Plenary Sessions

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Opening Plenary — Meeting Obligations in a Time of Financial Volatility and Uncertainty

Thursday, September 19 | 9:15-10:30 a.m.

None of us can see into the future. But for foundation leaders, having that unique ability would be helpful in mitigating global financial issues and trends that force them to make hard decisions about how to invest. In this opening plenary, we will address current and emerging investment themes, insights on global equity and fixed income markets, and potential areas of growth that can help position philanthropic organizations for future success. Our speakers will share current and emerging economic and financial trends in addition to strategies from the past year and how philanthropy can respond in the year ahead.

Introduction: Kathleen Enright, President & CEO, Council on Foundations

Co-chairs: Stephanie Bell-Rose, Senior Managing Director and Head, of the TIAA Institute; Kenneth Jones, Jr., Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, The Annie E. Casey Foundation

Panel Speakers: Martin Neal Baily, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institute; Mark Birmingham, Chief Investment Officer, Bainum Family Foundation; Lorna Magill, Chief Financial Officer, PATH Foundation; Kirstin Sandaas, Chief Financial Operating Officer, Seattle Foundationtute

Lunch & Closing Plenary — Let's Talk Solutions: Really Putting the Nation's Finances on a Sustainable Track

Friday, September 20 | 12:30-2:30 p.m.

National fiscal sustainability is critical to realizing the nation's aspirations and tackling the challenges that chart the course toward an equitable future for all. However, by any measure, we are on a fiscal trajectory that is unsustainable. The growth of the federal debt threatens to crowd out investments in our future such as education, infrastructure, health care, and research and development, and will continue to reduce the resources available for the programs that support the most vulnerable Americans. The good news is that solutions do exist!

Earlier this summer, the Peter G. Peterson Foundation's 2019 Solutions Initiative: Charting a Sustainable Future brought together leading policy organizations from across the political spectrum and asked them to put forward comprehensive plans to set America on a more sustainable fiscal path, i.e. less national debt, stronger economic growth, and enhanced economic opportunity. Our closing plenary will feature a conversation with a selection of these fiscal policy innovators from the left to the right who will describe their formula for putting the nation's fiscal house in order for the next 30 years.

Be part of this important national conversation as we lead up to the 2020 election!

Moderator: Susan Tanaka, Senior Policy Advisor, Peter G. Peterson Foundation
Speakers: William Hoagland, Senior Vice President, Bipartisan Policy Center; Thea Lee, President, Economic Policy Institute; Brian Riedl, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute