In this week’s episode of the Future of Finance, Georges Dyer sits down with Grant Harrison, Vice President of Sustainable Finance and ESG at Trellis Group, formerly known as GreenBiz. Grant shares insights on the evolution of Trellis, the shift from reporting to implementation in sustainability, and how companies are navigating political headwinds, particularly in the U.S. Listen in!

In this week’s news, 75% of 401(k) participants want sustainable investing, but most don’t know it’s an option, according to Morgan Stanley, ten state universities in Germany have launched the Thuringian University Network for Sustainability, and a Bloomberg columnist argues AI should pay a price for its environmental damage.

This week’s episode of the Future of Finance features perspectives from Scott Hobart, who discusses the increasing demand from AI and data centers, the transformative role of tech giants in power generation, and the investment opportunities within nuclear, geothermal, and storage technologies. Listen in!

Registration opened for the Annual Forum last week! Early bird registration rates are available for IEN Member businesses, non-member businesses, and non-member asset owners with the code EARLYBIRD. IEN member asset owners can register free of cost with a separate code available upon request. Register!

In this week’s news, the McConnell Foundation supports the launch of the Amplifier Fund, a $50 million fund to build affordable, more sustainable housing in Quebec, Oregon’s State Treasurer speaks to the need for evidence-based investing, and asset owners to swap US managers for European in response to ESG retreats.

Early bird registration for IEN’s Annual Forum is now open! Firms, businesses, and non-member asset owners can use the code EARLYBIRD for 20% off of their registration for a limited time.

IEN asset owner and nonprofit members can receive complimentary registration with a separate code; please respond to this email directly if you are an asset owner to receive the code. 

This week’s episode of The Future of Finance features perspectives from Sean Penrith, founder and CEO of Gordian Knot Strategies. With two decades of experience in climate finance, Sean shares insights into the firm’s mission to mobilize $1 billion annually by 2030 through innovative climate investment strategies. Listen in!

In this week’s news, how DEI and ESG investing has changed under trump, OCIO adoption by institutional investors gaining in Canada, but lags behind the U.S., and the Intentional Endowments Network launches our Responsible Tech & AI Initiative.

We are excited to launch our Responsible Tech & AI Initiative this week, with support from the Omidyar Network. Learn more about the purpose of this initiative, and complete this interest form if you’re interested in being involved.

In this week’s episode of the Future of Finance, Georges Dyer speaks with Temple Fennell, Co-founder and Managing Director of Clean Energy Ventures, to explore the frontier of climate tech venture capital. Temple shares how his fund backs early-stage companies targeting the most difficult sectors to decarbonize—concrete, ammonia, cooling systems, battery recycling, and more—with the bold goal of mitigating 2.5 gigatons of CO₂ by 2050. Listen in!

We’re also highlighting Stanford Law School’s artificial intelligence education program, available until July 31, 2025. It’s a free, self-paced program with video lectures taught by Stanford faculty and lawyers and designed to help/ corporate investors and board members learn more about how AI systems work. Learn more about the program.

In this week’s news, clean energy fund managers rally to support for clean energy tax credits, DC schemes uphold net zero in spite of worldwide ESG backlash, and tax changes will upend investing at endowments and foundations.

In this week’s episode of the Future of Finance, Georges is joined by Dr. Ellen Quigley, Principal Research Associate at the University of Cambridge and Special Adviser to the university's CFO on Responsible Investment. Ellen breaks down the concept of universal ownership, the risks of climate change through the lens of systemic investing, and how endowments and other long-term asset owners can be powerful agents of change. Listen or watch!

IEN was featured in NACUBO’s The Solutions Exchange, spotlighting the EIB, which provides a framework for endowments to understand the extent to which they are implementing sustainable and impact investment best practices. You can receive a copy of The Endowment Impact Benchmark: Measuring Impact and Advancing Transparency here.

In this week’s news, the Sierra Club Foundation Announces its break from BlackRock/Aperio in favor of more financially responsible asset managers, SHARE publishes investor guidance on diversity, equity, and inclusion amidst the turmoil, and a new research report from Tideline, BlueMark, and Builders Vision presents a new narrative for impact investing via fixed income and offers practical guidance for investors.

In this week’s episode of the Future of Finance, host Georges Dyer sits down with Bob Smith, Co-Founder, President, and Co-Chief Investment Officer at Sage Advisory. Bob shares his firm’s evolution since its founding in 1996—from two people and a Bloomberg terminal to managing $30 billion in assets—driven by a mission to align investments with purpose. Listen to the episode or watch on Youtube!

IEN’s offices will be closed tomorrow, June 19th in observance of Juneteenth. We are grateful for the time to reflect on the root of systemic racism in the United States and the progress that still needs to be made to create a more equitable society.

In this week’s news, Kathleen Simpson and Stacey Faella explain why the time to embrace impact investing is now, asset owners with $9.5 trillion call for stopping deforestation, and the Senate panel’s newest proposal would hike the endowment tax less than the House bill.

The 2025 Intentional Endowments Network (IEN) Virtual Forum convened thought leaders, investment professionals, and mission-driven institutions over four dynamic days to explore how endowments and asset owners can advance systemic solutions through investment.

MAIN EVENT PAGE   •   REGISTER   •   AGENDA   •  SPEAKERS • RECORDINGS

2025 IEN Virtual Forum: Session Recordings

Thank you for joining us at the 2025 Intentional Endowments Network Virtual Forum — a three-day event that brought together endowment leaders, asset managers, academics, and advocates to explore how we can align investment practices with long-term sustainability, equity, and fiduciary responsibility.

Below you’ll find recordings of each session, organized by day and topic. Whether you’re revisiting a conversation or catching up on what you missed, we hope these recordings spark continued learning and action across your investment practice.

Featured Topics Included:

• Systemic Risk & System-Level Investing
  Why long-term value depends on market-wide health, not just firm-level returns.

• Responsible AI & Investor Governance
  How asset owners can shape ethical innovation in an era of rapid technological change.

• Political Risk, Democracy, & Fiduciary Duty
  Understanding how governance affects markets—and what investors can do about it.

• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Asset Management
  Performance, fairness, and the business case for inclusive investing.

• Carbon Markets as an Asset Class
  How emissions trading systems are shaping a new frontier for climate-aligned investment.

• Reimagining Stewardship
  Moving from short-term profits to long-term systemic stability.

Day One: June 2, 2025 

Keynote: Systemic Risks & System-Level Investing

• • Jon Lukomnik, Adjunct Professor, Columbia University 

Keynote & Panel: Responsible AI & The Role of Investors

• • Mike Kubzansky, CEO, Omidyar Network

• • Chris Jurgens, Senior Director, Programs, Omidyar Network
  • Lauren Compere, Managing Director & Head of Stewardship and Engagement, Boston Common Asset Management
  • Ananya Mukherjee, Project Manager, Whistlestop Capital
  • Hilary Irby, Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of Impact Strategy, Soros Fund Management

Day Two: June 3, 2025 

Fireside Chat: Addressing Political Risk & Threats to Democracy

• • Lauren Caplan, Director of Governance and Risk Integration, Third Side Strategies
  • Philippe Bolopion, Managing Director, Co-Head of Long-Term Investing, TOBAM

Fireside Chat: Diversity in Asset Management and Advancing Equity in Society

• • Kenneth Jones, SVP, COO, & Chief Equity Officer, MacArthur Foundation
  • Robert L. Greene, President & CEO, National Association of Investment Companies

Keynote: Compliance Carbon as an Attractive Alternative Asset Class

• • Michael Azlen, CEO and CIO, Carbon Cap Management LLP

Day Three: June 4, 2025 

Keynote: Investing in Climate Solutions

Visionary Voices

• • Jaylen Spann, Lead Research Associate, Whistle Stop Capital
  • Kathryn Hopkins, Chief Learning Officer, Investature
  • Julianne Zimmerman, Co-CEO, Adasina Social Capital
  • Heather Smith, Head of Stewardship, Impax Asset Management

Panel: Benchmarking Progress & Continuing Momentum with the Endowment Impact Benchmark 

• • Alexandra Chamberlin, Impact Investment Manager, McConnell Foundation
  • Emily Philpott, Associate, BlueMark
  • Georges Dyer, Executive Director, Intentional Endowments Network (IEN)

Day Four: June 5, 2025 

Keynote: Board Diversity Language Toolkit

Panel: Climate, Capital, and Fiduciary Duty

• • John Adler, Chief ESG Officer, NYC Officer of the Comptroller
  • Machel Allen, President & Chief Investment Officer, Metis Global Partners
  • Kirsten Spalding, Vice President, Investor Network, Ceres

Keynote: Portfolios over Companies: The System Stewardship Imperative

• • Sara Murphy, Chief Strategy Officer, The Shareholder Commons

The peer-learning network will support investors in driving responsible governance and guardrails for safe application of AI technologies.

The peer-learning network will support investors in driving responsible governance and guardrails for safe application of AI technologies.

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS (July 9, 2025) – The Intentional Endowments Network has launched the Responsible Tech & AI Initiative for endowments, foundations, and financial service firms as a key aspect of its work in 2025. This work, supported by Omidyar Network, will engage institutional allocators, managers, and subject matter experts to drive a more ethical and transparent tech ecosystem.

The initiative will build on previous and existing work in the responsible tech sector, centering experts’ work on proper governance, integrating climate risks into investment decisions, and engaging with managers on the climate, governance, and human capital risks associated with their technology & AI investments. The Intentional Endowments Network began broaching this subject during its June Virtual Forum, where experts across disciplines presented on ways asset owners can shape ethical innovation.

While AI holds tremendous promise to drive productivity, efficiency, and innovation, it also represents material risks to society and investors.  AI can drive or exacerbate problems related to a wide range of issues, including energy and water use, climate change, human rights, worker rights, mis/disinformation, political polarization, election manipulation, discrimination, gender and racial bias, privacy and personal data, deepfakes, and more.  These issues can create broad systemic risks for investor portfolios, as well as company-specific risks including reputational risk, litigation risk, and regulatory risk. 

“We’re excited to be integrating this critical subject into our workstreams in 2025,” said Georges Dyer, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Intentional Endowments Network. “We continue to hear from members that AI & responsible tech are at the top of the agenda for investment committees and at board meetings. We look forward to engaging with experts to build awareness of the key issues for endowment & foundation teams as well as their service providers.”

The Responsible Tech & AI Initiative is supported by Omidyar Network, a philanthropic organization that invests in and collaborates with some of the world’s brightest visionaries and ventures to guide our digital future toward the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Under the leadership of CEO Mike Kubzansky, Omidyar Network has shown leadership in generative AI governance, the future of workers and jobs, and the concentration of power in tech markets.

“Generative AI and other digital technologies are having profound impacts on corporate performance, markets, and institutional investors’ portfolios,” said Chris Jurgens, senior director at Omidyar Network.  “Addressing the impacts of digital technologies on companies, their stakeholders and the planet is a critical next frontier in responsible investing, and we are excited to be partnering with IEN and its members on ways investors can learn and take action.”

About The Intentional Endowments Network

The Intentional Endowments Network (IEN) supports higher education institutions to adopt investment strategies that create an equitable, low-carbon, and regenerative economy. IEN connects endowments, asset managers, investment consultants, nonprofit partners, and individuals to advance the field of mission-aligned, sustainable investing. IEN is housed at the Crane Institute of Sustainability (“Crane”), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Learn more at www.intentionalendowments.org

About Omidyar Network

Omidyar Network is a philanthropic organization with a mission to bend the arc of the digital revolution towards shared power, prosperity, and possibility. We envision a world where our shared humanity steers our digital future. So far, we have committed more than $1.94 billion to initiatives that share our vision.

Media Contact

Georges Dyer, Co-founder & Executive Director, Intentional Endowments Network
[email protected]

Alexis Krieg, Director, Omidyar Network 
[email protected] 

In this week’s episode of The Future of Finance, Georges welcomes Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt, a pioneering scientist and sustainability expert, to discuss the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD). They explore how businesses, investors, and policymakers can use a systems-thinking approach to address sustainability challenges and identify opportunities for innovation. Listen in (or watch!)

The dates of our Virtual Spring Forum have changed - we are looking forward to convening the Network from June 2-5, 2025! Our half-day sessions will explore the most pressing topics in sustainable investing, from responding to political backlash to responsible tech & AI. Don’t forget to register!

In this week’s news, Dartmouth President Sian Leah Beilock says an endowment tax hike threatens research, the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance calls on policymakers to support the CDFI Fund, and Impact Frontiers releases a Case study of the UBS Optimus Foundation.

April 17, 2025 | 2 pm ET | Register

Jessie Duncan

In this week’s episode of The Future of Finance, Georges Dyer sits down with Tom Ferguson of Burnt Island Ventures to discuss the critical intersections of water and finance. Watch the episode on YouTube, or stream it on any platform.

In this week’s news, the University of California CIO calls on allocators to stand up to treasury secretary, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation adds Cornell University’s Sean Olesen as managing director, and Princeton University’s president weighs the cost of the government’s attack on Columbia University.

This week’s episode of The Future of Finance features perspectives from Charlie Donovan, Senior Economic Advisor at Impax Asset Management and Visiting Professor of Finance at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business. Charlie shares insights on the importance of segmenting climate investments across value chains, the role of fixed income in sustainable investing, and why companies must move beyond "paper decarbonization" to achieve real-world impact. Listen in!

We’re excited to announce Jon Lukomnik, Adjunct Professor at Columbia University and leading systems-level investing practitioner, as a keynote speaker for the 2025 IEN Virtual Spring Forum. Register to join us May 5th to 8th!

In this week’s news, the Oxford Endowment Fund takes stake in a new Dutch sustainable manager, Sussex plans to launch the UK’s F\first climate justice undergraduate degree, and AP breaks down the major EPA deregulatory moves around water, air, and climate.

This week’s episode of the Future of Finance is on mission-aligned passive equities strategies with Claire Quigley, Client Portfolio Manager, Sustainability Solutions at Ethic. She and Georges Dyer discuss the power of shareholder activism, the role of transparency in ESG investing, and how data-driven strategies shape investment decisions. Claire also sheds light on how Ethic customizes passive equity portfolios, engages in proxy voting, and navigates the challenges and opportunities in sustainable finance. Listen in, and don’t forget to subscribe!

IEN is partnering with Oberlin College for its second annual Impact Investing Symposium, April 23rd from 11 am to 2 pm. This year, the symposium will address what the AI investment boom means for emissions reduction targets and goals and how the current administration’s policies affect ESG goals and objectives of institutions, among other topics. Register here.

In this week’s news, Vanderbilt Law School launches a private climate governance lab, a University of Exeter Spin-Out sets new standard to help investors navigate the climate transition, and pension funds are rethinking their relationships with asset managers following climate cutbacks.

We’re looking forward to hosting a session next week as a part of NACUBO’s Endowment Leadership Series. Register to join Georges Dyer and three participants of the first EIB cohort next Thursday at 2 pm ET as they discuss successful implementation and communication strategies that foster a culture of transparency and collaboration.

We are excited to announce that registration is now open for our Virtual Spring Forum! The Forum will take place from May 5th to the 8th, from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. ET each day. Sessions will cover various topics related to material environmental and social investment factors, and will vary in format - including keynotes, panel conversations, break out discussions, and facilitated networking. Register now!

In this week’s episode of The Future of Finance, Asha Mehta, CFA, Founder & CIO of Global Delta Capital, challenges the idea that political and economic headlines should dictate investment decisions. Listen in!

In this week’s news, NYC Pension Systems name Valerie Red-Horse Mohl as deputy CIO, America’s foremost DEI shareholder activist Andy Behar warns that anti-diversity groups are forcing companies to underperform, and geopolitical risk pushes investment changes at the University of Nebraska Foundation.

We’re delighted to release the 2024 Endowment Impact Benchmark Report, highlighting the successes and ratings of our 2024 public participants! Review the report to examine mini-case studies on these institutions, learn about the instrument, and take a peek into a high-level summary of the aggregate data. Access to the full dataset, peer introductions, and a personalized assessment are available for participants of the EIB - indicate your interest through this form or by replying to this email.

In this week’s Future of Finance podcast episode, Georges Dyer sits down with Rho Impact’s Seth Sheldon and Gilman Callsen to chat about the complexities of forecasting emissions reductions, including avoided emissions. Listen in!

In this week’s news, a new UK-based climate group emerges as banks retreat, a Texas judge upholds the labor agency's ESG 401(k) investing rule, and Howard University becomes the only HBCU to achieve R1 Carnegie Classification.