Social Enterprise Conference, Capital for GoodDigital Event Series

Damien Dwin
Founder and CEO at Lafayette Square

Damien Dwin is an American businessman and investor who currently serves as the chief executive officer of Lafayette Square. He founded Lafayette in November of 2020 as a model investment platform that deploys services-backed capital to local communities, independent businesses, and diverse investors. Lafayette Square is built for inclusion — here to change the financing paradigm and investing in an American economy worth believing in.

Lafayette Square provides a wide range of financial products that create positive impact alongside financial returns.

Previously, Damien served as co-founder and co-cEO of Brightwood Capital Advisors from its founding in 2010 to October 2020.

Damien began his career as a trader with Goldman Sachs, New York & London, there earning the Michael P. Mortara Award for Innovation. He then further developed his investment expertise working for Credit Suisse, where he was the co-founder and head of the North American Special Opportunities business until 2010. At Credit Suisse, Damien also served on the vice president selection committee and led the Fixed Income Division Credit Training Program.

He is an active thought leader on mass incarceration, economic inclusion, racial justice and representation, and the use of purpose and profit for good. He has written for Entrepreneur and Inc.com.

A committed philanthropist, Damien currently serves as chair of the board of trustees for Vera Institute of Justice. He also serves on the nonprofit boards of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Studio Museum in Harlem, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Woodberry Forest School, and Boys’ Club of New York.

Damien received a BS/BA from Georgetown University where he later served two terms on the Board of Regents.

Antony Bugg-Levine
Managing Director and Co-head of Community Impact at Lafayette Square

Antony Bugg-Levine is a managing director and co-head of community impact at Lafayette Square, with a focus on developing partnerships and impactful services that drive change for communities served by the firm. Antony is a pioneer within the modern impact investing movement, with over 25 years of industry experience.

Antony designed and led The Rockefeller Foundation’s impact investing initiative and oversaw its Program Related Investments portfolio from 2007 to 2011. He convened the 2007 meeting that coined the phrase “impact investing” and in 2009, co-founded the Global Impact Investing Network. He also co-authored “Impact Investing: Transforming How We Make Money While Making a Difference,” the first book on impact investing, in 2011. Antony has spent the past 10 years as CEO of the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), one of the largest community development financial institutions in the United States.

Antony holds a BA from Yale, an MPA from Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs and has served as an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School. He was selected as a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and named one of the 50 most powerful and influential people in the US nonprofit sector by Nonprofit Times in 2018-2020. He currently serves on the boards of the Global Impact Investing Network and Community Connections for Youth.

Liesel Pritzker Simmons
Co-founder and Principal at Blue Haven Initiative

Liesel Pritzker Simmons is co-founder and principal of Blue Haven Initiative, where she oversees, as an investment strategist, a portfolio focused on holdings that generate competitive financial returns and address social and environmental challenges. The portfolio spans asset classes, from traditional equities and direct investments to philanthropic programs.

In addition to working closely with entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and co-investors on companies and initiatives that create social, environmental, and financial value, Liesel develops strategic partnerships with organizations that support and advance more informed investing.

Liesel co-founded Blue Haven with her husband, Ian Simmons. Together, they systematically assessed their portfolios based on environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) criteria and financial performance. The restructured portfolios became the foundation of Blue Haven, one of the first family offices created with impact investing as its focus.

Liesel is also co-founder of IDP Foundation, a private Chicago-based foundation focused on achieving universal primary education. There, she helped create the IDP Rising Schools Program, which leverages microfinance networks to empower nearly 450 low-cost private schools — established and managed by local entrepreneurs — in some of the least-developed regions of the world.

Liesel, an engaging and sought-after speaker on impact investing and Next-Gen investors, serves on for-profit and nonprofit boards and investment committees of organizations, including ImpactAssets, Synergos, Toniic, Eco-Post, and The ImPact, a network of families committed to the conscientious stewardship of wealth.

Liesel attended Columbia University in New York City, where she studied African History. She lives in the Boston area with Ian and their daughters.

Bruce Usher
Co-director of the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise; Elizabeth B. Strickler ’86 and Mark T. Gallogly ’86 Faculty Director; and Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia Business School

Bruce Usher is a Professor of Professional Practice and the Elizabeth B. Strickler ’86 and Mark T. Gallogly ’86 Faculty Director of the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise at Columbia Business School. Professor Usher teaches on the intersection of finance, social and environmental issues, and is a recipient of the Singhvi Prize for Scholarship in the Classroom, the Lear Award, and the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence.

Professor Usher has written numerous cases for use in business school courses, with a primary focus on climate change and business. In 2019, Usher published Renewable Energy: A Primer for the Twenty-First Century (Columbia University Press), the first in the Earth Institute’s sustainability series of books.

Prior to his work at Columbia, Professor Usher was CEO of EcoSecurities Group plc, which developed greenhouse gas emission reduction projects in developing countries. EcoSecurities was acquired by JP Morgan in 2009. Professor Usher was previously the co-founder and CEO of TreasuryConnect LLC, which provided electronic trading solutions to banks and was acquired in 2001. Prior to that, he worked in financial services for twelve years in New York and Tokyo. Professor Usher is an active investor and advisor to entrepreneurial ventures focused on climate change and clean energy (UsherWorks.com). He is a board member of Community Energy, OptiRTC, and CapShift, and is Chair of the Tamer Fund for Social Ventures. Usher earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Bruce Usher
Co-director of the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise; Elizabeth B. Strickler ’86 and Mark T. Gallogly ’86 Faculty Director; and Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia Business School

Bruce Usher is a Professor of Professional Practice and the Elizabeth B. Strickler ’86 and Mark T. Gallogly ’86 Faculty Director of the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise at Columbia Business School. Professor Usher teaches on the intersection of finance, social and environmental issues, and is a recipient of the Singhvi Prize for Scholarship in the Classroom, the Lear Award, and the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence.

Professor Usher has written numerous cases for use in business school courses, with a primary focus on climate change and business. In 2019, Usher published Renewable Energy: A Primer for the Twenty-First Century (Columbia University Press), the first in the Earth Institute’s sustainability series of books.

Prior to his work at Columbia, Professor Usher was CEO of EcoSecurities Group plc, which developed greenhouse gas emission reduction projects in developing countries. EcoSecurities was acquired by JP Morgan in 2009. Professor Usher was previously the co-founder and CEO of TreasuryConnect LLC, which provided electronic trading solutions to banks and was acquired in 2001. Prior to that, he worked in financial services for twelve years in New York and Tokyo. Professor Usher is an active investor and advisor to entrepreneurial ventures focused on climate change and clean energy (UsherWorks.com). He is a board member of Community Energy, OptiRTC, and CapShift, and is Chair of the Tamer Fund for Social Ventures. Usher earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.