Net Impact Club Co-sponsors Second Annual Philanthropy Conference

More than 100 students and distinguished professionals from the philanthropic and nonprofit communities, including a contingent of SOM alumni, took part in the second annual Future of Philanthropy Conference on November 10, 2006. Mary Ellen Iskenderian '86, President and CEO, Women’s World Banking, gave the keynote address, speaking about the role of microfinance in alleviating poverty in the developing world. Paul Connolly '91, Senior VP and Director, TCC Group, spoke about innovations in philanthropic investment methods, while Yee-Ann Cho '99, Senior Program Officer, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, discussed the landscape of funding in the education field. Other featured speakers were Claire Gaudiani, professor at NYU’s Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising, and Shari Berenbach, Executive Director of the Calvert Social Investment Foundation.

Yale SOM Alumni who attended the conference included: Toddy Turrentine '80, Julie Koo '06, Mary Ellen Iskenderian '86, Yee-Ann Cho '99, Renee Jacob '00, Nancy Marks '84, Paul Connolly '91, Leslie Keating Cawley '84, Frengiz Surty '94, Nelun de Silva Wijeyeratne '87, and Kitty Breen '94.

The conference was sponsored in part by the Program on Social Enterprise, the Net Impact Club, the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, the SOM Alumni Association, Koffee?, the SOM Steering Committee, and the Yale Graduate & Professional Student Senate.

Alumni are welcome at other student conferences, as well. Attending such conferences can be a great opportunity to network with other Yale SOM graduates in your field, as well as to lend your expertise to the current generation of SOM students.

Upcoming student conferences:
Private Equity, December 1, 2006
Education Leadership Conference, February 16, 2007
Healthcare 2007, March 30, 2007