Margot Brandenburg

Hear about the value of meeting the SOCAP community in person at our annual convening from Margot Brandenburg (@mbranden.bsky.social), Senior Program Officer of Mission Investments at the @fordfoundation.org. 💬

Join us at #SOCAP25, October 27-29 in San Francisco: socapglobal.com/event-socap-...

Great turnout in spite of the weather! As always, here for the signs 😅

Blood reserves were critically low because a ban on public health-related comms meant they couldn’t recruit donors from outside the NIH

Staff were constantly checking their phones to see if they’d been fired

‘Chaos and Confusion’ at the N.I.H., the Crown Jewel of American Science Senior scientists at the National Institutes of Health fear that research on conditions like obesity, heart disease and cancer will be undermined by President Trump’s policies.

My husband recently participated in a cutting edge cancer trial at the NIH. I have never seen a more dedicated or talented medical team. Starting in late January, however, the NIH campus started to feel like the setting for a dystopian novel. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/h...

Trump’s DOJ can’t rewrite the law on DEI. Here’s why companies shouldn’t back down Do not fall into the trap: A presidential executive order cannot nullify federal or state law.

Really great piece from former EEOC Commissioner Jenny Yang:

fortune.com/2025/02/20/t...

'This is a constitutional crisis': Democrats blast Musk and Trump over USAID Congressional Democrats blast Elon Musk and President Trump over attempts to shut down USAID, claiming they're causing chaos and harming national security.

Democrats blast Musk and Trump over dismantling USAID
Rep. Raskin: “Elon Musk, you didn't create USAID. The United States Congress did for the American people … like Elon Musk did not create USAID; he doesn't have the power to destroy it. And who's going to stop him? We are.”

Inside Musk’s Aggressive Incursion Into the Federal Government The billionaire is creating major upheaval as his team sweeps through agencies, in what has been an extraordinary flexing of power by a private individual.

Elon Musk is sweeping thru our government w unchecked power. He & a team of men age 19-25 have accessed our financial and data systems, firing career officials, shutting down programs & USAID, insulting federal employees urging them to leave their jobs.

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/03/u...

Huge protest outside the USAID building today against Trump and Musk's illegal shutdown.

🚨Killing USAID makes us LESS SAFE.

People will suffer and die if that funding disappears, and instability around the world will increase. American Troops could be put into harm’s way as a result, and it will benefit our adversaries.

It is blatantly, unequivocally unconstitutional.

This point was made more salient today when my husband and I took our daughter and son respectively on the same flight, same route and airline, and the very kind male pilot only invited my son to visit the cockpit…

Comparing here my amazing experience flying recently with one of the 2% of flight captains who are women, with the EO this week that essentially accuses the FAA of risking all of our safety by aspiring to a more diverse workforce. I thought 2% was wildly too few, but apparently it was too many?

Trump hits NIH with ‘devastating’ freezes on meetings, travel, communications, and hiring Researchers facing

My husband is currently receiving life-saving cancer treatment through a trial at the NIH. The staff who treat him are unparalleled in their skill, professionalism, empathy and dedication. It makes me sick (and selfishly terrified) to see them treated this way.

www.science.org/content/arti...

DEI doesn’t mean hiring unqualified people—it means tearing down rigged systems that kept qualified talent out. Giving everyone a fair shot, breaking down barriers that have historically excluded talent. Diversity brings fresh perspectives, drives innovation, and reflects the world being served.

Justice Department freezes all cases in civil rights division The directives halt ongoing civil rights cases and could jeopardize police reform agreements finalized in recent months in Minneapolis and Louisville.

Breaking: DOJ freezes all cases in civil rights division. "It’s unprecedented. We’ve never seen this before at this scale with any transfer of power, regardless of the ideology of any incoming president or administration." Story w/ @perrystein.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Donald Trump, Melania Trump, J.D. Vance and Usha Vance sit in the first row of pews during the inaugural prayer service. Text reads: "Bishop Asks Trump to 'Have Mercy' on Immigrants and Gay Children." Photo credit: Doug Mills/The New York Times

Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde was nearing the end of her sermon for the inaugural prayer service on Tuesday when she took a breath and looked directly at President Trump.

"I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now," she said. Read more: nyti.ms/40slABn

"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope."
— from In My Own Words, a collection of King's sermons, speeches and writings selected by his wife, Coretta Scott King.

Cecile Richards, Former Planned Parenthood President, Dies at 67 She oversaw the United States’ largest provider of reproductive health care and sex education from 2006 to 2018.

Rest in power, Cecile.

www.nytimes.com/2025/01/20/u...

YouTube video by The Ezra Klein Show Democrats are Losing the War for Attention. Badly.

Today’s episode of The Ezra Klein Show.

@chrislhayes.bsky.social on why attention has become more valuable than money in politics.

open.spotify.com/episode/3kD2...

youtu.be/5qgcdl7pFNE?...

Jigar Shah’s $30 billion final clean tech push In the final days of the Biden administration, the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs office finalized two high-profile clean tech loans. The financing, ...

The Department of Energy’s Loan Programs office finalizes two high-profile clean tech loans.

The financing, totaling more than $8 billion, went to electric vehicle maker Rivian and green hydrogen developer Plug Power.

impactalpha.com/jigar-shahs-...

LA wildfires push California’s insurance market to the brink Editor’s Note: This article was co-published with Climate Proof, a publication on climate adaptation tech and policy. Los Angeles is burning, as it has been ...

“Everything’s changed now,” UC Berkeley's Stephen Collier tells @louiewoodall.bsky.social

In a compelling read on @impactalpha.com, Woodall breaks down how the fallout from the LA fires could ripple through US insurance markets – and weigh on lower-income households
impactalpha.com/la-wildfires...

Ownership Economy Funds Liist A list of funds that deploy capital in the Ownership Economy, including managers in real estate, employee ownership conversions, and more.

ImpactAlpha has compiled a list of funds and other opportunities to deploy capital in the Ownership Economy, including managers in residential and commercial real estate, employee ownership conversions, entrepreneurial support & financial asset- and wealth-building.

impactalpha.com/ownership-ec...

@folake-oguntebi.bsky.social 👋 happy to see you here :)

It is! That might be table stakes for new tech companies these days, but it’s a good starting point…

My 7 yo wrote a letter to President Biden in October, thanking him for supporting a woman for President. He is thrilled he got a reply; it concludes with “Keep the faith”😢

So happy to see you here, @caroliendebruin.bsky.social! And love the kid pics - you reminded me to update mine to a full family photo! Hope you are well.

Thank you, @el-xav.bsky.com! Love seeing you on here (and love your username!)

Thanks @maureenc.bsky.social! Maybe the ownership shares held by @bsky.app employees will be part of its mission preservation 😜

Aw thanks!

Plea from a BlueSky user: Now is the time to invest in governance Find out how BlueSky can design its corporate governance to safeguard its mission in to prioritize positive user experiences.

impactalpha.com/plea-from-a-...