Espresso Chats Podcast
Espresso Chats is a podcast from Commonfund Institute. Each episode is a short conversation — most run under twenty minutes — with a leader working on the problems nonprofit institutions actually face: board governance, endowment management, spending policy, and the investment decisions that follow from all three.
Guests have come from NACUBO, BoardSource, NBOA, CASE, the Intentional Endowments Network, the Weingart Foundation, and community foundations in Ann Arbor and Brooklyn, alongside investment leaders from Commonfund OCIO and CF Private Equity. The through line is practical: what boards and investment committees are weighing right now, and what the people closest to those decisions have learned.
Listen below, or subscribe through Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
The AI Series
A four-part arc on how artificial intelligence is reshaping institutional investing, across venture capital, responsible investing and portfolio construction.
- AI Considerations in Portfolio Management: A CIO's View September 2026
Julia Mord, CIO of Commonfund OCIO, on where AI exposure sits across a nonprofit portfolio and where concentration risk is quietly building.
- Responsible Investing in the Age of AI August 2026
Georges Dyer of the Intentional Endowments Network on weighing AI's opportunities against reputational, environmental and social risk.
- The Shiny Tinfoil: Investing in AI with Eyes Wide Open June 2026
Meredith Benton of Whistle Stop Capital on why engagement beats divestment, and how to ask managers better questions about responsible AI.
- AI in Venture Capital: Separating Hype from Opportunity May 2026
Luke Rossiter of CF Private Equity's venture team on where we actually are in the AI cycle, and what separates a real investment case from the hype.
Earlier Episodes
- Charitable Giving in a Changing Policy Landscape April 2026
Brian Flahaven of CASE on the persistent "dollars up, donors down" trend and what the One Big Beautiful Bill Act changes for charitable giving.
- Independent School Endowment Insights March 2026
Jeff Shields of NBOA on two straight years of double-digit returns for independent school endowments, and the widening gap between large and small schools.
- Trends and Challenges in Higher Education February 2026
Liz Clark of NACUBO on findings from the NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments, and why mission focus separates the institutions weathering this moment.
- Real Assets and Sustainability: Investing in a Changing Policy Environment January 2026
Dan Connell of CF Private Equity on how policy change reshaped the case for utility-scale solar and natural gas, and where real assets fit in a portfolio.
- Espresso Chats Season Recap December 2025
The team looks back at season one — the themes that recurred across conversations with leaders in nonprofit institutional investing.
- Community Foundations: Equity and Impact November 2025
Rev. Dr. Shannon Polk of Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation and Dr. Jocelynne Rainey of Brooklyn Org on impact investing and economic mobility.
- Purpose-Driven Governance in the Nonprofit Sector October 2025
Monika Kalra Varma of BoardSource on Purpose Driven Board Leadership, and balancing the fiduciary, strategic and generative modes of governance.
- Insights on Private Equity and Market Trends September 2025
Mark Hoeing of CF Private Equity on buyouts, growth equity, and why institutions are looking at the small middle market and energy.
- Aligning Mission and Impact August 2025
Joanna Jackson of the Weingart Foundation on deploying more than $800 million toward mission-aligned impact in Southern California.
- Underrepresented Talent: Challenges and Opportunities July 2025
Hallie Label and Tyeshia Smith of Expect Equity on why women and people of color manage just 1% of assets despite comparable performance.
- Navigating Governance and Leadership in Higher Education June 2025
The inaugural episode: Tim Yates of Commonfund OCIO on federal funding cuts, proposed endowment tax changes, and holding a long-term view.
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