Annual Conferences
The IILWG/Grunin Center Annual Conference on Legal Issues in Social Entrepreneurship and Impact Investing – in the US and Beyond, co-organized by the Grunin Center and the Impact Investing Legal Working Group, takes place at NYU Law. Attended by students, lawyers and other stakeholders from across the globe, this leading conference explores salient legal, ethical, and social themes affecting the fields of social entrepreneurship and impact investing.
2027 IILWG/Grunin Center Annual Conference on Legal Issues in Social Entrepreneurship and Impact Investing – in the US and Beyond
The Grunin Center's next annual conference will take place June 1-3, 2027.
2027 Conference Co-Chairs
- Jen Barnette
Jen Barnette, Special Counsel, Cooley
Jen Barnette is Special Counsel at Cooley where she leads the firm’s Social Impact practice. Jen is a proven leader in the impact investing field, with more than a decade of experience advising mission-driven companies and impact investors across a wide range of industries, spanning climate tech, responsible AI, digital health, edtech and consumer goods. She is sought out for her corporate governance expertise, particularly related to Delaware public benefit corporations (PBCs) and structuring hybrid for-profit and nonprofit collaborations. She has taught a course on social enterprise law at UC Berkeley School of Law for several years and is a frequent speaker on corporate structures to scale impact and financial returns. Jen holds a JD from UC Berkeley School of Law, an MA in Global Studies from UC Santa Barbara and BA in International Studies, cum laude, from the University of Miami.
- Josh Nathan
Josh Nathan, Director, Impact Investments, Social Finance
Josh Nathan is a Director, Impact Investments and Staff Attorney at Social Finance, based in Boston. Josh supports a variety of workforce development impact investing projects including Pay It Forward Funds.
Previously, Josh served as an Academic Director at Bridge International Academies, a social enterprise improving the quality of education in developing countries. Josh started his career as a Teach For America Corps Member teaching eighth grade English in Dorchester, Massachusetts.
Josh holds MBA and JD degrees from the Kellogg School of Management and the Pritzker School of Law at Northwestern University. Josh graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College with a BA in English.
- Katherine Hughes
Katherine Hughes, Clinical Associate Professor of Law, Fordham Law School
Connect with Katherine on LinkedIn
Katherine Hughes is a clinical professor and director of the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic at Fordham Law School and a leader in nonprofit, small business, and social enterprise law and practice in New York City. Prior to joining Fordham, she served as pro bono counsel and global director of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton’s pro bono program.
An accomplished transactional attorney, she has served as co-chair of the New York City Bar Association’s Non-Profit Organizations Committee, as a committee member of New York University Grunin Center’s annual conference on Legal Issues in Social Entrepreneurship and Impact Investing, and as a member of the Emerging Companies & Venture Capital Committee of the New York City Bar. She is also a board member of Kaaj Media Productions, which lifts up the voices of women journalists from Afghanistan, and Envision Freedom Fund, the nation’s largest immigration bond nonprofit.
For her pro bono work on behalf of nonprofits and social enterprises, she has been recognized by Lawyers Alliance for New York and named a Trailblazer by The New York Law Journal. She is a graduate of Fordham Law, where she served as editor-in-chief of the Fordham Law Review and received the Joseph R. Crowley Award for public service and academic achievement and the Archibald R. Murray Public Service Award for public service contributions. In addition to her law degree, she has an M.A. in international political economy and development from Fordham, an M.Sc. in race and ethnic relations from the University of London, and a B.F.A. from Emerson College. She clerked for Judge Paul J. Kelly, Jr. on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
- Ivy Brewer
Ivy Brewer, Associate Attorney, Adler & Colvin
Ms. Brewer is an attorney at Adler & Colvin, where she advises nonprofit organizations and mission-driven enterprises. Her work sits at the intersection of nonprofit corporate and tax law, impact investing, and operational strategy, where she helps organizations translate complex legal regulations into practical, implementable solutions.
Guided by a commitment to service, integrity, and thoughtful problem-solving, she approaches her work as both a legal advisor and strategic partner. She is actively engaged in the impact law community and is passionate about advancing innovative legal tools and structures that enable capital to flow more effectively toward social and environmental outcomes.
She believes that knowledge calls for a life of service and is committed to using her skills to support impactful, mission-driven work.
Previous Annual Conferences
- 2026 Conference
Click here for details on 2026 conference sessions.
The in-person 2026 conference focused on the following themes:
- Meeting the Moment: Headwinds and Opportunities for Achieving Mission
- Structuring Capital for Impact: Financing Innovation and Scale
- Creating Durable Impact: Collaborative Ownership and Investment Structures
- Building Career and Community
2026 conference co-chairs:
- Ruth Gao
- Alycia Kellman
- Josh Nathan
- Jen Barnette
- 2025 Conference
The in-person 2025 conference focused on the following themes:
- Collaborative Models and Partnerships in Impact Investing
- Shaping the Future of Impact
- Safeguarding Purpose in Times of Change
2025 conference co-chairs:
- Alycia Kellman
- Leslie Cornell
- Ruth Gao
- 2024 Conference
The in-person 2024 conference focused on the following themes:
- Navigating Incentives in Impact Investing
- Revolutionizing How Nonprofits Engage—Philanthropy, Private Capital and More
- Charting the Course: Navigating the Future of Impact Investing
- Preserving our Future: Environmental Resilience, Climate, and Nature Conservation
2024 conference co-chairs:
- Kevin Saunders
- Leslie Cornell
- Ruth Gao
- 2023 Conference
The in-person 2023 conference focused on the following themes:
- Distributive Power and Wealth: Is the Impact Space Ready and Willing to Democratize Capital?
- Impact Investing in Times of Crisis: Governance, Collaboration, Restructurings, Data, and Resilience
- Dynamic Impact Capital: Evolving Rules, Players, Structures, and Products
- A Tale of Diverging Regulatory Environments: Navigating Local and Global Regulations and Developing the Skills to Respond
- People's Choice topics were explored over a variety of Table Talk discussions reflecting conference participants’ suggestions.
2023 conference co-chairs:
- Amelie Baudot
- Ginny Reyes Llamzon
- Kevin Saunders
- 2022 Conference
The remote 2022 conference focused on the following themes:
- Blending Finance to Advance Climate Adaptation and Resilience
- Elevating Beneficiaries: Inclusive Design in Impact Instruments
- Legal Implications of Minority Wealth Equity Strategies
- Prepare for Impact: Training Lawyers for ESG, Impact Investing, and Social Enterprise Practices
2022 conference co-chairs:
- Amelie Baudot
- Deborah Burand
- Perry Teicher
- 2021 Conference
The remote 2021 conference focused on the following themes:
- Investing in Climate Action
- Creating Responsible Exits and Restructurings
- Growing The Skills and Expanding the Mindsets of Our Legal Community
- Putting a Lens on Impact Investments
- Certifying and Regulating Impact
- Building Resilient Communities
2021 conference co-chairs:
- Deborah Burand
- Perry Teicher
- Bjorn Sorenson
- 2020 Conference
The 2020 IILWG/Grunin Center Annual Conference did not take place. We sadly came to this decision out of concern for the health and safety of the more than 400 participants who come from all over the world to New York City to attend this conference at NYU School of Law.
- 2019 Conference
The 2019 conference focused on the following themes:
- Creating and Documenting “New” Impact Investment Products
- Embedding SDGs and ESG into Deals and Enterprises
- Blending Capital for Scale
- Engaging in Place-Based Impact Investing and Social Entrepreneurship
- Governing for Good—Taking a Longer-Term View
- People’s Choice (variety of topics reflecting Conference participants’ suggestions)
2019 conference co-chairs:
- Carolina Henriquez-Schmitz
- George Rogers
- Jonathan Ng
- 2018 Conference
The 2018 conference focused on the following themes:
- Policy and regulation of impact investing and social entrepreneurship
- Blending and scaling capital
- Building investment-ready social enterprises
- Embedding impact into deal structures
- Mainstreaming impact
- People’s choice (variety of topics reflecting conference participants’ suggestions)
2018 conference co-chairs:
- Deborah Burand
- Leila Bham
- Mary Rose Brusewitz
- 2017 Conference
The 2017 conference focused on the following themes:
- Growing the global community of lawyers working in the field of social entrepreneurship and impact investing
- Planning for market uncertainty when investing in social enterprises or managing social enterprises
- Aggregating capital for impact investing
- Creating and documenting new impact investment products