This November, our “30 seconds with…” segment features Stephen Snider. He is a student at Harvard who is currently setting up an oikos Chapter in Boston, USA. Stephen talked about his passion for Sustainable Finance, explained why he decided to start the oikos chapter and discussed his recent oikos experience as an organizer of a join oikos-Harvard e-conference and participant at the LEAP Meeting 2019.
Hi, I’m Stephen! I’m starting oikos Boston! Would you like to join?
I was born and raised in Jamaica and moved to the states for college to study Economics and Statistics. I moved to Boston to work in corporate banking but last year, I quit my job to start a Master’s in Development Practices at Harvard. I did this because I want to return to Jamaica to work in Environmental Management and Sustainable Development. I currently work for a startup that provides sustainable investing to retail clients. Also, connect with me on Instagram as I like to share what I am learning about.
I first learned about oikos from an Instagram post that had the hashtags #SustianableFinance and #StudentsForSustainability. I instantly got interested in what oikos was doing. I was impressed by the energy and the message. I sensed a real desire to impact the world through curriculum change and engaging student leaders. Because I enjoyed learning from other oikees at events (especially the LEAP meeting this October) I decided I wanted to create my own community to contribute to the oikos mission.
My passion is in Sustainable Finance. I believe that through changes to Economics and Management we can make the world a better place. I’m doing that now at the innovative startup I work for (Physis Investment). We are bringing sustainable investing to people like you and me. Because of this, I want to promote this growing niche of finance and make it really mainstream. I think an oikos chapter and the oikos community would help me to share this message with others. We can have an impact with our savings and invest in the issues we really care about.
I’m already working towards making oikos Boston a reality. In October I hosted my first eConference: the Green Future of Investing. We had over 60 people attend and learn what sustainable finance means. It was really exciting to see the engagement and the interest to learn more. If you want to learn more about the series of webinars check out the event website. We also prepared a bunch of materials for people that want to learn more – Google Drive. In the spring, we are planning another conference on this topic. If you would like to get involved let me know. I want to get more of oikos chapters involved and really make this a global experience.
I was so happy to participate in LEAP. It was a really great conference and I got to meet so many exciting leaders. I was nervous at first to attend because this would be my first time joining an oikos meetup but everyone was so welcoming. What I really enjoyed about the meeting was that it was so more than any conference I’ve ever been to. There was plenty of time for people to discuss what they are studying and researching but we had real personal connections. We worked on important skill sets to make us better leaders. Also, I found a lot of really cool people to work with going forward. I’m happy that I’ll get to keep learning and growing with oikos!
There are plenty of challenges out there. It is really overwhelming sometimes but it feels so good when you can work with others. I feel so energized after hosting the conference and participating in LEAP. I am going to keep working with oikos because they motivate me to have an impact in my community. You should too! If you want to join oikos Boston email me at kes552@g.harvard.edu
