Emerging Impact Investing Professionals of Color Meetup

At this session, MIE had the privilege of bringing together emerging impact investing professionals of color to network, learn, laugh, and discuss relevant issues while navigating the world of impact investing. We heard from panelists Tina Castro, CFA, Managing Partner and Co-founder at Avivar Capital, and Monique Aiken, Managing Director at The Investment Integration Project, on their experiences in the field.

The intention for this convening was not to be a formal finance networking event, but an opportunity to openly connect with others in the field and discuss different experiences as an emerging professional of color. We welcomed impact investing professionals of all experience levels, from interns to seasoned professionals, to join this Virtual Learning Opportunity (VLO). Through a conversation with our panelists moderated by Karla Moreno of Avivar Capital and Sophia Brown, MIE’s senior associate of programs, we discussed the winding path towards a career in impact investing, stories from early years in the field, navigating the space as a person of color, and hopes for the future.
 
Takeaways

• Persistence, resilience, and courage are crucial to stand up in spaces where it feels uncomfortable as a professional of color.
  • Panelists discussed feeling invisible yet highly visible in the impact investing field, and dealing with that feeling can only be done through courage.
  • Finding a community can help build resilience and courage while navigating the space.
• Find mentors who will fill your cup and guide you through difficulties.
  • Mentors who are the best fit do not always share the same identities as you, and panelists discussed finding crucial mentorship from those who had very different experiences from them.
• Self-, familial-, and community-care are essential to sustaining emerging professionals of color.
  • Trying to find joy in the work that you do, although it can sometimes be heavy, is a great strategy to continue to feel empowered by being in impact investing.
  • Successful outcomes, joyful processes, and fulfilling relationships are three key components of impact investing work that keep you sustained.

Final takeaway: There is a lot of hope for the future, even just in the fact that over 40 emerging professionals of color attended this gathering. More and more people are coming into the impact investing space and realizing they can use it as a tool to create change, and that is something to celebrate!

Thank you to those who attended, and look out for future gatherings hosted by MIE in the future!