Colorado State University Spur campus uses art to advance education, research, and public engagement on global and local water issues. The ArtPlace studios of Redline Contemporary Arts Center and Buell project located in the historic, diverse, and rapidly gentrifying Five Points neighborhood of Denver provides a creative hub, permanently affordable condos, and creative commercial space in one of the most rapidly gentrifying areas in Denver. Investors will leave with a greater understanding of how art can support equitable community development, address climate change, and more.

Speakers:

• Stefka Czarnecki Fanchi, President and CEO, Elevation Community Land Trust (ECLT)

• Nick Flores, Managing Director Impact Investments, Client Advisors, Caprock

• Tom Ferguson, Founder and Managing Partner, Burnt Island Ventures

• Anthony Grimes, Director of Communications, Bonfils-Stanton Foundation

• Kristin Kirkpatrick, Managing Director for Partnerships and Advancement, CSU Spur

• Louise Martorano, Executive Director, RedLine Contemporary Art Center

The Role of Affordable Housing in the Restoration and Repair of People and Places
Organized with Gary Community Ventures & Syntrinsic Investment Counsel

Colorado is a hotbed of housing innovation. This field trip will provide participants with insight into some of the most pioneering housing ideas being piloted and scaled in the state, particularly in the Denver metro area. We will visit an affordable housing development that doesn't just help renters afford housing, but also to build wealth in the process. We will also learn about the place-based values-aligned investing fund behind this initiative, the Colorado Housing Accelerator Initiative (CHAI). This will be followed by a panel discussion with Black homeowners who are part of the Dearfield Fund for Black Wealth, a trailblazing race-focused homeownership fund focused on bridging the racial wealth gap. These conversations will foreground Colorado's vibrant Black history and how housing discrimination has perpetuated the racial wealth gap.

Speakers:

• Ed Briscoe, Managing Director, Weave Social Finance

• Amy Case-Miranda, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Foothills Regional Housing

• David Foust, Commercial Loan Officer III, Colorado Housing & Finance Authority (CHFA)

• Kenneth Kirwin, CFO, Colorado Gives Foundation

• Abby Murray, Co-Founder & Principal, Colorado Housing Accelerator Initiative (CHAI)

• Aisha T. Weeks, Managing Director, The Dearfield Fund for Black Wealth

Supporting Local Media for a Healthier Civic Information Ecosystem
Organized with the Gates Family Foundation

Independent local journalism plays a unique role in U.S. democracy, helping to populate our public squares with daily coverage of public meetings and events. It also provides in-depth analysis of important issues – climate change, affordable health care, racial and social inequities, and more – and engages in watchdog investigations. This field trip to the Buell Public Media Center will expose participants to local examples of foundations that have made unprecedented investments in local journalism. It will explore the ways that philanthropy continues to invest in models and solutions to sustain, revitalize, and reimagine its support for independent local media – a sector that is crucial to a healthy democratic ecosystem.

Speakers:

• Melissa Davis, Vice President – Strategic Communications & Informed Communities, Gates Family Foundation

• Amanda Mountain, President & CEO, Rocky Mountain Public Media

• Amalie Nash, Senior Advisor, National Trust for Local News

• Larry Ryckman, Editor & Co-Founder, The Colorado Sun

• Johanna Ulloa, Advocacy Program Manager, The Colorado Trust

How Innovative Climate Solutions Can Support All Communities
Organized with Holland Consulting

The National Renewable Energy Lab incubates cutting-edge climate solutions, which can help meet the quickly narrowing window of limiting warming to 1.5oC. This field trip will visit NREL to see some of its latest innovations that need to be scaled. It will also engage participants in discussion on ways to move those technologies into the real world in ways that don’t recreate the mistakes of the past, creating greater inequity in our society, and building funding resilience for scaling innovation in a changing world.

Speaker:

• Bill Farris, Associate Laboratory Director for Innovation, Partnering, and Outreach, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

• Wendolyn Holland, Director, Holland Consulting

• Ken Vaughn, Director of Impact Investments, VertueLab

EVENING

Travel to Reception Venue

Location: History Colorado

6:00 PM - 7:00 PM MST | Newcomers Reception
Reception for new members – but all Gathering attendees are encouraged to attend!

Location: History Colorado

7:00 PM - 9:00 PM MST | Welcome Reception
Registered delegates & invited guests only.

Location: History Colorado

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6

MORNING

8:30 AM MST | Mainstage Sessions

Location: Grand Ballroom

8:45 AM - 9:00 AM MST | Land Acknowledgement & Sense of Place

Speaker:

• Montoya Whiteman (Cheyenne and Arapaho), Managing Director of Editorial and Special Projects, AISES

9:00 AM - 9:15 AM MST | Welcome Remarks by Eric Stephenson, Co-Chair, Cordes Foundation and Confluence Board Member

9:15 AM - 9:30 AM MST | Plenary: Introduction to the Racial Equity Compass

Racial equity is a significantly important investment theme for values-aligned investors. However, it can be tricky to identify the right institutional orientation, especially when just starting out. To quote one Confluence member, “You need a compass, a roadmap, and the right navigators to succeed” when it comes to racial equity lens investing. This session will introduce the Racial Equity Compass, which was developed by a working group of 14 Confluence ‘coop-petitors’ — investment managers who collaborated over a year, through a consensus-based approach, to develop thought leadership on how to approach racial equity lens investing. Join us for the formal launch of their powerful project.

Speakers: 

• Ian Fuller, Co-Founder and CEO, Westfuller

• Susie Lee, Program Related Investment Officer, W.K. Kellogg Foundation (moderator)

• David Sand, Chief Impact Strategist, Community Capital Management 

9:30 AM - 10:15 AM MST | Plenary: Using the Racial Equity Investing Compass – Applications Across Investor Types
Organized with Sonen Capital

Following an introduction to the Racial Equity Compass, this discussion explores how asset owners can access racial equity lens investing, with practical insights and real-world examples that put the Racial Equity Compass into practice. This dynamic conversation will include speakers from a sunsetting family foundation and a philanthropist.

Speakers: 

• Brian Boland, Co-Founder, Delta Fund

• Raúl Pomares, Founding Partner, Sonen Capital (moderator)

• June Wilson, Executive Director, Compton Foundation

10:15 AM - 10:30 AM MST | Coffee Break

10:30 AM - 11:30 AM MST | Plenary: Ethical Tech x Capital Markets
Organized with the Ford Foundation

The explosion in AI has accelerated conversations around the ethical use of technology. Discussions about appropriate guardrails are taking place among both large incumbent technology companies as well as early-stage technology founders and investors. Similarly, public equities investors and venture investors are grappling with their role in responsible technology investment. Those two ends of the spectrum face different opportunities, constraints, and decision points, but they often do not meet in conversation about what is possible. This session will connect the dots between investor conversations on ethical tech across the capital continuum.

Speakers:

• Gaurab Bansal, Executive Director, Responsible Innovation Labs

• Margot Brandenburg, Senior Program Officer, Ford Foundation

• Hilary Irby, Head of Impact Strategy, Soros Fund Management

• Safiya Noble, Founder and Director, Center on Race & Digital Justice (CRDJ)

• Shu Dar Yao, Founder, Managing Partner, Lucid Capitalism

11:30 AM - 12:00 PM MST | Confluence Community Reflections
Facilitated by Dana Lanza, President & CEO of Confluence Philanthropy, and Michael Francisco-McGuire, Chief External Officer of Confluence Philanthropy.

A Confluence tradition! Join us for our Confluence member reflections on the field in an open-forum sharing session.

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM MST | Lunch and Ad Hoc Discussions

Room: Promenade

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM MST | Special Luncheon: Building Partnerships With Indigenous Women: A Direct Path to Securing a Nature-Positive Economy
Organized with UNDP

Room: Onyx

Creating a sustainable and nature-positive economy through values-aligned investing requires meaningful collaboration with Indigenous women, who are traditional knowledge bearers with unique insights and skills in sustainable resource management. Many projects exist that align with both the values of investors hoping to foster corporate accountability and protect biodiversity and the rights of Indigenous communities. Mutually beneficial alliances between both not only promote social equity but also ensure that conservation efforts are rooted in cultural wisdom, paving the way for a more holistic and resilient approach to building a nature-positive economy.

This luncheon session will discuss the challenges and opportunities that such partnerships present, discuss best practice cases, and outline steps to ensure the stewards of nature have adequate resources to continue their work on behalf of all.

Speakers:

• Nina Kantcheva, Senior Policy Adviser, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Engagement, UNDP (moderator)

• Louisa McCovey, Director, Environmental Department, Yurok Tribe

• Laura Yawanawa, President, Yawanawá Sociocultural Association (ASCY)

Move to Interactive Sessions

1:45 PM - 3:00 PM MST | Concurrent Interactive Sessions (choose one)

Interactive Sessions serve to strategically use the expertise and partnership of those in attendance. They are designed as small group discussions, rather than formal presentations. Participants will collaborate with the facilitators and other attendees in a variety of interactive formats.

AI’s Biggest Question
Organized with the Sierra Club Foundation

Room: Highlands

Artificial intelligence is garnering increasing attention, and its implications for work, life, and the planet are numerous. But like other technologies, AI takes after its creators — and operates in the parameters of the world it has. This begs a much larger, deeper question: what is the world we want?

Speaker:

• Pedro Henriques da Silva, Director of Shifting Trillions, Sierra Club Foundation

• Alissa Black, Strategic Advisor, Media Democracy Fund

Investing in Mental Health: Centering Communities for Collective Wellbeing
Organized with the Felix Family Foundation

Room: Stratton

This session introduces the principles of health equity as a transformative pathway to addressing the mental health crisis. We aim to create a space where funders and investors share successes in building and strengthening community-led efforts to support Black, Indigenous, and people of color in healing from trauma. Join us in understanding how you can partner in systems change for advancing community health and contribute to a more inclusive and effective mental health ecosystem.

Speakers:

• Rose Felix Cratsley, Trustee, Felix Family Foundation

• Zeke Smith, Executive Director, Empire Health Foundation

Community-Led Investing: From Local to Global
Organized with Possibility Labs

Room: Larimer

Working in collaboration with the communities most impacted by social and environmental injustices is a growing focus in the investing field. Recognizing that these communities possess firsthand insights into the challenges we confront, their perspective is increasingly shaping how funding happens, and where it is allocated.  Philanthropic organizations often have strong relationships with local communities, making them well-positioned to leverage capital for more impact. Yet, significant doubts remain around the impact of community-driven investing. This interactive session will provide participants with the opportunity to understand the how and why of community-focused fund management and how community control actually makes these funds more successful.

Speakers:

• Renee Morgan, Social Justice Director, Adasina Social Capital

• Raymond Pettit, Director of Partnerships, Possibility Labs

Investing in a Just Transition in Rural America
Organized with Coastal Enterprises, Inc.

Room: Tabor

From electrification to broadband internet, new technologies have been adopted in a trickle-down fashion. Meanwhile, rural communities, communities of color, and areas with low-income residents are left behind. However, impact-driven investments that provide low-cost, flexible capital can bridge the difference that makes a small or rural project more expensive than its large-scale equivalents. They also address the unfair costs borne by individuals who face systemic biases due to their location, race, or gender. This conversation will address the challenge of making this vision of a just transition a reality.

Speakers:

• Keith Bisson, President, Coastal Enterprises, Inc (CEI) (facilitator)

• Donna Holmes, Managing Director, Investor Relations, Iroquois Valley Farmland REIT

Transition Minerals — How Mining for Clean Energy Technologies Perpetuates Injustices and Harms Communities, and What Investors Can Do About It
Organized with the NorthLight Foundation

Room: Lodo

The world undoubtedly needs to move away from fossil fuels to a clean energy economy. The extraction of “critical” or “energy transition” minerals has skyrocketed in response to rising demand for electric vehicles and renewable energy technologies. However, mining for these materials has consequences for Indigenous sovereignty, community health, biodiversity, local environments, and climate. Human rights and environmental abuses in the supply chain for these minerals — such as the violation of Indigenous rights to self-determination, the loss of livelihoods, water contamination, and exposure to toxic chemicals — are all too common. This session will explore how investors can marshal their resources to support a truly just transition in the supply chain.

Speakers:

• Trevor Thompson, Program Officer, NorthLight Foundation (facilitator)

• Chet Tchozewski, Board Member, Clementine Fund

FREE TIME

3:00 PM - 4:00 PM MST | Book Fair and Networking

Room: Mezzanine

3:30 PM - 4:40 PM MST | Net Zero Champions Reception (by invitation only)
Sponsored by Capricorn Investment Group

EVENING

5:15 PM MST | Transportation to Gala Venue

5:30 PM - 6:00 PM MST | Gather for Gala

Location: Denver Botanic Gardens (York St)

6:00 PM - 7:30 PM MST | Plenary & Networking Gala: Ethics, Resilience, and Restoration: An Evening Discussion About the Future and Poetry Performance
Admission is free for all Gathering attendees. Additional tickets are available to Confluence members who would like to bring guests. For more information, contact us here.

Resilience is ultimately grounded in hope. It arises from the interior conditions that make it possible for a life or a community to confront challenges and overcome unforeseen uncertainty, hardship, and even disaster. Engaging in resilience also means practicing ethical restoration, which is the process of righting harm to heal damaged relationships and foster greater resilience via those relationships. Ultimately, everything is connected. This provocative evening discussion is intended to move participants to action. At a time when we confront an uncertain future, in which capital stewards face tough choices between nature, people, profit, and ethics, what does it truly mean to invest with our values?

Location: Denver Botanic Gardens (York St)

Speakers:

• Amy Domini, Founder and Chair, Domini Impact Investments

• Bobby LeFebre, Poet Laureate of Colorado (2019-2023)

• Charles G. Lief, President, Naropa University

• Konda Mason, Co-Founder and President, Jubilee Justice

• Lourdes Rodríguez, CEO, David Rockefeller Fund

7:30 PM - 9:30 PM MST | Networking Gala Reception and Dinner

Location: Denver Botanic Gardens (York St)

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

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 

Room: Larimer

Tech innovation starts in private markets, where venture capitalists determine which startups succeed and scale – unwittingly influencing far-reaching social outcomes. While innovation is a powerful accelerant for positive change, it may also have detrimental consequences, such as mental health impacts, gender and racial biases, political polarization, and job loss. Building on the Wednesday morning plenary session in partnership with Lucid Capitalism, this practical workshop will focus on opportunities for investors to align private tech investments with their values through capital allocation, stewardship, engagement with OCIOs/advisors, and philanthropy.

Speakers to be announced.