The opening plenary panel of SOCAP16 will kick off the conference with insightful considerations on the “how” and “why” of social capital markets and the critical, and equal, importance of both. One of the leaders in the field who will speak on the plenary is Ed Dugger III, a pioneering impact investment leader with many years of experience managing venture capital funds. Dugger is President of Reinventure Capital, an innovation driven financial firm committed to creating measurable social and environmental impact.

In his last appearance at SOCAP, as part of the closing plenary panel of SOCAP15, Dugger took part in an illuminating, inspiring, and frank conversation that responded to questions about the relationship between equity and opportunity. The Equity and Opportunity plenary panel, moderated by Decker Ngongang, Senior Fellow at Frontline Solutions, also included Nikki Silvestri, Co-Founder and CEO of Silvestri Strategies, and Ben Jealous, Partner at Kapor Capital. Dugger and his fellow panelists offered their thoughts on how the capital markets can play roles in ending racial injustice and creating economic equality for everyone.

Earlier this year, Reinventure Capital produced a three-part blog series reflecting upon the Equity and Opportunity conversation of SOCAP15. In these posts, Reinventure Capital Managing Director Julianne Zimmerman deeply considers and responds to the conversation that occurred between Dugger and his fellow panelists. To reflect on what came before, and offer some background to prepare you for Dugger’s appearance at SOCAP16, we offer this summary of the series.

What is fair? What does inequity cost? What is smart?

Part 1: Equity and Equity The panelists on the SOCAP15 Equity and Opportunity panel began their discussion by defining equity in their own terms. Their answers encompassed agency, privilege, access to opportunity, and tapping into genius wherever it exists. This first post in the series reflects on these definitions and suggests that to expand “equity (value, especially capital) to increase equity (justice and impartiality),” investors must take an assessment approach that gives equal weight to justice, prudence, and value creation.

Part 2: Around, Over, Under, Through When the SOCAP Equity and Opportunity panelists were asked to name a few of the barriers hindering entrepreneurs of color and women entrepreneurs, they each offered stories of systemic issues causing inequality, including lack of opportunity, education, and access to capital at all levels. Though these are formidable obstacles, there are innovators who are finding ways over, around, under, and through. In this second reflection, Zimmerman shares five stirring examples of those who are blazing pathways and overcoming barriers.

Part 3: Reinventing Institutions = Reinventing Ourselves Moderator Decker Ngongang asked the SOCAP Equity and Opportunity panelists the question, “How do we reinvent institutions?” In her final installment of the series, Zimmerman presents some examples (drawn in part from Ed Dugger’s own history) of institutional reinvention that suggest potential answers for how investing can be reshaped to create equality and opportunity for all.

Join us at SOCAP16 to hear Ed Dugger speak on the intersection of investment, equality, and opportunity during the opening plenary panel of SOCAP16 on Wednesday, September 14th.