Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Track
The Diversity Equity and Inclusion track provides space for deep discussion, compelling research, and model investments for investing with a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. This year’s program focuses on topics such as gender lens investing; LGBTQ advocacy; racial equity; popular democracy; and a just transition.
Diversity & the Impact of Your Investments (Tuesday, February 25th | 1:00 PM)
Organized with Aperio Group
With social diversity now a growing concern among value-minded asset owners, what are the most effective points of leverage within an asset owner’s control? Is the field developing a better understanding of tools that investors can use to effect better social equity outcomes? What are the questions we should ask for each asset class, and what is realistic in terms of responses and time frame?
Speakers:
Liz Michaels, Chief of Staff and Director of ESG/SRI, Aperio Group (Moderator)
Cara Early, Assistant Vice President, Breckinridge
Tamara Larsen, Executive Director, Agility/PWP
Racial Equity Breakfast (Wednesday, February 26th | 8:00 AM)
Organized with California Wellness Foundation
What are the challenges and opportunities for advancing racial equity in the investment industry? After a brief update about Confluence’s Racial Equity Initiative, participants will hear from leaders in the field about their vision for implementing racial equity strategies. Organizational leadership will discuss the unique role that Confluence can play in advancing this work. Provocative questions will be posed to attendees and brief Q&A will close out the session, with the hope of building energy and momentum for this important work throughout the gathering and the field.
Speakers:
Fatima Angeles, Vice President of Programs, California Wellness Foundation and Confluence Board Member (Moderator)
Cynthia Muller, Director of Mission Investment, W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Millard “Mitty” Owens, Program Director, Confluence Philanthropy
Gender Lens and LGBTQ Investing: Two Lenses, One Vision (Wednesday, February 26th | 2:15 PM)
Organized with Cornerstone Capital Group
Bias and discrimination toward LGBTQ people is, in part, related to gender and the normative expectations of gender. Recognizing the intersection between gender discrimination and LGBTQ equality results in a profound reorientation of how investors can approach companies and challenge attitudes around full inclusion. How can gender-lens investors take a more expansive view on gender and develop shareholder engagement strategies that are more inclusive, and in so doing, widen the aperture to include everyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity?
Katherine Pease, Managing Director, Head of Impact Strategy, Cornerstone Capital Group
Heidi Vanni, Managing Director, Boston Trust Walden Company
Intentionality and Social Equity Investing (Wednesday, February 26th | 2:15 PM)
Organized with Global Endowment Management
As more foundations invest with a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) lens, investors are eager to hear strategies and lessons learned from peers about what's working, and not working, in this area. This session will convene a group of DEI practitioners who can share their lessons learned, hard-won experiences, and brainstorm best practices in group discussion.
Speakers:
Shawn Escoffery, Executive Director, Roy and Patricia Disney Family Foundation
Meredith Heimburger, Director of Impact, Global Endowment Management (GEM)
Rachel Robasciotti, Principal & Wealth Manager, Robasciotti and Philipson
Plenary: Love and Resilience in the Decisive Decade (Wednesday, February 26th | 6:00 PM)
Organized with the Hip Hop Caucus
Join us for a unique evening discussion that captures the spirit of revolution amidst growing global, grassroots movements for sustainability and justice. Whether Divest Invest, Black Lives Matter, #Metoo, or Fridays for the Future, social campaigns are often the first to shine a light on inequity or environmental abuse, raising awareness and inspiring others to join in demanding a meaningful response from the private and public sectors. Investors and philanthropists are uniquely positioned to bolster social, economic, and political movements by leveraging capital and influence to support transformative change. This special evening event will explore and honor the significant role that civil society movements play in shaping the emergent environmental and economic narratives of this critical era. How we can support them?
Opening Remarks | Gabe Gonzalez, Writer and Comedian
Keynote | Luis Miranda Jr, Founding Partner, the MirRam Group, and Philanthropist
Panel Conversation
Special Message from Bill McKibben, Co-founder and Senior Advisor, 350.org
May Boeve, Executive Director, 350.org
Gabe Gonzalez, Writer and Comedian
Christine Nieves, Co-founder and President, Emerge Puerto Rico
Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., President and CEO of the, Hip Hop Caucus
Eradicating Poverty by Working with Policy (Thursday, February 27th | 10:45 AM)
The fact that virtually all of Puerto Rico has qualified as an Opportunity Zone (OZ) is a stark reminder of the persistent, omnipresent US contradiction of deep poverty amidst great wealth and resources. Does the OZ approach offer the desired balance of positive return for both investors and communities? What other examples of programs are there that facilitate investment in ways that promote sustainable and equitable economic development? This session will dive deeper into the evolving geography of poverty and into the ways that federal or local programs can further equitable economic development
Speakers:
Lisa Mensah, President & CEO, Opportunity Finance Network (Moderator)
Andrew Harris, Principal, North Sky Capital
Jerry Maldonado, Director of Cities and States, Ford Foundation
David Sand, Chief Impact Strategist, Community Capital Management
Morgan Simon, Founding Partner, Candide Group, Libra Foundation
Shades of Grey: Investing for a Paradigm Shift (Thursday, February 27th | 10:45 AM)
Organized with Nia Community Foundation
As the impact investing space grows and moves mainstream, how can we ensure we are having the desired effects? This session features Confluence members that have moved the financial system by investing in diverse teams that direct money to entrepreneurs, and to segments of our economy that have previously been neglected by the current economic system. We will discuss ways to evaluate potential investments with a social justice lens that pivots paradigms. Our speakers will share stories, techniques, and examples of investments that have shifted the investing landscape in big and small ways. This session will offer unique viewpoints and illustrate varying types of investments among asset classes that redirect the economic outcomes toward inclusion and sustainability.
Speakers:
Kristin Hull, Founder, Nia Community Foundation (Moderator)
Jim Chowdry, Program Manager, Confluence Philanthropy
Tracy Gray, Trustee, California State University Dominguez Hills Foundation (CSUDH)
Building a Movement: Financial Activists Leveraging Capital to Effect Real Change (Thursday, February 27th | 10:45 AM)
Organized with RSF Social Finance
To move the needle forward on issues including racial justice, climate change, and our challenged economic system, the world needs financial activists willing to think about capital—resources that are both financial and human—in bold, complex, and creative ways. Learn what it’s going to take in discussion between visionary financial leaders who are effecting real change.
Speakers:
Donna Daniels, Director, Client Engagement, RSF Social Finance (Moderator)
Tory Dietel Hopps, Managing Partners, Dietel & Partners
Nina Robinson, Director, The Runway Project Oakland
Field Trip: Investing in Island Entrepreneurship (Thursday, February 27th | 12:30 PM)
The last decade has seen the emergence of new vision and commitment to local economic development. The Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust, a small business incubator and accelerator in Santurce, houses an intensive training program and venture fund for high-impact start-ups. Also offered is a local pre-acceleration program focused on helping early-stage Puerto Rican startups that have global potential, to get to market. Field trip participants will hear from entrepreneurs and key partners nurturing investment innovation. The trip will be flexibly structured to enable those who wish to remain after the first half to further engage, while others will be able to depart and walk to La Placita, the 100-year old market that anchors food and nightlife– where we host the trip’s final half hour debrief.
Tour Leaders:
Ricardo Burgos, Consultant, Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust
Marie Custodio, Outreach Manager, Parallel 18
Andreica Maldonado, Grants Program Director, Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust