Columbia Business

Liz Luckett, ’90CC, the managing partner of The Social Entrepreneurs’ Fund, and a co-founder of Maycomb Capital, is a pioneer impact investor who has blazed the trail, and set a very high bar, for the billions of dollars and many new entrants to the field.

Samantha Tweedy, the inaugural president of the Black Economic Alliance Foundation, has spent her career building and leading transformative racial and economic justice initiatives at the intersection of the public, private, and philanthropic sectors.

Stephen Grimaldi, the executive director of New York Common Pantry, and John MacDonald and Scott Crawford, the chief marketing and chief merchandising officers of FreshDirect, talk about the extraordinary partnership the two organizations forged in the height of the pandemic.

Donnel Baird ’13 is the founder and CEO of BlocPower, a clean tech startup based in New York City that develops portfolios of clean energy retrofit opportunities in underserved communities and connects those opportunities to investors seeking social, environmental, and financial returns.

Jonathan Soros is chief executive officer of JS Capital Management LLC and co-founder of Athletes Unlimited, a new model of professional sports and a reimagination of the way business can — and should — show up in the world.

Kathryn Wylde is one of New York and the country’s preeminent leaders when it comes to robust, cross-sector partnerships. As president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, New York’s leading business organization, Wylde has been a key liaison between the city’s public and private sectors in the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery.

Valerie Rockefeller is one of the country’s most innovative leaders in the fight against climate change and in our transition to a low carbon economy. As chair of Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, and BankFWD, she is helping to pioneer ways to channel philanthropy and the capital markets towards a more inclusive and sustainable future.

Governor Deval Patrick is one of the country’s most talented and inspiring leaders who has blazed many trails across and between the public, nonprofit, and private sectors. We explore some of the through lines in a career that has included successful chapters in civil rights law and activism, policy and politics, and entrepreneurship and investing. 

Ai-jen Poo is one of the country’s most innovative and celebrated leaders of the labor and women’s movements. The executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, she is an award-winning organizer, author, and leading voice on economic inclusion and shared prosperity.

Three new Tamer Fund for Social Venture awardees were selected after their participation in an application screening round, a due diligence process with student teams from a Columbia Business School course, and a final pitch to the fund’s investment board.