INVESTING FOR A GREEN TOMORROW (10:45-11:45 - Classroom B)
Approximately 1 out of every 9 dollars under professional management in the U.S. is committed to socially responsible investment funds. Experts agree that green investments represent a tremendous opportunity, one that will undoubtedly revolutionize business and introduce unprecedented innovation and creativity. Returns on many green investments have been significant despite the relatively flat performance of the market in recent years – piquing the interest of more traditional investors. This session will focus on exploring opportunities to make sustainability profitable. What are the opportunities and trade-offs that surround environmentally-conscious investing? To what extent can we integrate environmental and financial returns? Can the profit motive advance environmental goals more efficiently than appeals to environmental principles or good citizenship? Is balancing conservation and profitability a zero-sum game?
Bonnie Moellenbrock, Executive Director, SJF Advisory Services (moderator)
Farnum Brown, VP Senior Portfolio Manager, Trillium Asset Management
Jack Davis, EKO Asset Management Partners
Paul Herman, Founder and CEO, HIP Investor
Heidi Soumerai, Director of Social Research, Walden Asset Management
JUST GETTING STARTED: ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SOCIAL CHANGE (10:45-11:45 - Classroom C)
Does the change we seek lie in the hands of today's business and social entrepreneurs? Can high impact entrepreneurs lay the foundation for a robust middle class and sustainable growth in emerging economies? Can base of the pyramid business innovators from Kenya to New Orleans address the social and economic challenges of the 21st century? Join three dynamic voices from the nonprofit, corporate and academic spheres as they explore the role of entrepreneurship in social change.
Greg Dees, Director, Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship, Fuqua (moderator)
Bill Stevenson, Manager of Corporate Social Investments, Lenovo
Leah Fish de Sacordote, Director, Marketing and Communications, Endeavor
THE BUSINESS OF EDUCATION (10:45-11:45 - Classroom D)
Are you passionate about education, or have you thought about a career in education but don't know where to start, or how your particular degree can help? While business and the education sector may seem very different on the surface, the education sector needs the same type of innovative and entrepreneurial thinking that a business does. Charter schools, college preparation schools, and mentoring programs are just a few of the methods that have recently emerged to address disparities in education. Radical changes at the state and federal level are also challenging the way our nation has traditionally looked at education, including implementation of performance-based compensation. The nation’s education crisis is drawing on MBAs, policy students, and law students to use their skills and their passion for helping children to transform the education landscape. How has education changed in the last decade? What challenges does the sector face moving forward? How can your skills be used to bridge the gap?
Butch Trusty, MBA/MPP 2008, Duke University
Eric Guckian, Executive Director North Carolina, KIPP
Maia Blankenship, Managing Director, Education Pioneers
Andrew Garland, Project Director of Policy and Research, New Teacher Project
Adrian Mendez, School Support Manager, New Schools for New Orleans
Rob Lalka, MPP 2008, Duke University
CARBON CREDITS: THE GOOD AND THE BAD (12:00-1:00 - Classroom C)
Carbon Credits and Carbon Offsets are an increasingly popular method of reducing environmental impact on both a commercial and personal level. What is the science behind offsetting carbon emissions? What are the business models for selling and trading offsets in consumer and corporate markets? With so many for-profit companies and non-profit organizations joining the marketplace, how do consumers and corporations distinguish those who are effectively implementing carbon credit systems and those who are using unproven or even questionable methods? And on a larger scale, what are the economic and environmental implications of providing a way to offset emissions rather than seeking ways to eliminate them?
Lydia Olander, Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions (Moderator)
Dr. Garth Boyd, Senior Vice President, Camco North America
Al Vazquez, VP TurboGreen - Carbon Revenue for Cleaner Industry AgCert Services USA
Eben Polk, Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions
A DEEPER LOOK INTO MICROFINANCE: Q&A With Elisabeth Rhyne (12:00-1:00 - RJR)
Join us for an informal discussion with Elisabeth Rhyne. Ms. Rhyne is ACCION International's senior vice president for Policy and Research and Development. She directs ACCION's research efforts to develop new financial products for the poor, and leads ACCION's microfinance industry development activities. Recognized as a leader in the field of microfinance, Ms. Rhyne has published numerous articles and four books on the topic. Her experience in microfinance includes her work as director of the Office of Microenterprise Development at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) from 1994 to 1998. From 1989 to 1993, she designed and coordinated USAID's GEMINI project, a microfinance research initiative responsible for publishing over 100 titles on microenterprise best practices. Prior to joining ACCION, she worked as an independent microfinance consultant based in Mozambique. Ms. Rhyne's consulting assignments have included advising several government banks on microfinance policy, as well as conducting diagnostic assessments and business planning for more than 10 microfinance institutions.
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP - LESSONS FROM THE FIELD
(12:00-1:00 - Classroom B)
Join us for what will undoubtedly be a dynamic conversation about social entrepreneurship from three experts with three unique perspectives. Greg Dees, considered the father of social entrepreneurship, talks with the Founder and COO of TROSA, a cutting-edge, self-supporting, residential program serving offenders and substance abusers at no cost to the individuals. Mr. Dees has over a decade of experience studying and consulting with social entrepreneurs. He has started award-winning research centers at Duke, Stanford and Harvard and is internationally recognized as the pre-eminent thinker in the field. Kevin McDonald was deeply impacted by his own addiction and subsequent recovery at the Delancey Street Foundation. Building on the lessons learned in that program, he went on to found TROSA here in Durham. In 2001, he was awarded the prestigious “Leadership in a Changing World” Award from the Ford Foundation. Keith Artin has been described as “an accidental social entrepreneur.” He began his career as an Investment Banker with Smith Barney. After earning his MBA at Fuqua, he worked for several start-ups and then TROSA. He credits his success at TROSA to an entrepreneurial spirit, one where he can maximize value with limited resources.
Greg Dees, Director, Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship, Fuqua
Kevin McDonald, Founder and President, Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers (TROSA)
Keith Artin, COO, Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers(TROSA)
THE NEXT FACE OF MICROFINANCE: WHO WILL BE LEFT STANDING? (1:15-2:15 - Classroom C)
The world of microfinance today is radically different than when it started. Thirty years ago, there were a handful of non-profit microfinance institutions (MFI) with a promise to alleviate poverty by giving access to capital to the poorest of the poor. Today, after these MFIs have demonstrated encouraging results, new players, such as global commercial banks, are entering the arena and are changing the setting in which the sector is moving. This dynamic has posed the question of whether competition will make NGO MFIs disappear entirely or whether competition will just rearrange the setting in which all the players participate, making each one stand in a very specific role. The ultimate question remains however: does the entrance of new institutional players compromise the very goals of what pioneers like Muhammad Yunus strove to create with the Grameen Bank? Will the poorest of the poor be left behind as microfinance is commercialized and market forces come to play?
Lisa Jones Christensen, Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School (Moderator)
Santhosh Kumar, Consultant, Shorebank International, LTD
Elisabeth Rhyne, Senior Vice President for Policy and Research Development, ACCION International
Zlato Hajro, Morgan Stanley, Fixed Income
THE BUSINESS CASE FOR SUSTAINABILITY (1:15-2:15 - Classroom D)
With strong evidence of real and pressing environmental problems and the increasing involvement of stakeholders in these issues, companies are now faced with a larger share of responsibility and accountability than ever before. Paying attention to these environmental issues in operations is without a doubt the next big business opportunity as it can help companies drive revenues, cut costs, reduce risk and increase brand equity. As some of the biggest companies in the world pledge to "go green", this panel seeks to explore what it really means to green your operations. What do companies do to go green? How does this impact the value chain? What are the advantages of making such a commitment? What are the costs of lagging behind and failing to commit?
Michael Lenox, Associate Professor, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University (Moderator)
Vanessa Stifler Claus, Manager of Federal Affairs, John Deere
Rob Whitter, Sustainability and Climate Change, Deloitte Consulting LLP
Kelly Boone, CSE Consulting Program Manager
SOCIAL IMPACT FROM THE CORPORATE SECTOR (1:15-2:15 - Classroom B)
This session will provide an in-depth look at leading corporate impact programs and demonstrate how companies go beyond financial support by providing much-needed human capital to the nonprofit sector. Attendees will be exposed to the business case for corporate programs and also discover why they should consider such programs when choosing an employer. Additionally, we will discuss the challenges and benefits of launching similar programs within your own company. MBA’s, professionals, and rising leaders will all benefit by learning how to advance your own career and positively impact your community.
Matt Nash, Associate Director Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship(CASE), Fuqua School of Business (moderator)
Evan Hochberg, National Director, Community Involvement, Deloitte Services LP
Ruth McCullers Lee, Global Civic Councils Program Manager, Cisco Systems
Sam Whitt, Executive Director, Cherokee Gives Back