Speaker

Ira Ehrenpreis

Founder and Managing Partner of DBL Partners

Ira Ehrenpreis is Founder and Managing Partner of DBL Partners, a leading impact investing venture capital firm, currently managing more than $1 billion of capital. DBL invests in companies that can deliver top-tier
financial returns, while simultaneously driving social or environmental change.

Ira is a recognized leader in the venture capital industry, having served on the Board, Executive Committee, and as Annual Meeting Chairman of the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). He currently serves as the Chairman of the VCNetwork, the largest and most active California venture capital organization, and the President of the Western Association of Venture Capitalists (WAVC), the oldest venture capital organization in California.

Lee Pelton

CEO & President of the Boston Foundation

Lee Pelton is the CEO & President of the Boston Foundation, one of the nation’s leading philanthropic organizations, with $1.6 billion in assets. He joined the Foundation in June 2021, after serving as President of Emerson College (2011-2021) and Willamette University (1998-2011).

Over the years, Pelton has been active in several higher education associations and cultural organizations including the Board of Directors of the American Council on Education (past chair), the National Association of
Independent Colleges and Universities, the Association of American Colleges & Universities and the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts. In addition to his service as a Harvard Overseer, he has served as a member of the Harvard University Graduate School Alumni Council, the Advisory Committee on Shareholder Responsibility, Harvard Magazine, Board of Incorporators and several Harvard Visiting Committees.

Speaker

Carla Harris

Senior Client Advisor, Morgan Stanley

Carla Harris is Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley having finished an 30+ year career as a Vice Chairman and Managing Director. Throughout her career she managed and executed billions of dollars of equity and equity related transactions, including the IPOs of UPS, Martha Stewart Omnimedia and the Immunex Corporation. She was also Chair of the Morgan Stanley Foundation from 2005 to 2014 and sits on the boards of several community organizations. In August 2013, Carla was appointed by President Obama to chair the National Women’s Business Council. She is a gospel recording artist, with 4 commercially released CDs under her belt, 5 sold out concerts at Carnegie Hall, 2 at the Apollo Theatre and a popular public speaker who gives impactful career guidance to corporate audiences based on her books, Expect to Win (2009), Strategize to Win (2014) and the soon to be released Lead to Win (2022). She sits on the boards of the Walmart Corporation and Cummins Corporation. Carla joined Morgan Stanley in 1987 after completing an AB in economics, magna cum laude, from Harvard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School, second year honors.