Thursday, November 12, 2020The Wharton Club of Chicago and Wharton Alumni Social Impact Club will be providing a panel discussion on the paths people have taken and how you can take a path to make an impact. Dawn Hines, President of the Wharton Alumni Social Impact Club, will moderate to help us learn more about the journey taken by our fellow Whartonites to help make a difference!
Key topics you will hear from our panelist include:
- What’s the path to your current role?
- In your current role, what does the company do? What do you actually do?
- What do you enjoy about the role? What might be some of the challenges?
- What can people do today to get involved with social impact initiatives?
Eva Liu, Chicago Beyond, Chief Strategy and Operations Officer
Eva, born and raised in Chicago’s Chinatown, is a graduate of Chicago Public Schools and a first-generation college graduate. She’s always been appreciative of the people who supported and advised her along the way and she’s here to pay it forward to Chicago’s youth. As Chief Strategy and Operations Officer, Eva finds Chicago Beyond's path forward and figures out how best to operationalize it. If she has one bad habit, it’s stockpiling candy.
Eva obtained her A.B. in Government at Harvard University and her M.B.A. at the University of Pennsylvania. She has led strategy, digital, and operations projects at McKinsey & Company and has advised not-for-profit healthcare systems on financing needs at Barclays.
Andrew Witherspoon and Griffin Amdur, Chicago Furniture Bank
Griffin and Andrew are the Co-Founders of the Chicago Furniture Bank (CFB) and Honest Junk Company. The CFB was founded in 2018 after receiving seed funding from the University of Pennsylvania's President's Engagement Prize. Through partnerships with 350+ local social service agencies, the CFB furnishes 10 homes per day for families leaving shelters and moving into permanent housing. In January 2020 the CFB launched its sister nonprofit, Honest Junk Company. Honest Junk is Chicago's only nonprofit junk removal service that donates all usable items to various charity partners. The proceeds from Honest Junk helps fund the CFB.
Griffin is a Chicago native and a 2018 University of Pennsylvania graduate where he received degrees in Finance, Real Estate, and Behavioral Economics at Wharton.
Andrew is a 2018 University of Pennsylvania graduate with a Wharton bachelor's degree in Finance.
Check out the University Pennsylvania President's Engagement Prize Winner Video.
Dawn Hines, President of the Wharton Alumni Social Impact Club and Aventura Investment Partners Managing Partner
Aventura Investment Partners was founded in 2010, with the goal of establishing, investing in, and supporting companies that provide value chain services to growers in Africa. We target companies that provide a range of services in the Input Supply, Production, or Post-Harvest phases of the Value Chain.
Aventura currently manages two agricultural value chain companies in Senegal, which provide a full range of services to smallholder growers they support. We are working to expand and establish multiple branches of these companies, with the goal of creating jobs and opportunities in the food sector for 1 million young women and men living in rural agricultural zones.
Dawn holds an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA in Economics and Mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania. She speaks French, Spanish, Dutch, and German.
