Wednesday, November 12, 2025
7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. EST
Catholic social teaching emphasizes that the economy is meant to serve people, not the other way around. Early in his pontificate, Pope Francis warned that an “idolatry of money” threatens to “devour everything which stands in the way of increased profits,” with the environment and vulnerable members of society “defenseless before the interests of a deified market, which becomes the only rule.” Catholic teaching demands the opposite: that we value the dignity of interconnected life more than the accumulation of wealth, and that we use our resources for the advancement of the common good.
Impact investment is informed by these principles and seeks to generate measurable social and environmental benefits alongside financial return. By avoiding a singular focus on profit, this positive vision of finance can help to rehumanize economic activity and refocus financial resources on providing common benefits to all, especially the most vulnerable. This dialogue will explore how impact investing can help people use their financial resources to address specific social and environmental challenges while ensuring the longevity and sustainability of their investments. Participants will discuss how profit-driven financial systems can stifle social progress and contribute to ecological destruction, as well as how investments guided by Catholic social teaching can serve as a new way forward to care for the planet and each other.
Kimberly Mazyck, associate director of the Georgetown Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, will moderate the conversation. Felipe Witchger, co-founder and executive director of the Francesco Collaborative, will offer closing remarks.
This gathering will have three parts:
6:00 - 7:00 p.m. | Welcoming Happy Hour
Meet and network with other young leaders over food and drink
7:00 - 8:00 p.m. | Dialogue
A conversation on “Building an Economy for the Common Good: Catholic Social Thought and Impact Investing” with four leaders
8:00 - 9:00 p.m. | Reception
Continue the conversation with other young leaders over food and drink
This Salt and Light Gathering, co-sponsored by the Francesco Collaborative, is for Catholics under 40 years old in Washington to help them explore links between faith, Catholic social thought, and their lives and work. Learn more about the Initiative’s Salt and Light Gatherings online.
Participants
Elizabeth Garlow
Elizabeth Garlow is chair of the Catholic Impact Investing Collaborative and co-founder of the Francesco Collaborative, where she helps investors live out Catholic social teaching through practices of discernment and solidarity. She has served in the Obama White House, the Lumina Foundation, and ACCION, and is a Senior Fellow at New America.
Sr. Sue Ernster
Sister Sue Ernster, FSPA, is president of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. She previously served as the congregation’s vice president and treasurer and has ministered in campus ministry, parish administration, and faith formation. She serves on the board of the Economy of Francesco and advances FSPA’s impact investing efforts.
David Harlley
David Harlley is co-founder and CEO of ThirdWay Capital, an impact investment firm supporting small and medium enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa. He previously held executive roles at engineering firm WSP and teaches distributive capitalism at IE University. He is the author of Building the New Economy: Distributive Capitalism.
Cal Watson (C’07, L’14)
Cal Watson is Associate Vice President for Public Affairs and Business Policy at Georgetown University, where he leads efforts to align the university’s business policies with its Catholic and Jesuit mission. He chairs the Advisory Committee on Business Practices and serves on the board of the Worker Rights Consortium.
Accessibility
For those who cannot join us in person, the dialogue will be livestreamed, starting at 7:00 pm EST, and posted online for later viewing.
All in-person accommodation requests should be sent to cathsocialthought@georgetown.edu by November 8. A good-faith effort will be made to fulfill requests.