Lessons in Impact: Explore 15 Dialogues From SOCAP23

Learn how impact leaders are innovating and connecting to accelerate action on urgent global challenges.

At SOCAP23, global impact leaders, practitioners, investors, and entrepreneurs gathered to look deeper and take action on the world’s biggest social and environmental challenges. Conversations on stage and on the ground brought together funders and founders, plus people from philanthropy, creatives, nonprofits, community leaders, and others working together to break down barriers and collaborate for impact.

We invite you to explore an exclusive collection of 15 conversations from SOCAP23 that have yet to be publicly released. The discussions represent each of the 12 content tracks that made up the SOCAP23 agenda and amplify the event’s theme, Facing Urgency: Impact at the Speed of Trust.

These insightful dialogues cover a range of topics, from a look at regional markets around the globe to new strategies for impact measurement to investing with a gender lens. Together, they share a common thread: How we can accelerate innovation and collaboration to help shape a more just and inclusive world economy.

Sign up here to explore these conversations on demand! We’ll send access to the 15 dialogues directly to your inbox — including a special password to access them. (View the full list of included sessions below!)

Lessons in Impact: Explore 15 Dialogues From SOCAP23

Opening Plenary: Remarks by Durreen Shahnaz

Impact investing visionary Durreen Shahnaz delivers a powerful message during SOCAP23’s Opening Plenary, urging the audience to become “defiant optimists” in the face of adversity.

Speaker: Durreen Shahnaz | Impact Investment Exchange

Unlocking Capital on the Sidelines: Activating Untapped Assets for Impact

This forward-thinking SOCAP23 panel brings together trailblazers in impact investing, philanthropy, and finance to delve into state-of-the-art strategies for unlocking capital on the sidelines and activating it to impact investing.

Speakers:

• Fran Seegull | U.S. Impact Investing Alliance (Moderator)
• Elaine Martyn | Fidelity Charitable
• Jim Sorenson | Sorenson Impact Foundation
• Tracy Palandjian | Social Finance

Cacao, Coffee, and Spices: Growing Smallholder Incomes Through Intentional Investment

Explore the crucial role of values-aligned partnerships and intentional investment in building accessible market systems for smallholder farmers.

Speakers:

• Willie Shubert | Mongabay (Moderator)
• Gustavo Hernandez Polanco | Heifer International
• Heather Terry | GoodSam PBC
• Thaleon Tremain | Pachamama Coffee Farmers

Impact Investing in Africa: More Than Remittances

Discover a myriad of investment opportunities that not only generate substantial returns but foster inclusive growth and prosperity on the African continent.

Speakers:

• Nzinga Broussard | Sorenson Impact Institute (Moderator)
• Alloysius Attah | Farmerline Group
• Iyinoluwa Aboyeji | Funds for Africa’s Future
• Maria Rotilu | Openseed Ventures
• Pedro De Vasconcelos | International Fund for Agricultural Development

Practice Makes Perfect: System-Level Investing in Action

Speakers share practical approaches to reducing systemic bias, values-based and culture-centered Indigenous investing practices, as well as understanding other systems that drive investment strategy.

Speakers:

• Geoff Davis | Sorenson Impact Institute (Moderator)
• Daryn Dodson | Illumen Capital
• Erica Barbosa Vargas | SecondMuse Capital
• Jeff Cyr | Raven Indigenous Capital Partners

Accountable Impact: The Desired Death of Vanity Metrics

Learn why accountability in the impact investing system matters and how to put an end to ineffective vanity metrics.

Speakers:

• David Johnson | Stanford Social Innovation Review (Moderator)
• Erika Karp | Pathstone
• Lindsay Smalling | 60 Decibels
• Sandra M. Moore | Advantage Capital

Leading by Leaving: Funding Founder and Leader Transitions in Impact Ventures

A group of impact leaders discusses new ways of thinking about leadership as a full life cycle – with profound implications for how the impact community thinks of founders, considers their individual well-being, and has difficult conversations to ensure the impact they catalyze transcends them.  

Speakers:

• Mar Cabra | The Self-Investigation (Moderator)
• Amalia Brindis Delgado | Panta Rhea Foundation
• Astrid Scholz | Armillaria
• Jim Fruchterman | Tech Matters

Investing in Climate Solutions in Latin America

Learn how impact investing can be leveraged to fund conservation efforts, climate resilience, and climate innovation in Latin America from the perspective of entrepreneurial ecosystem builders, impact investors, and asset owners. 

Speakers:

• Natalie Vergara | Mercy Corps Ventures (Moderator)
• Andres Baehr | Savia Ventures
• Lia González | Incofin IM
• Maricel Saenz | Minus: A Compound Foods Company
• Yuri Soares | IDB Lab

DEI Done Well: Unleashing Potential Through Wealth Transfer, Best Practices, and Measurement

Explore the practice and critical aspects of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) with a focus on wealth transfer, best practices, and effective measurement to foster an inclusive and equitable society. 

Speakers:

• David Bank | ImpactAlpha (Moderator)
• Malvika Bhagwat | Owl Ventures
• Noramay Cadena | Supply Change Capital
• Stephen DeBerry | BRONZE

State of Social Entrepreneurship: The Track’s Opening Panel

Hear from experts on the state of the social entrepreneurship field examined through global and regional perspectives.

Speakers:

• Allison Boxer | Sorenson Impact Institute (Moderator)
• John Kohler | Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship
• Kate Byrne | Good Light Capital
• Morgan Simon | Candide Group

Measuring Beyond Standard Metrics: Evaluating Impact in Gender Lens Investing

Panelists share first-hand experiences of trying to track progress against their investment theses and provide a preview of the innovations that will allow us to get better at capturing more meaningful data in the future. 

Speakers:

• Dennis Price | ImpactAlpha (Moderator)
• Carmen Correa | Pro Mujer
• Ellie Turner | 60 Decibels
• Marlene Molero Suarez | GenderLab

Exploring Cross-Sector Collaboration in Gender, Climate Action, and Impact Investing in Asia

Uncover opportunities for cross-sector collaboration and strategies to overcome barriers, with a focus on amplifying the positive impacts across sectors and communities. 

Speakers:

• Amy Cortese | ImpactAlpha (Moderator)
• Ayaka Matsuno | Sasakawa Peace Foundation
• Priya Thachadi | Villgro Philippines
• Regula Schegg | Circulate Capital

2033: Harnessing Foresight-Driven Impact to Shape the Decade Ahead

Learn from leaders about their shared future-readiness journey and the power of participatory foresight.

Speakers:

• Rachel Maguire | Institute for the Future (Moderator)
• Alandra Washington | W.K. Kellogg Foundation
• Carla Thompson Payton | W.K. Kellogg Foundation
• Jennifer Rodriguez | Youth Law Center

Realize the Potential of Justice Tech and Innovation: Investing in the End of Mass Incarceration

Hear from global and local justice innovation practitioners and investors who have been building this field for years. 

Speakers:

• Chris Bentley | De-carceration Fund, LP (moderator)
• Eunice Olopade | Sidebrief
• Jelani Anglin | Good Call Technologies
• Noella Sudbury | Rasa Legal
• Ronald Lenz | HiiL

Closing Plenary: Remarks by Onna LeBeau

Onna LeBeau shares the history of the Omaha tribe and the challenges it continues to face as it works to recover, heal, and build a better future.

Speaker: Onna LeBeau | Office of Indian Economic Development