Dollars And Change Podcast

Karl Khoury, Co-founder and Partner at Arborview Capital, and Russell Diez-Canseco, President and CEO of Vital Farms, join host and Vice Dean of the Wharton Social Impact Initiative Katherine Klein to discuss their successful partnership. In 2014, Arborview Capital made an impact investment into Vital Farms, an ethical and sustainable food company that produces pasture-raised eggs and butter. Karl remains on the board of Vital Farms after the company went public in 2020. Karl and Russell reflect on why it’s important for investors to be aligned to the mission of the companies in which they’re investing. They also discuss why stakeholder capitalism makes business even more successful.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Rachel Robasciotti, founder and CEO of Adasina Social Capital, joins host and Vice Dean of the Wharton Social Impact Initiative Katherine Klein to discuss how her firm is serving as a bridge between social justice movements and the financial markets. She also discusses why she sees the potential for real impact in public markets. "If you're going to make systemic change, you're actually going to be required to have impact that extends well beyond your own portfolio. And the only real way to do that is by organizing other investors," Robasciotti said. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Suzanne Biegel, Founder of Catalyst at Large, joins host Sandi Hunt, Managing Director of the Wharton Social Impact Initiative, to discuss their recently published co-authored report, Project Sage 3.0. This report presents a global scan of gender lens private equity, venture capital, and private debt funds, as well as key findings on the current state of the field. In this podcast, Biegel and Hunt reflect on what they hope readers of the report do with it, what these findings show, and why it matters. Access more insights as well as the full Project Sage 3.0 report here.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Roy Swan, Director of Mission Investments at the Ford Foundation, joins host and Vice Dean of the Wharton Social Impact Initiative Katherine Klein to discuss how the Foundation uses grant capital, mission-related investments, and program-related investments to advance social, economic, and racial justice. In addition to capital tools, Swan discusses the importance of “influence tools”: helping others understand the flaws in our system and charting a road map for change. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Gayle Jennings O’Byrne and Pialy Aditya, General Partners of the WOCstar Fund, join host and Vice Dean of the Wharton Social Impact Initiative Katherine Klein to discuss investing in women of color. Their early stage venture fund invests in women of color and their diverse tech startups. Black women are the fastest growing group of start-up founders. Yet, biases in investing cause major disparities in the amount of venture capital dollars they receive. WOCstar Fund’s goal is to not only change the trajectory for the companies they invest in, but also help other investors find these innovative and successful businesses. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Alex Edmans, Professor of Finance at the London Business School and author of the new book Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit, joins host and Vice Dean of the Wharton Social Impact Initiative Katherine Klein to discuss emerging research on responsible business. Edmans offers a perspective on employee satisfaction and CEO pay research to explain how both shareholders and stakeholders can receive long-term value with a “grow the pie” mindset instead of a “split the pie” mindset. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Second-year Wharton MBA students Ellen Halle and Susanna Hamilton join host Sandi Hunt to discuss how they helped launched the Philadelphia chapter of Off Their Plate. This grassroots movement helps provide meals to hospital teams while restoring jobs to restaurant workers who have lost work due to COVID-19. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Lisa Hall, fair finance lead and fellow-in-residence at the Beeck Center, joins host Katherine Klein to discuss “fair finance,” a term coined at the Beeck Center “to really describe what it means to have shared prosperity using the tools of the financial market.” She also discusses the tools and strategies that could be employed to “increase the fairness of finance” and the lessons learned from other programs that have tried to address inequality. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

C. B. Bhattacharya, Professor of Sustainability and Ethics at the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh, joins WSII's Sandi Hunt on Knowledge@Wharton to discuss why sustainability needs to be strategic to a firm’s business and how it can be orchestrated. Bhattacharya says that when a company defines its purpose, it will find that sustainability is built into that definition. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Cynthia Muller, Director of Mission Investment at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, joins hosts Nick Ashburn and Sandi Hunt to discuss the unique position of corporate foundations in addressing systemic inequities. Since 1930, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation has focused its investments on benefitting disadvantaged children in poor and rural areas and addressing race-based issues. Original airdate: June 27, 2019. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Vincent Stanley, Director of Philosophy at Patagonia, joins WSII's Sandi Hunt on Knowledge@Wharton to share career advice for those looking to work for the most impactful companies—or those looking to make their current companies more impactful! He discusses what makes Patagonia a special place to work and how students can go about their job search and interview process. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech, joins hosts Nick Ashburn and Sherryl Kuhlman to discuss the future of carbon recycling and sustainability. LanzaTech reduces carbon emissions and makes new carbon-neutral products, such as plastics and fuel. Original airdate: March 28, 2019. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Miriam Altman, CEO and Co-Founder of Kinvolved, joins hosts Sandi Hunt and Katherine Klein to discuss chronic absenteeism in schools. Her startup Kinvolved makes students’ attendance data available to parents and acts as a connection tool for parents, teachers, and school administration. Original airdate: March 21, 2019. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jason Wadsworth, Category Merchant for Packaging & Sustainability at Wegmans, joins hosts Nick Ashburn and Sandi Hunt to discuss the negative impact of food waste. He talks about the grocery store's efforts in reducing food waste and increasing sustainable packaging. Original airdate: April 4, 2019. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Damon Centola, Associate Professor in the Annenberg School for Communication and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, joins hosts Sandi Hunt and Sherryl Kuhlman to discuss his book “How Behavior Spreads”—a look into how changes in societal behavior occur. His findings offer insights for those looking to harness networks for social change. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Noorain Khan, Director of the President's Office at Ford Foundation, joins hosts Sandi Hunt and Sherryl Kuhlman to discuss how the organization incorporates a disability lens across all of their grant making. She also discusses why inclusivity and accessibility are embedded in all of the foundation’s operations, from communications to staff training and beyond.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Dollars and Change broadcasts live from the 2019 CEO Connection Mid-Market Convention, a conference that brings together the leadership of the mid-market subject matter experts, prominent academics, and senior government officials. Hosts Sandi Hunt and Sherryl Kuhlman are joined by: Anthony DeCandido, Partner and Financial Services Senior Analyst at RSM US; Sharon Rossi, CEO of FoodScience Corp; Scott Jackson, CEO and President of Global Impact; and Jeffrey Kiesel, CEO of Restaurant Technologies.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Claudine Gartenberg, Assistant Professor of Management at the Wharton School, joins hosts Nick Ashburn and Sherryl Kuhlman to discuss her research on corporate purpose. She says employees need clarity on how their actions are directly linked to the company's purpose. Original air date: July 11, 2019. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

David Fajgenbaum, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, joins hosts Sandi Hunt and Sherryl Kuhlman on Dollars and Change. He discusses how he combined skills and expertise from both his medical and business degrees to work towards a cure for Castleman disease, a rare disease that presents as a cross between cancer and an autoimmune disorder. He is also a patient of the disease, and believes that research and treatments for Castleman disease have been accelerated through his innovative use of a business-inspired approach to medical research. He recently published a book about his experience called, “Chasing My Cure: A Doctor's Race to Turn Hope Into Action.” See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Matt Hoffman, President of Tellus Products, joins host Sandi Hunt to discuss how the company uses sugarcane fibers to create eco-friendly alternatives to plastic products like plates, bowls, and take-out containers. He also discusses some of the issues stemming from plastic waste. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.