USCIB United States Council for Bu : Webinar Series

USCIB is hosting an upcoming webinar on USAID's Public-Private Partnership to Support Responsible Land-Based Investments, which will take place Thursday, February 4 from 11:30 am-12:30 pm EST. This webinar will commence the USCIB Corporate Responsibility webinar series; please see below for further information on the series.

To register for the February 4 webinar, please fill out the registration form here.

USAID speakers will discuss their call for Expressions of Interest for potential private sector partners to co-create, co-design, co-invest and collaborate in addressing land tenure risks related to current or future land-based investments with a particular focus on African land deals as a means of piloting the effectiveness of the recently finalized Analytical Framework for Land-Based Investment in African Agriculture that USAID has just developed with the G7, UN Food and Agriculture Organization and African Union.

Speakers will include:

Chad Dear
Dear is an interdisciplinary social scientist, educator and development professional dedicated to improving land and resource governance. Through positions in academia, civil society, and government, Dear has led applied, interdisciplinary research teams; designed and implemented rural livelihood and natural resource management projects; and designed innovation programs within USAID. Recent achievements include co-leading establishment of the Mountain Societies Research Institute (part of the Aga Khan Development Network), and guiding the Institute's inaugural applied research programs. Dear, PhD Forestry and Conservation, has nearly ten years of on-the-ground international experience, primarily in Central Asia and Southern Africa, as well as significant domestic experience in the American west, including Alaska. He publishes in academic, technical and popular literature. Dear is affiliate faculty in the College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana; an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Technology Policy Fellow; and a former Fulbright Fellow.

Sarah Lowery
Lowery is an Economist and Public-Private Finance Specialist in USAID's Land Tenure and Resource Management Office. She focuses on the link between secure land tenure and inclusive economic growth and leads econometric, financial and risk analysis related to strengthened land tenure, access to finance and responsible investment. Lowery has designed public-private financial mechanisms in Brazil and Colombia that encourage sustainable land use, and she has authored several papers on climate finance innovations like REDD+ bonds and ways to unlock larger pools of capital like agricultural finance in the pursuit of conservation goals. Lowery holds an MBA and Master of Environmental Management from Yale University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Business from Lafayette College.

Yuliya Neyman
Neyman is a Land Governance and Legal Advisor in USAID's Land Tenure and Resource Management Office. She leads the office's private sector engagement and responsible investment work. Prior to joining USAID, Neyman worked as a corporate lawyer at White & Case, LLP in New York City. Prior to earning her law degree, Neyman worked as a journalist, and has written for the Huffington Post, Miami Herald, South Florida Business Journal, New York Daily News, Newsday, Washington Times and USA Today. Neyman has a bachelor's degree in Journalism from Northwestern University, and a law degree from Columbia Law School.

2016 USCIB Corporate Responsibility Webinar Series

The goal of the series is to provide members with introductions to new and innovative initiatives and organizations related to corporate responsibility that may be of interest and to allow for deeper dives into certain topics. The following additional webinars will be offered over the course of the first half of 2016. We hope you are able to join us for some or all of these programs and would like to remind you that you are welcome to indicate your interest in one or more of the below webinars (or to suggest other topics) via this form.

February 24: World Bank Group's Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA)
This unique program within the World Bank's Governance Unit focuses on supporting governments, citizens and the private sector to work together to solve governance challenges. The GPSA provides direct long-term assistance to civil society organizations to promote accountability by government actors on development challenges. This webinar, jointly hosted with GPSA, will introduce the GPSA and showcase its potential for solving vexing governance issues that are undermining the ability for entry into new markets and/or the long-term viability of private-sector investments in the over 40 countries in which the GPSA is authorized to fund programs.

March 23: Bretton Woods II : New America Foundation's multi-stakeholder platform for reducing global volatility
Led by Tomicah Tilleman, a former senior adviser to Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, the non-partisan BWII is working with a large coalition of organizations to demonstrate that large long-term financial actors can significantly increase their long-term returns by dedicating a percentage of their holdings to investments that address root causes of volatility, such as poverty, corruption, poor governance and the lack of rule of law. Such directed investments can also improve investment climates in countries throughout the world in ways that have a multiplying effect for multinational enterprises. BWII also presents an opportunity for companies with unique competencies to lend their talents to this important endeavor.