25th Annual Capital for Good Conference

Please check in at the registration booth inside Geffen Lobby. The booth will be located after the turnstiles on your left hand side. There will be a coat check available near the check in desk. Coffee, tea, and a light breakfast will be available in the Alumni Suite on the second floor of Geffen Hall near Cooperman Commons.

We are excited to welcome you to the Capital for Good Conference.

As the demand for investment in climate resilience, infrastructure, economic opportunity, and inclusive growth continues to grow, mobilizing private capital for sustainable development requires new approaches to managing risk and aligning incentives. This conversation will explore how investors, development institutions, governments, and businesses can work together to direct capital toward projects and markets where it can generate both financial and development value. The discussion will examine how environmental and social considerations can inform investment decisions, the role of guarantees and other innovative financial tools in unlocking private investment, and lessons from efforts to balance development priorities with long-term environmental and social sustainability. MIGA’s recent work illustrates how de-risking and partnership can help bring private capital into emerging and frontier markets while advancing broader development goals.

Speakers:

• Ravina Advani '09BUS, Managing Director, Head of the Low Carbon Transition & Infrastructure Group - America at BNP Paribas
• Kathleen Wallace, Regional Director, Environmental and Social Policy and Operations, Africa East and South at World Bank Group (WBG)
• Moderated by Brett House, Professor of Professional Practice in the Faculty of Business at Columbia Business School

More information about the breakout session coming soon!

Are you a mission-driven entrepreneur tackling climate change, sustainability topics and/or making a positive social impact with your venture? Want to discover the groundbreaking solutions startups are bringing to the table? Looking for potential partnerships or team members to bring your business to life? Interested in joining a team or getting involved with a startup? Seeking connections with professionals who share your interest in sustainability and social impact?

This informal pitch mix and match networking session offers the ideal platform to meet fellow changemakers, exchange ideas, and collectively drive progress towards a greener, better future. Join us for lightning round venture pitches from a variety of Columbia-affiliated social and environmental startups followed by a networking session to make meaningful connections within the social and environmental startup community at Columbia. 

This matchmaking event is designed for: 

• anyone looking to meet Columbia-affiliated social or environmental startups;
• any Columbia-affiliated social or environmental startup (at any stage) seeking new team members or connections, and;
• anyone looking to practice their pitch in a non-competitive environment.

Speakers: 

• Moderated by Karen Hasher ’99TC, Program Manager at the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change at Columbia Business School

Education is one of society’s most important investments in the next generation, yet the systems that prepare people for learning, work, and economic opportunity are being reshaped by rapid technological change and evolving workforce needs. This conversation will explore how we can reimagine education and workforce development to better prepare people for the future of work, expand economic mobility, and ensure that technology — including AI — helps broaden access to opportunity. Leaders across education, business, and technology will consider what it takes to drive meaningful, system-level change and how investing in human capital today can build a more inclusive and prosperous future.

Speakers: 

• Jemina Bernard ‘01BUS, President, Education Solutions at Arena.io
• Joel Rose, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at New Classrooms 
• Moderated by David Rosenberg ‘01BUS, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Business at Columbia Business School

More information coming soon.

Speaker: 

• Keith Katz ‘03BUS, Co-founder at Execution Labs

Please grab lunch in Geffen 570 and find a seat for a networking lunch in Geffen 590, Geffen 570, or Cooperman Commons. Water will be provided in Geffen 570. Full coffee bar will be available in the Alumni Suite on the second floor of Geffen near Cooperman Commons.

With sweeping cuts to USAID reshaping international development, pressure is growing on philanthropy and private capital to fill widening gaps. What gaps can patient capital and impact investing fill in place of public funding? This keynote session with Acumen founder and CEO Jacqueline Novogratz, moderated by Shaiza Rizavi, '96BUS, co-chief executive officer and money manager at Gilder, Gagnon Howe & Co., will explore and challenge some of the field’s most comfortable assumptions. Can investors deliver market-rate returns while reaching the world’s poorest communities? When philanthropy absorbs risk, is it catalyzing essential investment or subsidizing private gain? Do today’s measurement requirements strengthen accountability or constrain the very entrepreneurs they are intended to support? And who ultimately gets to define impact: Investors or the communities whose lives are affected? This conversation will explore what true patience demands, how capital can shift power as well as resources, and where the limits of market-based solutions require renewed public and philanthropic commitment.

Speakers: 

• Jacqueline Novogratz, CEO of Acumen
• Moderated by Shaiza Rizavi '96BUS, Co-chief Executive Officer and Money Manager at Gilder, Gagnon Howe & Co.

As housing affordability, economic inequality, and the uneven distribution of opportunity reshape communities across the country, the question is no longer simply whether capital can generate financial returns — but how it can help build places where people and communities can thrive. This conversation will explore how investors, developers, and community leaders can deploy capital to create both economic value and lasting social impact, with a focus on affordable housing, community development, and economic opportunity. The discussion will examine what it takes to align financial incentives with community needs — and how private, public, philanthropic, and community capital can work together to build a more sustainable, inclusive, and prosperous society.

Speakers: 

• Gregg Bishop, Executive Director at Social Justice Fund
• Rich Nightingale, CEO of Westhab
• Meredith Shields, Head of Citi Impact Fund
• Moderated by Bruce Usher, Professor of Professional Practice; Co-Director of the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change; Elizabeth B. Strickler '86 and Mark T. Gallogly '86 Faculty Director at Columbia Business School

More information about the breakout session coming soon!

Social entrepreneurs often face a fundamental tension: securing the capital needed to grow while preserving the mission, values, and independence that define their ventures. In this fireside chat, Jenny Kassan, author of "Raise Capital on Your Own Terms," will explore how entrepreneurs can move beyond conventional fundraising models to identify investors whose expectations and values align with their vision. Moderated by Sandra Navalli OAM, '03BUS, the conversation will examine practical strategies for designing a capital-raising approach that fits the business, finding mission-aligned investors, and building partnerships that support financial sustainability as well as social and environmental impact.

Speakers: 

• Jenny Kassan, Senior Attorney at Jason Wiener | p.c., a public benefit corporation; Author of Raise Capital on Your Own Terms
• Moderated by Sandra Navalli OAM '03BUS, Executive Director of the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change; Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia Business School

Access to healthy, affordable food is both a basic need and a challenge that sits at the intersection of markets, communities, and public policy. This conversation will explore how new models of food access can use capital, entrepreneurship, and community partnerships to create healthier and more equitable food systems. The discussion will consider what it takes to build and sustain mission-driven organizations, the role of board governance and leadership, and how innovative models can create lasting impact for communities, workers, farmers, and the environment.

Speakers:

• Mark Bittman, Founder of Community Kitchen; Professor at Columbia University | Mailman School of Public Health; Founder of The Bittman Project; Co-host of the Food With Mark Bittman Podcast 
• S. Mona Sinha ‘93BUS, Chief Executive Officer at Equality Now; Board of Advisors for Community Kitchen
• Moderated by Dan Wang ‘07CC, Lambert Family Professor of Social Enterprise in the Faculty of Business; and Co-Director of the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change at Columbia Business School

Thank you for joining us at the Capital for Good Conference.