Quarterly Speaker Series

Our first speaker was Sallie Krawcheck, a Wall Street innovator and CEO of Ellevest, the first investment firm by and for women. Sallie has been a pioneering woman in finance, having been CEO of Merrill Lynch, Smith Barney, US Trust, and the Citi Private Bank. She spoke to us about closing the “gender investing gap” and how women can make a difference by investing with intention.

The January 2020 luncheon featured two leaders in the field of impact investing, Sonya Dreizler and Rachel Robasciotti. We had a lively discussion, with a focus on social equity impact investing with a racial justice lens. Sonya and Rachel have been featured prominently in the national media for their willingness to speak out about sexual harassment in the financial services industry.

Our June 2020 speaker was Margo Cook, a top investment executive and outstanding philanthropist. She will share her journey to becoming the President of Nuveen Advisory Services, responsible for over $1 trillion of assets for one of the largest investment managers in the world. In addition to answering questions such as “what is going on with the disconnect between the market and the world?” Margo will talk about the transformative gift she and her wife made to encourage women to go into finance and her vision for how women can transform the field of investing.

Our November 2020 speaker was Jennifer Risher, author of We Need to Talk: A Memoir of Wealth.  In sharing her own journey, Jennifer brought to light a lot of questions around how money affects our relationships and how we see ourselves. 

Jennifer’s thought-provoking, personal story includes the voices of others in her demographic and explores the hidden impact of wealth on identity, relationships, and sense of place in the world. At a time when income inequality is a huge problem, our country’s economic system is broken, and money is still a taboo subject even among those closest to us, this engaging, introspective memoir is essential reading: a catalyst for conversation that demystifies wealth and inspires us to connect.  

She will also talk about her and her husband's  quick response to the people and organizations most affected by the social and economic effects of COVID by launching #HalfMyDAF at the beginning of the crisis.  They offered matching grants to donors who pledged to grant out at least half of their donor-advised funds to help people right now, when they need it most.